Took my new Shimano Curado out for the first time to practice at a small lake in Eldorado Park in Long Beach and it was a humbling experience... I need a lot of practice with this new reel, having used a spinner my whole life. First cast - backlash... followed by several more....

I started to get the hang of it after a while... keeping my thumb on the spool, etc., but man - is it really this hard to learn? Please tell me that some of you had similar experiences with your first bait caster!!

Anyone have any tips for a newbie with a baitcaster? Needless to say, I didn't catch any fish and spent most of my time dealing with these backlashes!

has the magnetic control, make sure its set correctly. if it was windy yesterday, dont practice first-time in the wind. this can mess you up. you need a tad of experience in the wind. and, i always started with about 2 1/2-3 ft already out and kind of "rainbow" it out till you can bullet it out there. when you start the cast, in my experiences, freespool it until it is halfway to where you want it to be, then THUMB CONTROL!!! be sure to stop itas soon as it hits the water

The curado uses little plastic weights on one side of the spool to brake it. To get at them, unscrew the side plate on the opposite side from the handle. You'll see six spokes on the side of the spool and each one has a tiny little chunk of plastic on the end. You can push these chunks in two different positions, in or out. The more you have on the out position (closer to the rim of the spool) the slower the spool will spin and it will be easier to cast. You might want to try it out first with all the pins pushed out. You can also slow down the spool by adjusting the knob underneath the star drag. The pins are more effective though.

A good lure to practice with is a 1/2 oz rattle trap. And it will catch fish now too. Another thing that reduces backlashes for me is to cast sidearm. Don't know why, but it seemed to help when I was learning.

Good luck,

Nico

I just started last year with a Curado and had the same hard time...I'm getting better now, with only occasional backlashes. The key really is to practice. Start out with 3 of the clutch magnets engaged(extended). Adjust the clutch friction(the knob on the left) until your lure just barely drops with your rod held at 45 degrees. If your lure doesn't move, but will creep down when you shake the rod tip, that's where you want it. As soon as the lure hits the water stop the spool with your thumb.
I don't know if this is the correct advice but it's what has been working for me. I'm now pretty good with a sidearm cast but still have problems casting overhead to get the lure to go where I want it to.
Good luck and practice as often as you can.

Good tips above :-) Yes it takes a long time to get really dialed with a baitcaster, but it will be worth your time. I learned how to cast a conventional reel with a Penn Squidder 501 when I was about 10 years old. I thought I would never get the hang of it. Just gotta start out with the weights and the mechanical brake and everything and wean yourself off from there. On my curados I turn off all of the spool weights and back the mechanical brake out until it's totally freespool. If you want a real challenge, get a Corsair. I don't know why but those reels backlash easier than any other reel I have fished. Get a Corsair dialed in and you will probably never backlash again :-) Good luck and stick with it.

Thanks for the tips. I know it's going to take a heck of a lot of practice. I don't get as much time on the water as I'd like... so every moment is precious, making the learning process even more frustrating - but will continue to make the effort to learn how to use this.

It's very reassuring to hear others started out with some frustrations as well. I appreciate all the tips and if anyone else has something to offer, please feel free. I was aware of the braking system, but had no idea how to actually set the reel according to the weight of the lure, etc. The tip about how the lure should hang and fall is an espeically helpful tip.

I'll also have to try the side-arm technique... especially since that's how I usually cast my spinning gear! Again, thanks and keep those suggestions coming!

I'll keep at it!

you know...you don't have wait till you get on the water to practice casting. tie on a weight and go in your back yard and just keep at it.

Thanks again for all the tips... I got to pratice a little bit more this past weekend and all the tips really paid off. Did not catch any fish - but did a much better job of casting with far fewer backlashes!

Thanks again for your tips. I hope to get out next weekend for some more fine tuning.