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When this topic first appeared I grabbed a spinning rod and reel and went into the yard to experiment a little. Since then I had a chance to try some of these techniques on the water with a variety of spinning rod/reel set-ups and different lure weights. I was casting actual lures in fishy places rather than practice casting plugs.

As John pointed out, the finger-on-spool technique doesn't really work with heavier lures ... I found that anything above about 1/4 oz. was problematic. No doubt you could develop the ability to handle somewhat heavier lures if you worked at it. Also I've got fairly small hands so someone with longer and wider fingers might be able to pin and release the line properly with more weight.

John Waters wrote: ↑Mon Nov 08, 2021 8:57 pm In my opinion, holding the line against the spool offers a smoother release than the over the fingertip method, especially with small diameter line.

I think you're probably right John.

In Washington DC, when the shad run up the Potomac in early spring, you have quite a cast of characters--from lobbyists, lawyers and bureaucrats to taxi drivers--catching and releasing the fish with a variety of tackle. There are always a few guys who wrap monofilament line around a beer can (the Schlitz Malt Liquor Tall Boy can is preferred because of its length and high alcohol content) and throw a jig bola-style, controlling the line coming off the can with their fingertip.



I cast a fly rod left-handed, bait casting outfit left-handed, and spinning reel with either hand (though predominantly right-handed). It's very helpful to be able to switch sides when "power fishing" for hours on end, especially throwing large surface plugs for Snook and large Crevalle Jacks (which are related to and fight similar to Giant Trevally). When holding a spinning reel with my left hand, I was actually not able to effectively control the release of line with it pressed against the spool. This might be something that could be overcome with practice, but it felt very awkward. On the other hand, unlike with right-handed casting, the bail naturally flips out of the way to allow clear access to finger the spool without any special adjustment. It doesn't do you much good though because the finger is at an awkward angle relative to the line coming off the spool.

Back to right-handed casting. Of the several spinning reels that I experimented with, some were easier to control with the finger on the spool than others. On one of my light/ultralight reels, the rotor and bail tended to rotate on some casts into a position that interfered with my finger. I never noticed that before with my finger feathering the line ahead of the spool. On the other hand, my Shimano Vanford (a new model in the last year or two) is built with the spool farther in front of the bail and rotor, and the bail itself seems to have been curved to keep it out of the way. I never would have noticed that small design detail had I not tried the finger-on-spool method.

All of these issues should go away if you use a manual bail. When I was in my early teens (55+ years ago) they sold conversion kits for some of the Abu and Penn reels so you could remove the bail assembly and install a simple line roller. without the bail. It was great because it forced me to learn to control the line at all times with my index finger. I wish I still had my old Mitchell 308 with a manual bail.



Here in the US there's a technique called "skipping" in which you make an overpowered cast parallel with the water surface in order to make the lure skip up under a dock or overhanging foliage. Usually the cast is made with the rod tip close to the water surface, but the technique shown by Adam Royter would probably come in handy in some circumstances for driving a lure under an obstruction.

Mangrove Cuckoo wrote: ↑Tue Nov 09, 2021 1:12 am Its gonna take some practice. But it might be a better way of doing things compared to my default technique of "feathering" the line with my left hand.

BTW... I seldom agree with John on most things, but I got to give it to him on this one.

Yes I plan to work on this technique a little as well. It will be interesting to compare notes.

BTW, when I preview this post, the images show up at the end rather than in-line where I placed the tags. Not sure if this will fix itself when I actually post it or if I've done something wrong

Edit: I meant to mention that when I cast a spinning reel left-handed, I control the line with my right hand ahead of the reel and partially cupped around the spool and rotor. I've never been able to properly feather the line from the left side. The method of cupping the reel however is pretty effective and gives total control of the line once you get your hand in position. It also puts the hand in position to close the bail properly (by manually flipping it rather than turning the handle).

Share you thoughts on removing the bail arm for light lures Mark, have taken the arm off my both my trout spinning and my tournament accuracy reels. Much easier to use that way.

John

7wt,

Skipping a 5" soft plastic jerk bait back under the branches cannot be done with the line trapped against the rim... or at least I can't. I have to hang the line over my finger to get enough zing into the cast. But, curiously, I found that opening the bail "wrong" and then catching the line to hang still works... and I can then feather with my finger. Although I still resort to "cupping" with my other hand when the cast takes off and heads toward trouble. There is feathering and then there is slamming on the brakes and, so far, when panic sets in the old habit wins every time.

You are really showing your age by bringing up the trimmed off bails! That reminded me that I have beautiful old Luxor spinning reel with the customized 1" bail. I took it to the fly shop I used to work at to put it in with the cool old antiques. Now I wonder how I'm going to get it back out of there!

The best sealed reels for NE striped bass fishing are all manual pickups. Feathering the line to prevent large aerodynamically handicapped plugs from tumbling and tangling is also standard practice.