Freshwater reels are designed to land fish found in lakes, rivers and streams. Smaller than saltwater reels, freshwater reels are lighter and easier to handle. The reels come in three basic styles: casting, spinning and fly reels. Whether you might be setting out to target largemouth bass, scrappy trout or a school of crappie, understanding the way these reels work improves your chances of landing a nice catch.
Baitcasting Reels
Baitcasting reels are also known as conventional reels because they mount on the upper side of a fishing rod in the conventional manner. The line spool is perpendicular to the rod and resides in the reel body that consists of a base and two side plates. Feet on the base fit into the reel seat on a casting rod. Most casting reels are right-handed, meaning the handle is on the right side. To cast, depress a lever at the back of the reel to disengage the spool gears. Turning the handle engages the gears for retrieving line. Using casting reels takes practice to avoid tangles because the spool spins freely when you cast. Many fishermen use their thumb to slow or stop the spool when the bait or lure hits the water.
Spinning Reels
Beginners and novice fishermen appreciate the lack of complexity that spinning reels afford. Spinning reels mount on the underside of a spinning rod, and the handle is on the left instead of the right. Unlike casting reels, the spool on a spinning reel is parallel to the rod and does not rotate when you cast, reducing the chances of tangles to almost zero. To cast, hold the rod at the stem of the reel and grip the line just in front of the spool with one finger of that hand. Flip up the metal bail with your other hand until it locks, and release your finger from the line as you cast. Turning the handle closes the bail to retrieve line.
Fly Reels
In essence, a fly reel is a spool for holding fly line. The reel mounts on the underside of a fly rod and has small knobs on one side that serve as handles, but don’t provide leverage like those on casting or spinning reels. The handles take up slack line that fishermen play out when presenting a fly, or during the final stages of landing a fish. More expensive models have a spring-loaded, auto-retrieve feature that recovers slack line by depressing a small lever on the bottom of the reel.
Drag Systems
With the exception of basic fly reels, freshwater reels have a drag system that allows the spool to slip when the line is under strain from a fish. This prevents the line from snapping, and also tires fish when they make runs. The drag adjustment knob is next to the handle on casting reels and on top of the spool on spinning reels. Turn the knob clockwise to tighten the drag if a fish is taking too much line. Loosen the drag when bigger fish are attempting to run. Some fly reels have an internal drag system that you set with a knob. Generally, fishermen pinch the fly line by hand to provide drag when fish run.
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