Bass fishing with Spinning Reel: Techniques, Pros & cons

Bass fishing is a beloved or exciting activity everyone wants to address worldwide, especially to trigger largemouth or smallmouth bass because of its fierce attack, acrobatic leaps, and challenging fights. But are you surprised to learn bass fishing with a spinning reel? Yes! Fishermen, it could not be the positive point of baitcaster to do bass fishing with this reel; you can carry your fishing with a good-featured spinning reel. The problems you may face are casting accuracy and dealing with strong reaction bass with a spinning reel. But don’t be concerned; our team is ready to help you eliminate these problems and show you a guide to tackle your spinning reel for bass fishing with the knowledge needed for your better precision on water.

Why should you use a Spinning reel for bass fishing?

It is incumbent to use a spinning reel for catching bass rather than a baitcaster reel because you get a lot of positive plus points in using a spinning reel for bass fishing.

1. Simple to operate: Using a spinning reel is an effortless to navigate act for both starters and experienced anglers in my eyes just because of its mechanism. Baitcaster reel needs your thumb control to manage the line during a cast, but a spinning reel handle will do this task for you with the turn of the handle to catch deadly bass.
2. Its diversity: You can use it while using any line as mono, fluro, or braided line. If you are a bass lover, you can do many techniques like finesse fishing with mono and heavy braided line for power fishing tactics by the adaptability of a spinning reel.
3. Casting accuracy: The spinning reel is good at casting lightweight lures like plastic worms, jigs, tube baits, and soft jerkbait to poppers and buzzbaits with accuracy where there is more chance to trigger bass by imitating them.
4. Lightweight design: I personally love spinning reels because a spinning reel with a light spinning rod will be easy to manage by the anglers rather than a baitcaster, which improves the anglers’ efficiency on the water to provoke bass.
5. Potent drag system: A drag system in any spinning reel will make fighting and landing any bass of 15-25 lb bass easy because it allows you to apply consistent pressure without immediate jerks that could break your line.
6. Lessen line twists: Using a spinning reel will reduce line twists, which makes finesse fishing more fun for you. (finesse fishing means lighter lures like drop shot rigs and grubs, lighter lines of 4-10lb, and delicate presentation to entice bass)
7. Clever line retrieval: Although I agree that baitcasters have more gear ratios up to 10.1:1 as compared to spinning reels that have gear ratios up to 7.1:1 due to the reel mechanism, the line retrieval with spinning reel is more if you use a big spool reel (big spool means more line and effective inches per turn)
8. Slightest maintenance: Spinning reels need less upkeep as compared to baitcaster reels because of their simple design, fixed spool, and corrosion-resistant body. These reels need only fresh water to rinse out all the dust, salt, sand, or debris and periodic cleaning after the fishing trip, which makes anglers focus on their fishing rather than on reel management.
9. Cost-effective: One more point of recommending spinning reel for bass fishing is its bargain price. The spinning reels are relatively less pricey than baitcaster, so shop within your pocket range and start fishing bass with a spinning reel.

When to use a spinning reel for bass fishing? (Perplexity dispelled)

The spinning reel is the best choice for every fishing technique used for bass, but when you use a spinning reel for bass fishing rather than a bait caster? If you want to catch bass of clear water and hit that finicky bass with finesse technique, you should use a spinning reel because, for that technique, you need soft lures, light lines, and soft presentation. Moreover, if the area you choose is a thick vegetated, fallen tree or rocky structure, using a spinning reel to get that shy bass out of the cover is easier for you. Furthermore, suppose you are new to this timeless journey and find it difficult to hold and maintain a baitcaster reel. In that case, you necessitate a spinning reel to learn basic fishing with effective spinning reels.

What happens when you use a spinning reel for bass fishing? Negative sides

Although you can use a spinning reel for bass fishing because of its ease of use, better free fall, smooth drag system, controlling lighter lines, and fatigue-free tour, we cannot deny the fact that baitcaster reels do better as compared to spinning reels for bass fishing. What are the results when you use a spinning reel for bass fishing?

Limited casting distance with heavy lures

While spinning reels are good at lightweight lures, they perform badly with heavy lures. If you want to use heavy lures like umbrella rigs, buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits baitcaster reel will provide you with more casting accuracy to catch powerful bass.

Tangling and twisted line

The spinning reel will be prone to more tangles because of the spool that is perpendicular to the rod, and the line spools out in circular motion when the bail arm is not manually flipped closed; whenever you use monofilament line, when there is a windy environment, or you overfill the spool, these conditions will make line tangles on spinning reel that could be a big problem.

