# Baitcasting vs. Spinning Reels for Inshore Applications



## Desert Eagle (Apr 25, 2012)

It seems to me that MOST (not all) inshore anglers use spinning over bait casting tackle. Why would one prefer spinning tackle for inshore applications?

Just saying...


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## gulfbreezetom (Jun 12, 2012)

For me it's for three reasons: 1-feel. I feel like I can feel what I'm feeling better with a spinner. 2-ease of use. Them birds nest backlashes make me want to murder and curse and I'm trying to keep the murdering to a minimum. 3-Space savings. I can take 3 reels on my kayak and have one free lined with a live bait, one on the bottom, and another ready to pitch at whatever swims by. And all three reels can do each of those roles, plus trolling and jigging. And they hold more line for less weight.


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## barefoot (Nov 3, 2011)

DE, I carry both.

I like to sling MR-17's, redfish spinners with my bait caster and can throw as far w/ it as my spinning gear.

In the early days...it was line capacity that made me use spinning gear over bait casting for inshore, pier & gulf fishing.

BUT...I have caught many a pompano & spanish off the OLD wooden pier at Navarre using a Abu Garcia 5000, throwing small jigs.


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## Kim (Aug 5, 2008)

Some for personal preference and others because the spinning reel is easier to cast than the baitcasters.


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## jcasey (Oct 12, 2007)

Kim said:


> Some for personal preference and others because the spinning reel is easier to cast than the baitcasters.


^ What he said for the most part. Spinning reels dont usually backlash. Baitcasters are far more accurate. You can be very accurate with either and a lot of practice. If you notice the FLW and Bassmasters, they mostly use baitcasters because of the accuracy of thumbing the spool to make lure placement more precise. But, they will use spinning gear when fishing more open waters where accuracy is not as important and they are fishing a general area.


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## 2RC's II (Feb 2, 2012)

jcasey said:


> ^ What he said for the most part. Spinning reels dont usually backlash. Baitcasters are far more accurate. You can be very accurate with either and a lot of practice. If you notice the FLW and Bassmasters, they mostly use baitcasters because of the accuracy of thumbing the spool to make lure placement more precise. But, they will use spinning gear when fishing more open waters where accuracy is not as important and they are fishing a general area.


Correct sir. I can throw a baitcast in a thimble mainly because I started out Bass fishing. However since moving the the Windy/Excessive Rainfall State I have become more comfortable with the spinner. I still throw the baitcast when fishing around docks and such I just love my Chronarchs for that.


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## badonskybuccaneers (Aug 19, 2013)

Ease of use, flexibility- but don't get me wrong, as much as I like using my spinning reels... I sure enjoy fighting a red on my Diawa Inshore Coastal! I use the baitcasters mostly fishing around the grass with soft plastics and smaller hard baits.


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## Desert Eagle (Apr 25, 2012)

Interesting. In recent years, I've moved from spinning to bait casting exclusively for inshore. I still use a spinner for bass fishing simply because I can flip with a spinner w/ light lures better. Backlash: Using braid, I experience more with spinners. Distance: I achieve MUCH greater distance with bait casters. Line volume: More with bait casters. Like Barefoot, I use older bait casting tackle, e.g., Abu Garcia 6000C/USA (gold color), 6500, 6600ABS, and if anyone knows these reels, the line volume is tremendous. I also use some more modern stuff, e.g., Abu Garcia 60 series Revo Toro NaCl - this is a low profile bait casting reel built especially for inshore applications and it holds as much line as any large spool reel. I use 50# Sufix 832 Super Line. Don't laugh - I know that's heavy for inshore but line management is better on the larger braid. If I do get a "bird's nest," it picks out much better than 20# braid. 50# braid is equivalent to 12# mono so line volume is about equal. It's interesting, though, that I prefer bait casting tackle for the same reason others use spinners... RODS???


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## SouthAlabamaSlayer (Oct 13, 2011)

I use bait casters for throwing jigs and slip corks, but will throw a spinning reel for hard baits. I can throw wayyyyy further with a baitcaster, and I like to use ambassadeurs as well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## fairpoint (May 9, 2013)

I fish from a pier and usually have to throw into the wind with topwaters....baitcasters are useless for me in this scenario,while spinning gear do well here....
For flippin soft baits downwind from a boat ,baitcasters work well and doesn't impart twist in the line as a spinning reel will do.....For fighting a fish ,baitcasters can definitely put more pressure on a fish than spinners......IMO each has its own function and different situations call for different techniques and gear.....


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## 49913 (Apr 18, 2014)

Desert Eagle said:


> Interesting. In recent years, I've moved from spinning to bait casting exclusively for inshore. I still use a spinner for bass fishing simply because I can flip with a spinner w/ light lures better. Backlash: Using braid, I experience more with spinners. Distance: I achieve MUCH greater distance with bait casters. Line volume: More with bait casters. Like Barefoot, I use older bait casting tackle, e.g., Abu Garcia 6000C/USA (gold color), 6500, 6600ABS, and if anyone knows these reels, the line volume is tremendous. I also use some more modern stuff, e.g., Abu Garcia 60 series Revo Toro NaCl - this is a low profile bait casting reel built especially for inshore applications and it holds as much line as any large spool reel. I use 50# Sufix 832 Super Line. Don't laugh - I know that's heavy for inshore but line management is better on the larger braid. If I do get a "bird's nest," it picks out much better than 20# braid. 50# braid is equivalent to 12# mono so line volume is about equal. It's interesting, though, that I prefer bait casting tackle for the same reason others use spinners... RODS???


 Agreed. I take both, but more and more, the spinning tackle just sits in the rod holder. As I've gotten more proficient with baitcasters, I use them more. I always had the feeling that I could cast farther with spinning reels, but that just isn't true, at least that's my experience. And with braid, I find that the occasional backlash picks out easier than with mono. Even with light baits, if you're using the right rod, like a light tip popping rod, I've gotten completely comfortable with baitcasters. Now I'm at the point where fiddling with spinning reel casting techniques aggravates me.


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## Desert Eagle (Apr 25, 2012)

UM7: CAREFUL!!! You'll find yourself leaving your spinners at home!!!


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## Desert Eagle (Apr 25, 2012)

Another point - my opinion only...
Feel: First of all, braid allows you to feel EVERYTHING better, including bites, underwater cover, even the line sliding off a saw grass leaf!!! With a spinner, the reel hangs down on the bottom of the rod and the only contact with the reel is the reel seat and foot. With a bait caster, my hand is somewhat wrapped around the reel allowing me to "feel" everything better, even those "knocking" sounds those heavy Jack Crevalle make during the fight. Also, how the line lays along a bait casting rod vs. only hanging in line guides on a spinning rod has much to do with feel. MY OPINION, ONLY.


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## barefoot (Nov 3, 2011)

DE

Rods; over the yrs. I've had many, cheap and expensive.
Today....I prefer ugly sticks. Inshore and most pier/surf fishing...6' - 7'.7". med - med-hvy action.

Mine get dunked all too often, eyes bent and broken, butts chewed up by dogs and so on...BUT they've never broken.

I've got other rods whose tips have broken that are sitting in my shed waiting on some future project that I haven't started yet.


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## Desert Eagle (Apr 25, 2012)

BF: I've been thru my share of rods as well. All my inshore rods are from 7 - 8'. If I have any rods that are less than 7' it's because I've broken the tip and replaced it. All are MH & H and their use are determined mostly by the lure. You mentioned MR-17s earlier - I use a 7'6" MH Abu Garcia Veritas with a ProMax2 to cast those. We'll compare tackle and tell lotsa lies one day on BW!!!


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