Simple question regarding to casting and spinning rods

[Avidflyfish]

Hello Folks: I have a question regarding to casting and spinning rods.
I’m planning to buy two multi piece Tidemaster St Croix rods. My question is: which are the main difference between spinning and casting rods? Due the fact that they can be used with the same lures weight.
Any explanation will be appreciated.
regards
Avidflyfish

[rhodyflyguy]

casting rods have smaler guides and the guides and reel are mounted on the opposite side of the blank. spinning is the opposite.

[Loopy]

I haven't seen or noticed the tidemaster but many casting rods have a place for your index finger opposite the reel so you can get some leverage for your thumb when casting. It would be in exactly the wrong place for your hand with a spinning reel.

I am an ok spin caster but have had to work to use a casting rod. I can cast a spinning rod both further and more acurately but I think many of the casting reels have stronger drags and other components than spinning reels.

[sage fly guy]

When you can master a conventional reel your distance and drag strengths are unequaled by any spinning reel.

I can flip a 3 1/2 oz plug over a 100 yards with out even loading the rod, and have 10#'s of drag @ strike and 20#'s at full. Spinning reels just can't give you that type of performance.

chris

[Capt Matt]

My suggestion is find a buddy who has both types of rods (does not have to be same brand) and give em a try. Casting rods/reels are great to use when proficient but a job to master for most who have never owned one. Most anyone can handle a spinning outfit with easy and not worry with the backlash. I personally like em both in addition to flyrodding but quite honestly I carry one on my boat (a nice tidemaster and Abu reel) for clients and it's never been picked up in 8yrs. except when I throw it with plug for teasing fish close to the boat.

Try em out and find your preference, its more the reel matched with it at times than just the rod.

Good luck,

[confluential]

The reason why I personally prefer casting rods is the aforementioned distance, accuracy, and handling characteristics. I can fish for hours with a baitcaster and forget I'm even using some kind of fishing tackle. With spinning gear, you've always got this goofy contraption helicoptering away under your hands, and it throws off the balance of the rod.

After you know how to handle a baitcaster, you can hit a six-inch square spot exactly. And you can do it over and over again. That kind of consistent accuracy is really hard to achieve with a spinning rod when you have so much less control over the distance and trajectory of the lure (by feathering the spool with your thumb, vs. trying to snap the bail shut at the exact moment needed).

Spinning tackle is awesome for its own purposes, like very light lures. There's no replacement for it. But day in and day-out, once I got good at it, there's no going back.

[teflon_jones]

Personally, I was strictly a spinning rod fisherman (other than the fly rod of course!) until this year when I picked up a casting rod and reel. After spending a long, long, long winter watching a lot of fishing shows where every bass fisherman was using a casting rod, I had to get one to see why.

Now that I've been using one for almost 3 months, I know why. First of all, they take less effort to cast. Secondly, they're much easier to control distance with since you can use your thumb to slow and stop the cast very easily and with great finesse. On a spinning rig, I feather the line by pressing it gently against the top of the spool while it's coming off. This works, but it doesn't compare to what you can do with your thumb on a casting reel spool. The last thing is that they're very accurate. This takes some getting used to, but even after only 3 months of use I can consistently hit a 3 foot circle at 50+ feet. I can do that with my spinning rod too, but I've been using one of those forever!

[Fin]

Once you start fishing with a casting rod you'll never want to go back to spinning gear. I bought my first casting rig last year and never looked back. Just this past weekend I blew the dust off my spinning rod and gave it a go again, and right after the trip I put it back down in the basement for another season of dust collecting. Spinning gear does have its place, but once you become proficient with a casting rod there's really no turning back.

Cheers... :-%

[Slappy]

Ditto on the casting/conventional comments. Spinning rods have their place (light and large lures w/high winds). Of my 70 something rods, only about 10 are spinning.

The big difference that others haven't mentioned is the mechanics of using a conventional vs spinning rod. Hold a conventional rod and see what muscles you use, then try it with a spinner. You will quickly see why you have more strength and control with a conventional rod.

Plus, I can't figure those spinning reel things out, those things constantly tangle the line.... :brow

[formula1]

I'll buck the trend here and say I use spinning gear a lot when I'm not using fly rods but that's not because I like them but because, at least in freshwater (which is where I use conventional/spinning gear as much as fly rods) the trend on heavily pressured waters is to use smaller and lighter baits and I have yet to find a baitcaster that can go down to 1/16 or 1/8 oz lures. That said, if we are using 1/4 oz and up, my overwhelming preference is baitcasting by far...been using baitcasting gear when not flyrodding since I was around 8 and I like it much better than spinning gear.

Now saltwater, that's a different story, you won't find me using spinning gear a whole lot...although I've heard the biggest Van Staal has 30+ lb. of drag, and is made for 50-80 lb. class line, I would not want a reel that induces a 4 twists into the line with every turn of the handle.

[Roop]

Casting reels are the way to go if you're the only one who will be using them but I wouldn't trust any of my guests with one.

For the combination of casting ease (in case others will be using your gear), line capacity & drag - I don't know why anyone would consider anything other then a spin reel.

For those reasons I own several of the following reels:
Shimano Spheros 4000, weight 12.7 OZ, drag 15#
Shimano Baitrunner 3500B, weight 19.8 OZ, 9#drag/ 1.8# drag bait runner
Shimano Spheros 14000, weight 28.9 oz, 24# drag :brow

Good luck,

Roop

[teflon_jones]

One other important thing that comes to mind as a casting rod newbie:
It's 50,000 times easier to cast one accurately when standing up than when sitting. If you ever watch a pro use one in freshwater, they cast low and fast. If you're sitting or in a canoe or float tube, you simply can't get a low enough trajectory with your arm/rod to cast accurately. Maybe with a lot of practice you could, but the difference between using one when sitting and standing is like night and day!