What is a baitcasting reel

On a baitcasting reel the spool rotates — both on the retrieve and during the cast. That is the source of its strength and of its main weakness: the line runs cleanly only while the spool is turning at exactly the speed the lure is flying.

The name and what it covers

English sources call this type a baitcaster or a baitcasting reel; older and European usage calls the same thing a multiplier. The name arrived with a fishing culture built around largemouth bass, a fish that does not live in our waters, and the tackle traditions came with it.

Where backlash comes from

Air slows the lure while the spool keeps spinning on its own momentum. Surplus line leaves faster than the lure takes it up and piles into a nest. That is backlash, known to anglers as a bird’s nest.

Two braking systems work against it: magnetic and centrifugal. The first slows the spool with a magnetic field, the second with shoes thrown outward by rotation. On top of those sits the spool tension knob.

When it wins

A baitcaster handles heavy loads better than a spinning reel of the same size: the pull goes straight onto the spool spindle. So it is chosen for heavy lures, trolling and hauling fish out of snags.

The second gain is control. The spool can be thumbed in mid-flight, and the lure lands where it was aimed.

Low-profile and round

By body shape baitcasters split into two kinds. Low-profile ones are flat and sit in the palm — they go on casting rods for bank and boat. Round ones hold more line and take more load: that is trolling and sea fishing.

The line is usually chosen for its lack of stretch: braided line passes force to the spool without sag, so the brakes behave predictably. The rod is different too, with the rings arranged differently from a spinning rod — the types are covered in the fishing rods section.

Why it is less common here

A baitcaster has to be learned: the first casts will almost certainly produce a nest. It also works poorly with very light lures, whose weight is not enough to spin the spool evenly. For most of the methods common here, a spinning reel is simpler and cheaper.