Holoholo: Using inexpensive level wind bait caster for shore whipping

Matthew explains in very relateable terms how level wind bait casters have become a joy to fish, once he got past the learning curve.

Matthew: Yes, I use a baitcaster for whipping, but not the kind you would use for Oio or Ulua. Uncle Scott had done a review on level-wind baitcasters in 2017, but I thought it would be good to revisit the topic, especially with the success I’ve had with them recently.

The kind of baitcaster that Scott, a few others, and I use in Hawaii are the bass reels that are made on the mainland. He uses the Tranx 400 along with a few other baitcasters like the Concept Z. I, however, am not willing to pay the large amount of money it takes to get one of those better reels, so here I am with my Abu Garcia Blackmax. It still is a very good reel, but it has more tangles than the rest of the reels also.

I use my Blackmax for whipping for Kaku, Papio, and whatever else will bite the lures I am throwing. I find it really shines in sub-surface lures, but I find it really lacks in popper and walk-the-dog lure fishing. It is hard to reel up the slack fast enough to continuously fish a popper the right way, and in walk-the-dog lures, I have a hard time walking any lure at all.

I originally started with spinners, until I saw a guy fishing the shoreline with those bass reels I had seen on mainland bass fishing videos. It kind of started curiosity about baitcasters. I researched more about baitcasters, until I finally realized that Uncle Scott used baitcasters also. I purchased the cheapest reel I could find, the Abu Garcia Blackmax, which I bought for 48 dollars. At the time, I thought that was really expensive, but it wasn’t until later I started getting into better spinning reels, like the Ultegra, and that isn’t even close to the top of the line.

I spooled some line on it and tried to figure out how to even release the line into free spool mode. It took me a while to figure that out. When I finally did that, I couldn’t figure out why the line was bunching up on one side of the reel until I realized there was a hole I had to place the line through first. Duh. I finally got comfortable with the small five meter casts, and then I tried to bomb it as far as I could. Big mistake. At the time I couldn’t figure out why it kept tangling each time I casted. So, I tossed the rod and reel in the storage closet until I finally met up with Uncle Scott. He showed me some quick tips and how to fish it better. From then on, I fished it a lot more, and eventually got proficient at it.

One thing I find good about the baitcaster is if there is no wind, then you can cast it a lot farther than a spinner would. If there is a tailwind, like in one spot I fish, then you can cast farther than I would have ever imagined a cast can go. However, if there is a frontal wind, baitcast fishing sucks. You will get wind knots if you have braid, and almost certainly get tangled a few times. Another plus about baitcasters is the conveniency of casting. I can cast with only one hand if I really want to, even if it casts a little less than a two handed cast, it still is good if you need to rest your other hand for a short while before reeling it in. Baitcasters in general are just lighter than spinners too.

If you were to purchase a baitcaster, I would suggest that you ask Scott or any other guy you know that fishes a baitcaster. Look for the gear ratio, which if you read it right, it can tell you how many inches per crank it retrieves. I am currently looking for a high speed baitcaster. Another thing you want to look for in baitcasters is the line capacity. Most of the reels on the mainland only have 100 or so yards, because bass don’t run at all. You want to have a baitcaster fit for Hawaii’s hard running gamefish, so 200+ yards in case you run into a big Papio. If you have any questions for me, shoot me a question through my email, matthewikeda808@gmail.com.