Spinning vs Baitcasting Reels

Remember that old school Zebco 404 push button reel? In the early 80’s, mine was a pea soup pukey green color with an ivory white button, but I’ll tell ya what, it might be ugly, but was easy enough to use and got the job done to get me into fishing as a kid.

Obviously, reels have evolved exponentially, but most still harbor the same basic designs and are broken into two general categories – spinning and baitcasting –  both with their individual advantages and drawbacks. Spinners are known for their easy operability, and are fantastic in order to introduce someone new to fishing. You just flip the bail, finger the line and cast it, then simply turn the handle to reel it back in. Just please make sure they don’t hold the reel upside down, that’s embarrassing to everyone around. Spinners really shine when using lighter lures like soft baits and topwaters as the furthest cast is only limited by how hard you want to wing the lure. Line simply flows off the spool with no drag restriction, allowing light lures to launch far.

On the other end of the spectrum, baitcasting reels allow for casting heavier lures like jigs, spinner baits and crankbaits with pinpoint accuracy, but there is a dialed in drag resistance and require a higher skill set to be able to thumb the spool as line flows off. If you can’t find that sweet spot of thumb pressure, you’ll experience a backlash bird’s nest of line tangle. Generally, you can launch a lure further with a baitcaster as the line flows directly straight off the spool and not in a circular motion as with a spinning reel. However, baitcasters do take some time to master and practice is needed to dial one in to your comfort zone. A proficient baitcaster will have mastery over accuracy and distance in the long run after plenty of practice and are preferred when fishing locations that demand such, while a spinning reel can be used in virtually every situation possible.

Bottom line – pick the spinner for inexperienced anglers and for all around usage, employ the baitcaster when focus and precision is needed in a challenging environment such as lily pads or dock pilings.