After mastering a closed faced spincasting reel, novice anglers usually advance to the open-face spinning reel.
The closed-face spincaster is actually a simplified variation of the open face, so the transition is fairly seamless. Besides a couple of extra steps, but otherwise the learning curve is gentle.
Whereas the open-face spincasting reel is a beginner's instrument with limited advanced applications, the open-face spinning reel is extremely versatile, even for master anglers.
For example, my first proper rod and reel outfit was a cheap Berkley spinning combo that my dad gave me in 1972. I used it in creeks and golf course ponds to catch small bass and bluegill. In the summer of 1974, I accompanied my parents to the Grand Tetons in Wyoming. My dad and I took a side trip to the Snake River, which was high and wild. It was cold and spitting rain, so Dad went back to the comfort of the car.
My lure was a Mepps Comet, an inline spinnerbait with an integral soft plastic minnow. I cast as far as I could and let the river carry it a long way downstream before closing the bail and beginning the retrieve. I don't know how many fruitless casts I made, but it was at least 30. And then, the bait collided with something solid. I felt a power surge through my rod, and then I saw the biggest fish of my life burst airborne from the water. There was too much line out to set the hook properly, and the fish quickly shed the lure. I cast probably 30 more times without another bite, but that remains one of the highlights of my fishing life.
One of the most exciting fish I ever caught was with a fishing reel. It was a trophy snook in a canal near St. Petersburg, Fla. I was fishing with Bill AuCoin of St. Petersburg and Ron Henry Strait, the former outdoors editor for the San Antonio Express News. On two occasions I used spinning reels to catch mahi-mahi off the Delaware coast and in the Sea of Cortez in southern Baja California. I have also used them to catch speckled sea trout, red drum and even sharks, including some big sharks.
Given their versatility, the spinning rig can be a "do everything, every man rig." You can use it with any bottom contact bait like jigs and soft plastic worms and creature baits. You can use it with spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, crankbaits and swimbaits. The only application where it is at a disadvantage is casting to bass in heavy cover. A bass in heavy cover often strikes immediately, and the time it takes to close the bail and take up the slack will often cause you to miss the fish.
A spinning reel is a long reel that hangs horizontally from a spinning rod, which is identifiable by its line guides. The guide closest to the reel rises high off the rod and is very wide to accommodate the wide line loops that unfurl off the reel when casting. The guides get progressively narrower and lower closer to the tip.
The reel is identifiable by its wide spool of exposed line. A circular metal bar, or bail, is attached to the reel body. The line comes through the guides and loops over a guide on the bail. In the down position, the bail holds the line stationary.
When you turn the reel handle, a series of internal gears turns the spool, which oscillates up and down to wind line evenly on the spool.
When you open the bail, it pivots on a spring and snaps open on a detent. When you turn the reel handle, the detent disengages, and the bail falls back closed, allowing you to retrieve line. Experienced anglers close the bail manually.
You can cast accurately and very far, but the main advantage to a spinning reel is that it will not backlash when casting. Its inherent disadvantage is the way it twists line when retrieving. Eventually this will cause your line to tangle so hopelessly that you will have to remove all of the line and respool. You can untwist line by periodically opening the bail and dragging a long amount behind a boat or letting current carry it downstream. Close the bail and let the water unwind it, and then reel it in.
A spinning rig shines when stream fishing. Small, 1000 and 1500 series spinning reels are custom made for moving water, light line and small, light baits. However, they can handle very large fish if you set the drag correctly. The drag adjustment is usually on the front of the spool, so it's easy to adjust while fighting a fish.
Also, when a fish takes drag on a spinning reel, it makes a very satisfying metallic whine that makes even a 12-inch smallmouth bass sound and feel like a monster. Most of my stream baits are about 3 to 31/2 inches, and 1/8 ounce is about the heaviest weight I use. For really fast or really deep water, I'll use 1/4 ounce. I generally use 6-pound test line in streams.
For lakes and ponds, I use a 1500 or 2000 series reel with appropriate line for the depth and cover. Around wood cover and lily pads, I start with 10-pound test line.
For striped bass, I use 3000 and 4000 series rods with small diameter, heavy test braided line.
For most fishing, a medium action rod mated to a suitable size reel for the game you are pursuing handles most situations, including stripers and other big game.
For largemouth bass I like a fast tip for jigs and worms, and a slower tip for spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, chatterbaits, swimbaits and crankbaits.
For trout fishing, I prefer a light-action rod and a 1000 or 1500 series reel and 4- to 6-pound test line.
For crappie and bream, I prefer a 1000 series reel and a rod with an ultralight action and 4-pound test line.
Spinning rigs are a lot of fun to use, and you can master them quickly for a lifetime of fishing fun.
This is the second in a series about learning the art of fishing.
Sports on 04/09/2020