My First Casting Setup

Hi Guys! After many years of using spinning gear I finally decided to try some casting. There is my first casting setup that I just received today. What do you think? It is a good choice for newbie? My main targets are Puget Sound flounders and sculpins. Shimano Trevala S Light and Abu Garcia Black Max 3L. Thank you in advance! 

  For your 1st bait casting set up that combination will serve you well.
  Beware of corrosion on the Black Max. Clean it off if you contact salt water. I do like the thumb bar on the reel but I have accidentally pushed it when I had a fish on. Caught the fish okay--- just something to watch out for.

  Overall--- for the low price---- that will catch plenty of fish. You might consider up grading your quarry to something more edible...........

Shiny.if this is your first and never used a casting setup before my suggestion is if you plan on casting and not just jigging,take it out in the yard and get it set and learn to use your thumb to slow the spool.better to mess with a bird nest on shore than when you should be fishing.

Hi Eugene,

That's a nice shiny set-up you got there.  It should catch you plenty of fish no prob.  For bait casting reels, it just takes some practice and getting to know your gear.  Bird nests usually happens to everybody, but once you learn to adjust your reel with the test line and jig weight, you'll be casting like a pro. 

Good luck!!

Ditto - bait casting reels has to be adjusted to the weight of the lure and timing. Go onto YouTube for some tricks to prevent getting a tangled nest.  It worked for me and then practice in the yard or a park.  Good luck and catch lots of fish.

Huge Ditto regarding practicing before you hit the water.  Not just how far you can cast it while avoiding backlash,  but target casting also.    Casting with enough energy to go well past your target then using thumb control to slow it down and having it land right on the bulls eye.  Casting the really light stuff is something that can be hard to master which is what I still am working on. 
The thumb bar opens up the world of one hand casting. 

Thank you all guys! Today I have put a braid on. Tomorrow I am going to a local park to do some practice. About corrosion I know, but my budget was kinda limited so in future I of course planning to upgrade to saltwater reel. I have read some review and people say it performs pretty well in saltwater because no iron parts, there is only stainless, aluminum,  graphite and plastic. If it stays for 1 year I thinks it will be fine for it's price 42 dollars. By the way which reel is the best for 15lbs braid, requirements - left handed, saltwater, budget lets say 200?

Any reel rated for 15lb line will work with 15lb braid, but if you're asking about an upgrade to the Black Max, it would help to know what species you want to target.

I use "Salt-A-Way" to clean reels that are not saltwater rated after I use them in saltwater.  I swish them in a mix of a few drops of Salt-A-Way and warm water in a reel-sized container - warm water dissolves salt better than cold water - then rinse them thoroughly with running water, let them air dry and spray lightly with gun oil before putting them away.  Takes five or ten minutes.

Tinker - thank you! I target small species - flounders, sculpins, I think 1-2 lbs tops, maybe 5 lbs if I catch some dogfish.

Lots of folks like the Shimano Curado E reels, but they've always been a bit too rich for me.  Abu Garcia make several good reels above the Max series, but the really good ones cost almost what the Curado's cost.

I've been using a Daiwa Lexa 300 for smaller fish for a couple of years and I'm happy with it.  It's a bit oversized but I got it for half price on sale.  The Lexa 100 is about the same size as your Black Max and it is definitely an upgrade.

I mostly fly fish now, so it would be a good idea if others would chime in about the latest and greatest in your price range.

Good luck.


 
 

Eugene,
Tinker has given you a very good choice for your future upgrade. Lexa series are very good reels.

rawkfish even uses a L300 for bottom fishing, but with a different rod... These are very versatile reels and he's proven it with his current set up.

Just be careful you do not over buy. the L300 and the new L400 are very large for that style reel and you might not be happy with the results if you go too big. The shimano TRANX also fits that last description, so take your time when choosing.

Another option might be a round Abu Garcia/ Okuma/Penn that you can find sometimes as a pre set combo. Personally, I don't use a lot of braided lines, but stay old school with a good quality monofilament. For some reason, that still seems to work better for me with the average sized round reels.

Good luck out there.... from your last few posts, it seems the fishing bug has hit you very strongly. Happened to us all once upon a time.

Lots of folks like the Shimano Curado E reels

Yes, the curado e's are awesome.  Had mine since 2008 until it flew off my kayak last weekend. Casts further than my daiwa advantage hsta.  I always use it for rockfish off the jetty.  I replaced my lost curado with a Shimano Chronarch E, which can be found around at a discount (around 160 ish) at some stores that are phasing them out for Chronarch CI4 models.