Tip: How I deal with all bad tangles? The knots can be managed by closing the bail by hand during casting because the braid becomes loose under the rod and creates a lot of mess tangles.The solution of wind knots problem can be to use line conditioner or conditioner spray to improve line manageability in windy conditions.

Not for hefty lines

If you are using heavier braided lines for finesse technique, it will cause line memory in coils and loops, never lay evenly on a spool, and less casting accuracy in tight cover. So use a baitcasting reel for heavier lines to snare big bass.

One major problem I may face with spinning reel is limited line capacity which I solved by the help of my friend, who gave me tips that I should use braided line as a backup line and fill my spool with fluro or mono line that give more line spoolage facility and save cost also. One more thing you can do to buy reels with larger numbers like 3000 or 4000 instead of 2000 or 1000.

Tip: My simple advice to you guys: If the line test(lb) is more than 10, use Baitcaster, and if the line test is less than 10, never be afraid of using a spinning reel for bass fishing because a spinning reel works better for lighter lures, lines and line comes in spiral in spinning reels that would be effective when angler use lighter lines.

Not for flipping and pitching

If bass appears on top water, you can find it formidable to catch it by applying flipping and pitching techniques because spinning reels are not meant for it. After all, more power is needed for close-quarter presentation and heavy cover fishing that can only be done unobstructedly with a baitcasting reel.

How to catch bass with a spinning reel? (technique and method)

Bass fish bite every lure you throw because of their sense of imitation, so with the right approach and practice, you can do bass fishing on a spinning reel.

Bass fishing techniques with a spinning reel

Here are the best practices for spinning reels:

Texas rigged soft plastic

Texas rig is a famous way to rig soft plastic baits such as worms, creature baits, or crawfish imitations to hook bass under heavy cover. Use bullet-shape lead tungsten weight to help sink bait in the water, select offset shank worm hook ( EWG, extra wide gap), and manage subtle retrieve with occasional pauses to mimic a natural movement.

Drop Shot technique

A drop shot is to let the rig sink in water in a straight position to entice bass, usually smallmouth, and to detect the minor bites of bass. Tie a  drop shot rig with a finesse hook, attach a soft plastic bait, and cast the rig to the targeted area, and I bet you’ll be able to catch suspended bass of clear water.

Topwater lures

The topwater lures like poppers, frogs, and walking baits are best to entice aggressive and active bass. These lures can be cast near vegetation, near the shoreline, or to the target areas with surface activity with a rhythmic or erratic retrieval pattern to mimic bass.

Vertical jigging

Vertical jigging is the process of throwing the lure in an upright position to hook the bottom bass. For this, use spoon or blade bait and jig the bait up and down to trigger bottom-hugging bass.

Pitching and skipping

This technique works for coaxing bass to get them out of heavy cover by inducing them. When the angler wants precise placement with minimal disturbance on the water, he swings the rod forward and releases the lure by keeping the reel engaged. When your bass sticks at a tighter place, the angler uses the skipping technique to bounce the lure on the top water to allure the bass to have a bite and get trapped.

Shaky head technique

Doing bass fishing with a spinning reel and shaky head is a finesse technique to keep finding finicky fish under pressured conditions. The shaky head is paired with a soft plastic worm or stickworm , basically, a jighead designed to feel the subtle movement of bass whenever he gets attacked by the bait. For better performance, tie a clinch knot between your main line and the jig line to start your hassle-free bass fishing in rocks or drop-off areas.

Tip: This technique gives measurable success when pairing a light rig of 1/8, 3/16, 1/4oz, 6-10lb line, 7ft medium-heavy rod.

Bass fishing method with spinning reel (How to catch bass with spinning reel?)

If you wonder how it would be possible to do bass fishing with a spinning reel, your confusion will clear here.

My uncle gives me the whole setup formula that I also use whenever fully energetic to focus on bass only. That was to pick up Shimano Currado (7ft) rod with 15lb line (3oz) while tying crazy Alberto knot to 3-6 lb mono leader, R2S Whopper Plopper 75&90 or Zoom Super Fluke, and I avow it work in all conditions for bass.

• Equipment Selection: The right equipment for the right place and technique can give satisfactory results.

1. Rod selection: Always choose a spinning rod that fits your bass requirements. Most of the time, I use 7 ft spinning rod because it has more stiffness to get the hook through the bass mouth to detect simple bites.
2. Lure selection: What lures to use with spinning rods for bass fishing? The choice of lure depends on the size of the bass, living area, or the condition of the water, but most used lures include crankbait, top water lures, Jigs, or soft plastic lures.

Tip: When fish near the cover at dawn or desk, use poppers.

When a bass is under a heavy weedy area, use a weedless worm ( 6-8-inch).

During hot weather, I call upon floating Rapala and Jerkbait.

