Fishing Tackle: How to Cast a Spinning Reel?

As one of the most popular fishing reels all over the world, spinning reels are easy to use and work extremely well, more and more people (especially the beginners) prefer to use the spinning reel instead of other fishing reels. Though the spinning reels re easy-operated, if you don’t know how to use it appropriately, you would catch nothing. Today, we will talk about how to cast the spinning reel correctly.

Before casting your spinning reels, you should do some preparatory work.

First, you should choose the right fishing line. The type of fishing line can determine the quality of your cast to some extent. If you are a beginner, you can choose the fishing line which can help you avoid the line twist. And if you are experienced, you’d better choose the fishing line which allows you to make much longer cast.

Secondly, you should learn how to hold your fishing rod correctly in advance. Many people always complain that they can’t cast the reels well, I think the most important reason is that they don’t know how to hold the fishing rod.

I can give you a way to hold the rod: hold the rod in your casting hand with your forefinger in front of the reel and your other fingers behind it. This gives you a better casting grip and leaves your forefinger free for the line as you cast so you can "trap" the line, by not letting it move easily, as you are casting to keep it from reeling out too far.

After doing the preparatory work, you can be ready for your cast. Here are the steps of casting the spinning reel. But we can only provide you the general steps, you can summarize some details by practicing.

Step 1: Reel in until your bait is 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 centimeters) from the rod tip. If you have a sinker or bobber attached to the line, it should be 6 to 12 inches from the rod tip instead.

Step 2: Using your right index finger lay it over the line. It is not necessary to put a lot of tension on the line with your finger just enough to keep the fishing lure from falling when the reel is put into free spool mode.

Step 3: Open the reel bail. The bail is a loop of wire on the rotating rim outside and behind the reel spool. It gathers the line when you reel in and deposits it on the spool. Opening it moves it out of the way of the line so you can cast your lure.

Step 4: Pull the rod tip back so the tip sweeps over your dominant shoulder, and then bring it forward swiftly pointing the rod tip at your target. As the rod comes forward of your shoulder, release the line with your finger so the weight of the lure pulls line off the reel.

Step 5: Close the bail with your opposite hand and begin your retrieval. Note: To avoid line twist always use your hand to close the bail, do not use the handle to close the bail.

After knowing the basic steps, here are some little tips may be helpful for you.

1. It is important to face your target tip when casting a spinning rod. This will make it much easier to make an accurate cast and also avoid putting strain on your back while casting.

2. A common problem of using a spinning reel is that the line twisting. If you meet this problem, you can use a snap swivel at the end of the fishing line.

3. Practice makes perfect. Casting the spinning reel is a skilled work, you can learn it at an open space. If you practice enough at home, you will find you can cast you reel easily when fishing.