Last summer I was schooled in the art of baitcasting and just fell in love with the feel, range and sophistication of the equipment.  So now I'm wondering about taking it with me on extended backcountry canoe trips.  Aside from the pleasure I get from using a baitcaster it has other advantages in terms of being less bulky.  But every time I mention baitcaster in relation to backcountry canoeing I get cross eyed looks.  I also notice that I almost never see folks in the bush with other than spinning gear.  What do you use when you head out to canoe country?  Are there any canoeing baitcaster afficianados out there?  What do you estimate are the pros and cons of either style of fishing in the context of backcountry fishing?  All observations and opinions are gratefully solicited.

Kerry -

Until somewhat recently, I've taken BOTH.  I'd use the baitcasting setup mostly for trolling and jigging.  I'd use the spinning gear mostly for casting.

However, in an effort to reduce overall weight, I now only take a single rod/reel combo ... a spinning reel setup.

dd

I take a baitcaster with a line counter that I use for trolling. I also take a light spinning rod for bass, and a heavier spinning rod for pig waldos.

both! options are good!
i bring a baitcaster with super line for trolling and jigging the big stuff. on the trip in to the lake where we plan to make our base camp i only have my baitcaster out. the jigging rod(2 piecer) is taped together and the reel is stashed in my pack. it makes for very easy portaging. the baitcaster is out for trolling for lakers. because the fishing pressure up in the the Q is very minimal, you can get away with bigger baits. i use the baitcaster rigged with a bigger jig to quickly cover water and find active fish. the heavier baits are also nice for locating structure and the bottom depth. this last year i ended up using my baitcaster almost exclusively because the fish were hitting really well on the 3" tube jigs with a 1/4 oz jig. i find that to be too big for my jig rod. plus its nice to have 2 rods for the option of a big bait and a small bait without having to change whats on your line.


i also bring a small spinning rod with light line for finesse fishing for walleyes. generally i use this when we are in shallow water and we have found a school of active fish that seems to have slowed down biting. then i switch to smaller lighter baits that would be too light to cast with a baitcaster.

its mostly a matter of preference. if you fish with primarily baits that are heavy enough to cast with a baitcaster then you can get away with just having the baitcaster. if you fish with a wide variety of sizes and weights you should probably bring both. i would never go into canoe country without 2 rods just because of the chances that one rod might get broken and nothing spoils a trip like not having fishing gear! i personally find having 2 rods rigged with different sizes/shapes/colors to be invaluable when it comes to fishing.

the disclaimer i would put on my advice is that when im in canoe country my primary reason for being there is the fishing. so my opinion is pretty skewed in favor of more stuff.

I think the prevalence of spinning rigs is due to how easy they are compared to baitcasters.  I'm no good with a baitcaster.  I've tried.  It's birdsnest city.

Kerry,

I haven't ever used a baitcasting reel (other than for fishing muskies) so I never took one into the back country.  This year I invited a newbie from St. Louis who fishes in bass tournaments.  He only brought bait casting reels and they worked very well for him.  He was primarily casting spoons for northerns and some Rapalas.  For casting spoons, the baitcasting reels worked very well for him.  He did, however, have a very good quality reel.

As far as I could tell, his reel worked just as well as our spinning reels.

He had never caught northerns before and he really enjoyed catching northerns.  He even caught a 48 inch northern.  He did not, however, catch a lake trout.  Maybe next year.

Westwood

I'd agree with virtually all above. A matter of preference. In my bass boat, I carry multiples of everything. When I fly-in for pike, I take 2 fly rods, 4 bait casters, 2 spinning rods. When I go to Quetico, I take one 5 and a half foot bait caster and 12-pound test line. Lakers, smallmouth, pike, walleyes -- they all get caught on the same rig. I'm in the "minimalist" school with everything when I have to carry it.

I'm definitely leaning towards giving a baitcaster a try.  Where I'm headed the fish get pretty big and my favorite baits are cranks which tend to be over 1/4 oz.  So a baitcaster will probably be perfect.  The one problem I'm having is finding a good 2 piece rod.  The only thing I've been able to find is the Shimano Compre at around $100 and the G Loomis Mag Bass at around $425.  Anyone know about anything in between?  I want to pair the rod with a Shimano Chronarch reel.  By the way, thanks for all the feedback so far.

