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[huntwriter]

I purchased a level-wind reel and find that I am having some difficulty casting with it. This is my first attempt at using a level-wind. As of this writing I am still practicing with it in my backyard. Any advice on casting techniques to avoid “birds nest” and backlashes would be greatly appreciated.
Or if anyone lives near Maple Ridge and would be willing to personally tutor me for an hour or so to get the basics down that would be very much appreciated too.

Thanks.

[~IvAn~]

Set your tension nob so that the weight slowly drops to the ground. At first don't try to really swing it out there...give slow and light swings (start with side casts) until you get used to using your thumb on the spool. The main thing when using these kind of reel is thumb control, never let your thumb off the spool. 

[Sam Salmon]

Good advice from Ivan and in the end unles you're using a really short rod side casts are most of what you'll be doing.

Don't be afraid to clamp down with your thumb at the end of a cast-and practise feathering the spool with your thumb during a casr as he says-that's what most people do.

Having a target on the ground to shoot at will help too.

[huntwriter]

Thank you for your advice. I own the reel for two days now and have been practicing in my backyard. As suggested by Sam Salmon I am using targets (sheets of newspaper) to aim at.

I do use the thumb to feather the spool but I guess I have to practice a lot more to get the coordination of movement and thumb pressure ingrained in the brain. A bit like shooting a bow instinctively I guess. On the subject of feathering the spool, the little information I could find on the internet on that topic greatly varies in opinions.

Some advocate to feather by holding the thumb directly onto the reel (line), while others advocate to feather on the reel mound. The opinion is that if you feather on the spool only the line will be stopped/slowed down but the drum under the line still keeps moving.

What’s the opinion on that from the experts here?

Lol Sam Salmon at your signature “Okuma is junk”. The new reel I purchased is the Okuma Induron ID 400LX. No particular reason for choosing the reel other than that I wanted a reel in an average price class and that reel was available. My thinking was, why spend a lot of money on a high end quality/price reel and not knowing if I like level-wind reels or stick with spin cast reels.

Thank you all again for the advice given and feel free to add more wisdom.

[EZ_Rolling]

What I used when I first started was I spooled our about 30 feet of line then put a little piece of tape on the spool then thats as far as it could backlash worked pretty well for me.

[marmot]

I remember my first levelwind , a little shimano baitcaster I used for bass.  What a nightmare those first few days were...got it specifically for a trip and spent the whole trip cutting birdsnests out!

Anyways, I solved it by increasing the drag on it so that it would not freespool as easily until I got the hang of using thumb pressure.  This let me avoid the birdsnest, and while not casting as far it did let me get a lot of good practice in.  Gradually I decreased the forward drag on it until it freespooled completely and all I was using was thumb pressure.....the nice thing is that its like riding a bike.  I hadn't done it for probably 10 years and two years ago borrowed a completely different reel (much larger)...maybe a convergence?....anyways, I was casting it no problem right away. 

You'll get it, just hang tight.....oh and also it might help to not spool it up with  crazy amounts of line right off the bat....for practice anyways.  Always easier managing less line that it tighter spooled.  my 2c anyways.  oh and what ivan said about side casts ...agree 100%!  Once you start thumbing it you'll be blown away at how accurate your casting can be.  Much much more so than a spinning reel IMO ..almost as accurate as a flyrod.

ps..is this huntwriter from huntingbc? Ive been meaning to ask a couple of turkey questions as I'm headed out soon to rock creek to christina lake area ..completely new to it.

[huntwriter]

Again thanks for the valuable advice given so far. I have applied the suggestions and can tell you all that this has already shown 70% improvement today.

I like EZ Rolling’s advice to tape the line down. I also tried out different feathering applications. I made a few short casts feathering on the line part of the drum, followed by casts feathering on the drum mound. It is my feeling that feathering works better on the drum mound than with the thumb direct on the line.

Marmot- I will stick with it until I either get the hang of it or find out that I am all thumbs. Interesting that you should mention flyrods. I have been thinking for a while now to add flyfishing to my fishing arsenal, so that probably will be the next adventure.

Yes this is Huntwriter from HBC. Shoot away, no pun intended, with any questions you may have about turkey hunting. I am not a paying member here at FWR, meaning you can’t send me PM’s here, but you can use my PM on HBC or email me.

In the meantime you might find some answers on my turkey hunting website,  Wild Turkey Fever

[Gooey]

Put extra weight on as well.  Having a little extra weight helps in a couple of ways: heavier weights will pull the line out making feathering (with your thumb) a little easier and the heavier your weight, the more momentum it will have. Hard fast "snappy" casts are the ones that need the most feathering and have the greatest chance of backlashing so weight up and use soft under hand casts until you get a better feeling for it. 

As well, stick to pencil lead opposed to split shot as I think having all the weight in one small area (opposed to spread up the line) makes for easier casting in general.

[umpo4]

Good points Gooey for him ,,,,,the most difficult thing to learn is NOT to snap the rod but to LOAD it like a fly rod and let it pull your line out. Most modern reels have a anti back lash system inside attached to the spool IE ...Small bushings on posts that provide friction on the inner spool ,,,,they must be in play causing friction therefore providing slow down and no over run. Check out your manual, Okuma is good for explaining that set up. You'll get it quicker than you think. As you get better you disengage the little frictions one by one, and finally rely on your thumb only. Its a piece of cake................Trust us..............

[huntwriter]

Gooey – When I purchased the reel and rod the shop gave me a heavy ball weight. It was so heavy that it bent the tip of the rood. I have since changed to a 1oz. Teardrop sinker and that improved the casting practice considerably.

The snappy casts are what I have to work on really hard. Having so far only fished with spinning reels this is the hardest habit to break.
 
Umpo4 – I checked the anti backlash system and all seems to be in order. I hear you about the piece of cake. That is what I say if I teach someone to shoot a bow. But you’re right with a little practice and the valuable advice I have so generously received here it should eventually become a piece of cake.

[Gooey]

don't change those counter balances one at a time...do them in pairs, they are called counter balances for a reason and doing one at a time would throw things out of whack.  My calcutta has 6 and having all six in made a huge differnce in start ups on the spool.  move all counter balances out and once you get confident, you can move them in, in opposing PAIRS.

PS - having them all in makes it too easy to start he spool and can definitely lead to backlashes.  it kinda like a figure skater, the tighter they hold their arms the faster they spin, the farther out, the slower...kinda the same think for the centerfugal (sp) breaks.  

[Gooey]

1oz is VERY heavy for float fishing the vedder...you will want to get that down to .5 oz sooner than later!   good luck

PS - i live on the cap so if you are going to be there any time soon, drop me an email and maybe we could connect.

[huntwriter]

Thanks again Gooey for the tips. As soon I get a little better at it, I will start to lower the weight to that of a light salmon spoon or average weight floating set up.

Thanks for the invite to join you. I don’t think that I will make it to the vedder, we’re moving soon to Merritt and still have lots to do, arrange and organize. I am happy to steal an hour or so to go on a lake or river around Maple Ridge. But you never know perhaps in the future. I will keep your kind offer certainly in mind.

[ColinB]

Also make sure the line is in "SYNC" with the level wind.  The line should move across the spool in-line with the level wind guide when casting [in freespool], if it's not doing that, strip a load of line off the spool and then wind it back on making sure the line doesn't come out of the level wind guide ever again.  Makes casting that much easier.

Hope this helps,

Colin

[troutbreath]

Also use heavy pound test to practice with. It get's tangled less and is easier to untangle. Cheapo 25lb minimum works well.