Spinning and baitcasting reels vary in design and function. Bottom-mounted spinning reels have a stationary, front mounted spool. A housing and bale spin around the spool winding the line when retrieving. Top-mounted baitcasting reels control a horizontally mounted spool using a thumb button. Depressing and releasing the button prevents or allows the spool to turn during a cast. These differences can make each type more or less suited to specific types of fishing.
Line Selection
For the most part, heavier, more substantial fishing lines are usually better handled by baitcasting reels. This is due, primarily, to the manner in which the line is played out and spooled onto the reel. Spinning reels are usually better able to handle lighter and thinner fishing lines. Recently, with the introduction of stronger braided and composite lines, baitcasters are now more capable of handling thinner line weights.
Ease of Use
Spinning reels are, by far, easier to use than baitcasting reels. The difference between learning to use the spinning reel and the baitcasting reel is similar to the difference between learning to drive an automatic and a stick shift car. With a spinning reel, the angler simply opens the bale and holds the line with one finger, releasing the line at the end of the cast. Baitcasters are a bit more involved, requiring a higher level of attention during a cast as to when the line is released, how it plays out from the reel and when to stop the cast.
Maintenance
While both spinning and baitcasting reels require regular maintenance, baitcasters tend to need more attention. The inner workings of a spinning reel are enclosed within the body of the reel and thereby protected from the elements. The works within baitcasters, however, are far more exposed. This can require more cleaning, lubricating and other maintenance to keep them in good repair, particularly for reels that are exposed to salt water, which can be very corrosive.
Accuracy
Baitcasting reels tend to provide a greater level of accuracy when casting than spinning reels. With baitcasting reels, there is more control over the release of the bait or lure during the cast, the distance the cast will travel and when it will stop. Spinning reels, on the other hand, tend to be easier to learn how to cast, but less accurate, simply playing out the line until it stops on its own.
Line Control
Spinning reels cast and retrieve line very easily, seldom tangling. Baitcasting reels, though, can tangle quite easily if the reel spool is allowed to "backlash." In this situation, the reel spool spins to quickly tangling the line in what is commonly referred to as a "birds nest." This can be very difficult to resolve and often requires that the line be cut from the spool. Because baitcasting reels spool line onto the reel horizontally, they are less affected by line memory, the coiling effect that occurs in fishing line when wound onto a spool. Spinning reels may experience some difficulty in controlling a line that is strongly coiled from remaining on the spool for extended periods of time.
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