Better Casting Means More Fish
Part II
pt. 1
pt. 3
pt. 4
April 2, 2009
No angling tool has caused more misery than the level wind reel.
I cut my fishing teeth at a time when all we had to work with were those old fashioned “knuckle-busters.” I doubt modern day fishermen even realize what wondrous tools the reels available today really are. Perhaps the only way you could fully appreciate them is to have learned, as I did, on the older types we had back there more than half a century ago
But super tools that they are, I stick by my opening comment: No single tool used (or even tried) by fishermen causes so much misery as the level wind reel. That is unless you happen to be that uncommon individual who realizes practice is the key to learning how to do or use almost anything.
Anyone can learn to use the level wind reel, but most make it far more difficult than need be. I'm going to endeavor to tell you how to eliminate those headaches.
It’s All in the Thumb
In the first place don't expect me to start by recommending screwing down every tension device your reel has so it's impossible to backlash. I realize it's possible to do that, but I don't recommend it. If you weren't interested in improving your casting technique, you wouldn't be reading this article. The key is practice. From day one the most important tool you'll learn how to use in working with the level wind reel is your thumb.
Don't depend on some mechanical marvel to eliminate your backlashes. Train your thumb. There's only one way to do that and it's through practice.
Let's suppose you've just purchased the finest knife money can buy. It's a thing of beauty designed for one purpose: to cut. Before you ever use this expensive knife you walk over to a metal fence and dull its blade before you use it by scraping its blade against the fence.
Nobody would be a big enough dummy to do something like that. Yet, in effect, that's exactly what you're doing when you tighten down all of the tension devices on a brand new level wind reel. That reel might have multiple ball bearings, a special spool and all the other goodies that many of today’s reels have. Those bearings and whatever else it has are designed to make the reel smooth and fast. Are you going to "dull" it by tightening down the tension devices before you make your first cast? I hope not.
I hear the same question time after time when I do casting demonstrations at major outdoor shows around the world. It usually comes after I've flipped a practice casting weight into a coffee cup at 40-feet. Invariably the question goes something like this: "Mister, what kind of a reel are you using that lets you get that kind of accuracy? You hit that cup and all the effort it took was a flick of the wrist."
If you had opportunity to look at the reels I use, you'd find they have the usual tension devices. They have an anti-backlash device as well as adjustable spool tension. If I use the anti-backlash device at all it’s set very light. I set my spool tension so light there is almost a hint of side-to-side movement in the spool if I use my thumb to push it back and forth.
It's this kind of free-wheeling that enables your reel to perform at its maximum efficiency. It's also the setting that permits you or me to fire a plug out there accurately and with minimum effort. But you're not going to do it without problems unless you’re willing to practice.
I'm not saying you shouldn't use your spool tension control and the anti-backlash device as you learn. Read carefully what the maker of the reel has to say about this. What I want you to realize going into is that regardless of advertising baloney you may have read, when you use those controls you'll sacrifice casting efficiency.
Some reel makers say you should set your controls so a weight drops slowly when you take your thumb off the spool and so the spool stops turning as soon as the plug hits the ground. That's all right for starters, but strive to train your thumb so you can depend on it to run things.
The tension controls on today’s quality level wind reels are really something compared to what we had to work with a half century ago. Be that as it may, no better anti-backlash device was ever designed than the thumb the Good Lord hung on your hand when you came into this world. But you’ve got to learn how to use it.
I'm convinced spinning became so popular almost overnight because most fishermen just weren't willing to practice enough with a level wind reel and really learn how to use it. I've had fishermen tell me they don't need to learn how to use a level wind reel. "I get by just fine with my spinning reels," they say. Fine by me, but the fishermen who take this route are denying themselves use of a splendid fishing tool that does many jobs better than anything else they can get your hands on.
In my casting presentations I often compare modern day fishing to playing golf. A golfer could go out and play a round armed only with a putter and a driver. But he wouldn't enjoy it and his score would be lousy. That's what a fisherman is doing when he limits himself to a spinning outfit. Why handicap yourself? The fish make it tough enough without you helping them by not learning how to use all the tools available to you.
Two of the great keys to consistent fishing success are mastery of the tools available to you and then matching those tools to the problems you face when you’re on the water. That’s exactly what the golfer who shoots below par is doing. There’s no mystery involved in boosting your skill levels in either field of endeavor
Learning How To Use the Level Wind Reel
All right, enough chatter about the importance of the level wind reel. Now how should you go about learning to use it? In the first place you've got to have equipment capable of doing the job you want it to do. If your gear doesn't have at least some kind of balance you'll never learn to use it with the ease or pleasure you have a right to expect. 
Here’s the approach I favor. When you set out to learn to use your level wind reel purchase a 5½-foot or 6-foot graphite rod of medium light or light action to use with it. Spool your reel with 12 to 14-pound test line and get yourself half a dozen flat-sided practice casting weights in a 5/8th-ounce size. The set up I've just described should give you at least a semblance of the balance you’ll need as you begin your practice.
You'll note I specified a light or medium light action rod. I'm completely aware there may be times later when you'll want to use a longer or stiffer rod for specific fishing problems, but now we're concerned about you learning how to cast with a level wind reel. The special techniques with different rods can come after you've mastered the basics. You can, of course, use longer rods, but I recommend the 5 ½ to 6-foot length in the beginning.
I'm assuming, of course, you're willing to pay for quality equipment. And when I specify quality I'm thinking of the entire outfit, not just your rod and reel. When I'm doing the tricky stuff I get paid for at the outdoor shows I'm often accused of using special equipment. It's special in that it's top quality, but what I use is available in any well-stocked sporting goods store in the United States. I use G. Loomis Rods, and Shimano Reels.
We’ll take a close look at other aspects of attaining the required skills with a level wind reel in my next column of this series.