Spincasting 101

[jigtosser]

First I will tell you a boring story. My nephew lost one of his arms. Taken off at the shoulder. He was a avid fisherman and after the surgery he was totally lost without doing the one thing he really loved. One of the things I used to do many years ago was run a machinery design shop so I knew a little about how to Rube Goldberg a thing or two. I made a rod holder out of pvc and fastened it to a big belt buckle and then at the top end I installed a neck strap. I had to use a casting rod with a long handle to be able to provide sufficient leverage. Now the tricky part. Almost all of the problems with a spincast reel is if you do not have tension on the line it will eventually ball up inside the reel. I have seen them so bad the line had to be cut loose and new line put on. Now how to solve this problem. He had to use a spincast reel and the open face was out and almost impossible to cast with only one hand. What I ended up doing is to make 2 small hooks out of a straight pin, then solder one hook on each side of the reel cover so they would be in line of the center of the hole where the line comes out. They were placed just in front of the cover threads. Next I used a 1/2" plastic bead and ran a rubber band through the hole in the bead and hooked each end of the rubber band to each one of the hooks. The bead sat in the hole of reel and when he wanted to cast he would take a finger and flip the ball down, cast, put the rod back into the rod holder then flip the bead over the hole and start the retrieve. Worked like a charm and he has been using this rig of several years now without a problem. Now for the good part. I took it to Zebco and let them try it out and they liked it so much they were willing to donate rods and reels for the ones I make to offer to others who need them. I had the retail set at $250.00 so anyone could afford one. When I presented it to several of the companies that handled products of the amputee they were not interested because they could not make enough money on it. They wanted something they could sell in the $2000.00 range. After trying for a year I gave up. Now to Spincast 101. This is for new user, when you start your retrieve you need to keep a steady tension on the line. This will serve two purposes, one it will keep the line from becoming so loose it will cause the reel to stop working and it will also keep the line clean. You can do this two ways, one is to run the line between the thumb and forefinger and the other is to cup the reel in the holding hand and cover the hole with your forefinger. I much prefer the first method. At the end of the day run out about 50 yards of line without anything on the end and reel in the line holding it between the fingers and place a small cloth over the line while the thumb and finger are holding the line. This will not only clean the line but take out the twist. Later on I will do a post showing how I spool the line to avoid twisting. Some of you seasoned spincast users need to jump in and add to this to truly have a course on Spincasting

101

[crappieseeker]

I generally run the line through my fingers like that but not sure I understand what you mean by the rag thing

[Bronson]

That's always been the way I held the line between my thumb and forefinger but I held my hand further back. To get the twist out of the line I used to use a product I bought from Bass Pro called the "Twist Out." It looked like 2 rubber erasers helf together with a bolt and wing nut. Before a trip I would put my rod up against something and hit the button on the spincast so it would release line adn I would walk across the yard as far as I hoped to cast it.
I would go back and engage the reel and clamp the line at the rod tip and start walking. I would keep the loose line in my left hand and use the "Twist Out" in my right. You couldn't hold it too tight or you would burn the line. Too loose and you weren't going to straighten your line either. You could tell when you finished because if done correctly the line would be stretched out in a straight line behind you.

[jigtosser]

I wondered if I made it clear on how to use the rag. I will try again. Take a small piece of cloth, 1' wide 2' long. Wrap it around the line one time and pinch the rag between your thumb and forefinger so that when you reel in the line it will be putting tension on the line as well as wiping it clean.

Bronson, the thing you used was originally made for fly fisherman. They pulled their coiled leader material through it to take out the coils. Mine was leather with the rubber pads inside. You are right, go easy or you will burn the line and severely weaken it.

[crappieseeker]

I get it now

[Turtlebait]

I cup the spincast and let the line run on top of my forefinger,I can feel the bite before the thump.

[kyron4]

I use alot of spincast reels and the trick to keeping problem free is not overfilling the spool and remove twist after a day of fishing.

[crappieseeker]

I run into two things, if I overspool I have a little trouble, but if I underspool and break off, then I do not have enough line and have to respool. I always add a little extra, then if I need to remove some I do. I love my spinning reels so I do not care to battle the issues

[jigtosser]

I neglected to mention the issue of too much line and I am afraid I am guilty of doing more times than not. Thanks for bringing it up.