Do alot of people use bait casters for Crappie??

[whitten1823]

I just seen some photo's from Lindy's Facebook page and I seen a few guys that had them in there hands. Advantages?? Disadvantages??

[WhiteMeat]

I noticed that too the other day. I'd never really thought about pitchin'/flippin' with a 10' pole, but it makes sense. When the crappie are skitish it would be a lot better to stay off of 'em a bit and drop a bait nice and quiet over 'em. And it is much easier (for me) to pitch with a baitcaster than a spinning reel. I'm thinking those boys may be on to something... Thumbs Up

[deathb4disco]

Depends on what you're doing. I think a lot of guys use them for trolling. I cast jigs no heavier that 1/16 oz. Baitcasters are useless for that.

[Blackhawk19]

I use ultra lite spinning reels on my poles.

[tholmes]

THe short answer is "no".

I'm sure there are a few, but not a lot.

Imho, baitcasters are better suited to lines of 8lbs. and over and lures 1/4 oz. and heavier. With these line ad lure weights, I'll take a baitcaster over spinning every time.

Tom

[yikess]

A lot of folks troll the MS big four with baitcasters, 10# hi-vis.

[PawPaw Gene]

If you're going to be pitching for pan fish, why burden yourself with a heavy rod and reel. I used to pitch with a spinning reel but having the handle on the left side, which is the way I use a spinning reel, means I was always tangling the line in the handle. Also had the weight of the spinning reel to contend with. To solve the problem of the weight of the reel and the tangles, I've purchased a J.B. Salter jig pole and reel set up. It seems almost too simple to to believe, but it's as light of a rig you'll ever use making it a pleasure to fish for an extended time. With practice, as per J.B.'s instructions, you can flip a jig 30 feet or more and just ease the jig into the water. There is some discussion about the set up and the maker of the poles at this link.

http://www.crappie.com/crappie/louis...hing-trip.html

Here are a couple of pictures of the set up, and believe me, done according to JB's way it works like no other. Your thumb acts as a drag and brake and to take up line you just run your hand over the reel, turning the spool. No handle to tangle.

[LBM]

I just seen some photo's from Lindy's Facebook page and I seen a few guys that had them in there hands. Advantages?? Disadvantages??

If you've seen Paul O'Bier's "Fishing Standing Timber" video you'll see him using bait casters on his rods.

He was just flipping his jigs into the standing timber and was just pulling line off the bait caster a certain number of line pulls to fish at his desired depth.

I don't recall whether he was using braid or mono but the bait caster would certainly help eliminate those line twists problems associated with spinning reels.

Here is a short Youtube video of him fishing standing timber using a bait caster.
YouTube - Crappie Fishing Timber

[Dutch552]

I am in the process of switching my spider rigging rods over to baitcasters from spinning reels. Easier to quickly adjust depth with the thumb bar and not disturb the rest of the t-bar. Still use lite spinning gear for casting/vertical jigging.

[kingkrappie]

Short answer, yes, most trollers use baitcasters down here, holds big line, high ratio, low profile, and outlast most other reels.
A lot of vertical jiggers who use rear reel seated rods need a heavy reel for balance, including myself, again low profile and durability also a factor, I have 12 on various trolling and jig poles in my boat, couldn't cast one of my life depended on it!