• Secure your lure with the braided line with the help of a tight Palomar Knot or Clinch Knot.
• Clutch the rod with your prepotent hand and the reel’s handle with the non-dominant hand, and let open the bail to release your main line. All the time, use your index finger to put pressure on the line and make a control cast by swinging the rod forward and liberating the line at the right moment to send your lure toward the targeted bass.
• Retrieve your lure by pausing and jerking and staying aware of the bass activity like surface disturbance, chasing baitfish, or bird activity, and be alert about the signs.

Tip: My method is to throw the cast two times at the same place. For the first time, it grabbed the bass’s attention and, for the second time, pushed him out of the water when he got bitten.

• If you discern about the bass bite, set the hook with a firm but controlled hookset. Always keep the line taut but not too tight that you break your line.
• Here is the whole game of satisfying yourself with bass fishing, but stay concerned about the time, weather, or bass size restriction before your trip.

Check our detailed article on Bass fishing with fly rods to make bass fishing more hilarious.

How to get the best spinning reel for bass fishing? (Parameters to assess)

If you are wondering how to get the perfect spinning reel for bass fishing, follow these factors.

Number 1 # Firstly, purchase your rod. Your rod must be in balance with your reel size. If the reel is too bulky and the rod is of moderate power, it will make the rod balance out, and if the reel size is short and has less weight, the rod’s tip becomes heavy. A rod between 6-7.5ft rod is perfect for every juncture. Formula to remember:

Reel size (1000-3000), then buy a light rod.

Reel size (3000-5000), then purchase heavy rod.

Number 2 # Define your spending cap because reels may be between30$ and 1500$; this means expensive reels have more features to discover and, hence, run longer.

Number 3 # Think about your fishing style. Do you like to fish from a boat or shore, or do you love to catch bass in fresh or salt water? If you are fishing on a shore but in freshwater, you need a less corrosion-resistant reel and more line, but if you love to fish in saltwater, your reel must be highly corrosive resistant.

Number 4 # What size reel is for bass fishing? There are so many fishing reel sizes like 1000, 2000, 2500, 3000, 5000, and 30,000, but always select the reel in accordance with the fish type. Smaller reel sizes will be best for lighter lines and lures and smaller components, while extended reel sizes are only used by experienced surf anglers. Suppose you rely on my 20-year experience. In that case, I suggest you buy reels somewhere between 2000-4000 because if you use finesse techniques such as drop shotting, jigging, or wacky rigging, smaller reels of 2000 are good for subtle presentations, and if you target bass under heavier cover for extra strength and torque, larger reel of 3000-4000 work helping you.

Remember this:

Number 5 # Think about your fishing reel gear ratio. If you are trying the topwater technique to catch bass, a high gear ratio retrieves the line faster, and if you love to do crankbait for bass fishing, a low gear ratio is perfect for you.

Number 6 # Look for the reel’s material, whether it is made of plastic, graphite, or aluminum, but the internal parts must be of stainless steel to avoid a corrosive impression.

Number 7 # The drag system must be strong and smooth to intercept the line from breakage.

Number 8 # Choose a reel with a high ball bearing (4-6) for the stability of the reel.

Number9# Check out an anti-reverse system of a reel that means the reel’s handle moves in one direction during line retrieval.

Number10# Eternally, see the famous spinning reel brands like Shimano, Daiwa, OKUMA, Abu Garcia, and PENN for bass fishing and see the reviews to get perfect results.

I have 5 Daiwa Fuego LT spinning rods between 2500-3000 reel sizes, and I trigger multiple small or largemouth bass with these.

Knowledge-Base

If you have any questions, get your answer here.

Where do we catch more bass?

Catching more bass requires experience level, but if you hit that specific area, you can get more bass like:

• Shallow water (spring and fall)
• Covers and structures (lily pads, boat docks, or  vegetation)
• Creek mouths
• Overhangs and shades
• Current breaks
• Lakes, ponds, rivers
• Deep water (in warm weather)

Which spinning rods are best to pair with reel to catch bass?

The spinning rod and reel combo will gather marvelous results in catching bass. The best spinning rods for bass are:

Abu Garcia Veritas

Duckett Terex

Loomis Classic spin jig rod

I prefer spinning rods when using jerkbaits, shallow crankbaits, drop shots, or light plastic lures and baitcaster when using spinnerbait, jigs, frogs, and buzzbait with baitcaster rods because these rods have more power and gear ratio to drag heavy bass.

Sum-up

Spinning reels are not only meant to catch panfish and trout, but you can prove this thing wrong. baitcaster is only the best reel for bass fishing. If you do correct practices, you will beat everyone by catching more bass with an all-around spinning reel and rod.