Baitcast Reel for Steelhead

[caster]

Can a regular baitcast reel handle steelhead fishing? I have Shimano Curado (7:1). Thinking about using them instead of spinning reel.
Thanks.

[Equinox]

Baitcasters are great for stealheading !!! I use Abu Garcia Revo toro hs's. You'll still need a spinning reel for casting the really light baits.

[DaveP]

It's not uncommon to see baitcasters in use out West (Oregon, Washington) for steelhead. They work *great* for drifting on long rods. The only real catch is the small spool diameter - the gearing takes up plenty of line, but when it's cold (or with line that has excessive memory) those loops get really annoying. Best bet is to spend the long buck on premium line to reduce as much memory as possible.

[caster]

That makes a lot of sense. In that case, a center pin reel and rod will be a lot better. Thanks, guys.

[Equinox]

DaveP,

You are correct about premium line for the casting reel, however you may not be aware of how common the casting reel is for fishing anadromous fish out West. The baitcaster out numbers spinning, fly and centerpin combined.

I know several people that do many different methods with a baitcaster and steelhead rod. They use a 9' - 9'6" fast action stick in the 2-3 power range and fish with a float with eggs or jigs, throw hardware like spoons and spinners, drift fish with eggs, yarn & corkie, rags ect.... You can also run a small in line planer board with a plug and slowly walk up and down the bank to work the whole seam or pull plugs from a boat.

Yes, you can also do all of the above with spinning gear but the memory coils (and line twist) mentioned earlier are much worse. The way the line pays out from a casting reel is straight of the spool and on the spinning reel it pays off perpendicular to the rod and when reeled in, it has to go through a 90 degree turn to be spooled for the next cast. Not to mention putting stress on the line when it is on the bail arm roller in the 90 degree position, weather the fish is 10, 11, 20 or 30 from you. Don't get me wrong, I have and fish spinning reels and to me they have their place.

So back to the question, yes a baitcaster is "great" for steelheading. As your interest grows, method specific rods & reels are also a great choice. I now have centerpin rods and reels, baitcaster rods & reels, plug rods & levelwind reels, spey and single hand fly rods & reels, spinning rods and reels (got to have something to throw light baits).

Equinox

[caster]

Equinox,

That is a very interesting comment. I have all these tackles you mentioned and intend to use them all to see which one works for me the best in what situation. I just got into steelhead fishing recently. I will let you guys know how it turns out.

[Streetglide11]

i think staying with one method and perfecting it will keep you sane, rather than trying to figure out what to use and when with all those other methods and buying all that tackle will cost a fortune. i have enough trouble with one method, i cant imagine multible. lol