Baitcasting Reel vs Spinning Reel

Hey, this is Luke Symes with Salt Strong. Today we're going to be talking about the best type of rod and reel for inshore, saltwater fishing. This is something that I did wrong for many years and I wasted money, and so I just wanted to make sure that you don't make the same mistake. And so what I did, I came from the Bass World and we're talking about saltwater baitcasting reels compared to spinning reels for inshore saltwater fishing. I came from bass fishing and I was exclusively using bait casting reels. I loved them and I actually frowned upon, I looked down upon spinning reels, thinking that they were for beginners. So when I transitioned this to saltwater, I stuck with the bait casting gear and I really struggled. I really struggled for a long time. And what really helped me improve, is actually once I did start using spinning tackle again, and I'll explain to you the reasons why, at least the reasons why I think it was, and I'll be very curious to get your thoughts as well on spinning verse bait casting for inshore fishing, but the reason why I personally think that spinning tackle is the better way to go for just all round in shore salt water fishing, is because it enables you, especially if using braid, braid was a game changer for spinning gear. When I was originally using the spinning tackle, it was with mono. Mono, you're going to have to use it for a little bit, the memory really hurts your cast that you're casting performance, and then now braid comes along and it's a game changer. It's a thin line, no memory, casts a mile, great feel.

So what I'll do is I'll explain, the pros and cons of each type, at least my perception of them, and I'll be really curious to hear your thoughts as well. I'm definitely not saying that is set in stone, a lot of this is personal preference, but obviously I'll at least explain to you my opinion on why my results got better once I moved to spinning compared with casting. So, as far as the pros and cons of casting gear, this has a huge advantage for flipping. For flipping jigs up under docs, on short casts that need to be very, very accurate. It's hard to say that spinning can get anywhere as good as bait casting because your thumb is in complete control. Also, for casting heavier lures, like big plugs, casting gear will generally get you better results. Where it doesn't do quite so well is when casting really light lures, especially if you're trying to cast into the wind or crosswind.

And another area that these types of reels don't do so well at, is with skip casting, and I'm talking about the longer skips where it's like a 40 to 50, or even more, foot cast and you're still trying to skip up under in a mangrove, because you just never know how far after the lure hits the first time, how far it's going to skip. It could just totally bury itself in the water or it could skip 10 plus feet. And so it's really hard to control the line with your thumb. And that's a really big deal in my opinion because I'm often fishing, your docks are up in her mangroves, and I need that long cast, it can be shallow so I can't get right up close to it and I need that long cast and I need to be able to get it as far back as possible without having to deal with birds nest.

And now for spinning gear, I would say that the top pro is that at least number one, and this is a big one in my opinion, is I can cast these light soft plastics where it's just a soft plastic jerkbait rigged on a weighted hook, this is like my go-to lure, I love this lure, I trust it for snoek, red fish, trout, flounder, bass, anything that's feeding up in the shallows, like three feet or less, is I can cast these light lures a very long distance. This was actually the setup that I was using when I caught that snoek from the balcony. I could not have done that with a bait caster, I just didn't have the room to make the back cast and that lure was so light, it was just a little four inch jerkbait with the little weighted hook, this exact weighted hook. And I would not have been able to get the distance with the bait caster that I was able to do with the spinning.

Another pro was for skip casting. These are really, really good for skip casting because you don't have to control the line with your finger. So, if you are doing a skip, whether it's a short cast or a long cast, you just let the line go. And so whether it is barriers itself when it first hits the water, or if it skips 10 plus feet, you're not going to get a backlash because the line is basically getting pulled by the lures, so as soon as the lure stops, the line will stop soon thereafter and you won't get a frustrating birds nest like you could with the bait caster.

So as far as the cons of spinning tackle is that number one, you can't really get as good a performance with the heavier lures, and you can buy a stiffer rod. Generally bait casting rods are a little bit stiffer than spinning, so you can go out and buy the stronger rods for spinning tackle, you know it is possible, but even still, it's still not quite as good as a bait casting, you can't cast quite as far with the heavier gear but it still does pretty good and especially for using light line, it can actually launch. It can actually outperform a lot of people using bait casters if you rig it up properly and use the right setup in a good rod.

Another con is that these are prone for wind knot, so if you are fishing in windy days and if you're not controlling the line, it's all about those first couple turns of the handle after you cast. If you don't control the line properly or if you put too much line on there, it's going to get a wind knot, it's going to get very frustrating. I put a link down below on how to prevent wind knots for spinning tackle, in case you haven't yet seen that. And the third con is that just the line retrieval is genuinely not quite as fast as it is with bait casting. It seems like a lot of these bait casting reels have faster retrieved speeds, but I personally don't see that as a huge issue. That's just something that I've noticed that people who do really like these kind of tout as being a benefit, but overall, you know, if you are going to just pick one rod, one set up to cover everything, I would say it should definitely be spinning.

And that's something that I really had to learn the hard way after really a few years of really struggling to figure out in shore fishing where I was trying to cast these light lures with the bait casting gear, and yes it is possible, but I was very surprised at how effective the spinning gear is. So, I started fishing with spinning, I graduated, in my mind, to bait casting. I used these exclusively for probably 10 plus years while bass fishing, totally frowned upon spinning, thinking it was for beginners, and then realized they are actually pretty effective, especially with braid. I do not recommend these with mono.

What I've found works, at least for the type of fishing I do where I'm fishing shallow water for big snoek, big red sea trout, flounder, is seven to seven and a half foot rod with a 3,000, maybe 2,500 to 3,000, size spinning reel, 10 pound braid. And that's been a combination that has been super effective. So, I highly recommend that for anglers who are just looking to get a setup. For all round inshore fishing, this so far, has been the best that I've found. I'm not going to try to sell you on any particular product, it really doesn't matter to me which one you buy, and I've tested out a lot, I put links down below for tests on both rods and reels. And so far there hasn't been one that has been just totally, Oh my gosh, this is the best one ever. Each one has their own pros and cons and so it's really up to you to decide.

I just wanted to make this video just to make sure that you're doing your search in the right arena, on the spinning arena versus the bait casting. But if you have found that bait casting gear has been outperforming spinning, in your opinion, please do leave a comment down below, I'd love to hear your thoughts. This isn't about saying that it's spinning is the way to go and nothing else. I'm totally open to hear your ideas. And I had been testing this out again, I haven't yet found just an all round views for this over spinning. But so far with plugs, I like this best with heavier lures and I'm throwing plugs, I'm throwing top water lures. These seem to be much more popular over in Texas and Louisiana. We have a lot of customers over there who have been asking about my opinion on bait casters and those are really popular over there and I believe a big reason is because a lot of people are using the heavier bobbers like the weighted bobbers with a lure underneath it, and you see you need a little bit stiffer rod to heat those out and you really need a stiffer rod to work it, where you're both working the bobber and the lure but below it, so you need a little bit stronger action rod, which generally puts the big casting above the spinning.

All right, well that's it for now. Just wanted to share my thoughts, at least share my big finding, my big 'aha' that the spinning tackle isn't just for beginners, it actually can be very effective and actually does have many uses that put it at the forefront as far as being the most effective. Yes, it's not the best for everything, but it does do everything at least pretty good, which makes it a good choice for just having one setup that can kind of do everything. And I put links down below on the different rods, reels, and everything that I've tested out so far, so if you have any questions or feedback, please don't hesitate to use the comment section down below. Otherwise, I hope you get out on the water soon and catch the big ones.