Why do you want a 2 pc rod? Why not go with a 1 pc?

I looked long and hard for a quality 2 piece rod for a baitcaster, but I found no such thing unless you wanted to spend a ton of money. Try looking at the Gander Mountain website and they have a few 2 piece baitcast rods. Some are Gander brand and some are St. Croix. I've had both St. Croix and Gander Mountain rods and my personal preference is to go with the Gander one. The rods are relatively inexpensive but really nice quality. My favorite rod is actually from the clearance section of Gander. The best part of getting a rod from Gander is that you can buy lifetime warranties for them ($6-15 range for the warranty) with full replacement no questions asked. You bring the rod in broken and they give you a new one.

The problem with 2 piece rods is that they tend to have to be really tight fitting or they come apart while casting. The way you cast with a baitcaster puts direct pressure on the joint where as with a spinning rod, you cast with an arc so the joint doesn't have nearly the same amount of stress.

What I ended up doing was dropping my pursuit of a 2 piece rod and getting a rod from Gander with the warranty. It just seems to be that the single piece rods are more sensitive, durable, and generally a better quality overall.

Another thing I would like to mention in your pursuit of a rod would be to make sure that the rod you get has a long handle. I would steer away from the pistol grip rods. The long handle allows you to use the reel as a pivot point and if you grab the very end of the handle you can get some really nice snap on the tip of the rod to get the maximum distance out of your casts. Also, the longer handles tend to be round and cork so they are quiet and much easier to use with a rod holder in a canoe. I also like the long handle because if you ever fish alone in your canoe or are responsible for landing your own fish, it is easy to hold the reel tight and stick the end of the rod inside your elbow/along your forearm to keep control of the rod tip and the fish while only having to use one hand.

Above, I said I used a 5 1/2 foot rod. I prefer a longer rod, but I carry the smaller one because I can lash it against the thwarts when it is not in use. I try to have no items that need to be hand carried on portages. Longer rods, when lashed against the thwarts, do not snuggle to the gunnel as well as the shorter rod.

As for the long handle, the principal advantage, in my opinion, of the long handle is that it permits two-handed casts. Two-handed casts are much more accurate than the single-handed jobs.

Many years ago, ferrules were weak spots in rods. No longer the case. If you can find a two-piece bait caster, go for it. Bass Pro Shops has some two-piece bait casters. I have a two-piece Bass Pro Shops Pete Maina rod (no longer sold under that name) and a two-piece St. Croix. If I were going to go to a two-piece rod, I would make a rod tube of PVC pipe and lash the rod tube to the canoe, backpack, or stuff the tube in a backpack.    

Old Salt wrote on Nov 12^th, 2010 at 5:16pm:

Why do you want a 2 pc rod? Why not go with a 1 pc?

Well I know everyone has their way but I have found after considerable experimentation that what has worked for me with my spinning gear is a two piece rod split and loaded in a rod case pretty much ready to go.  How various folks carry their rods, lashed or whatever, has been argued to death on this and other sites.  To anyone who has a system that works for them, I say more power to you.  But I've been very happy with the ease of use and accessibility with a 2 piece.  Of course, as Jax points out, baitcasting is a different animal and I'll either have to shell out some serious bucks (G Loomis makes a beautiful 2 piecer but they put a real bite on the wallet), rethink how I want to manage carrying my rod and reel or just forget the whole thing and stick to my spinning gear for backwoods canoeing.

Ancient_Angler wrote on Nov 12^th, 2010 at 7:29pm:

Bass Pro Shops has some two-piece bait casters. I have a two-piece Bass Pro Shops Pete Maina rod (no longer sold under that name) and a two-piece St. Croix.

That's helpful.  I see where St. Croix makes a 2 piece in their Premier line and I know that Shimano has a 2 piece in their Compre line, both around 100 bucks.  Has anyone used either by chance? But I'm looking again at that G Loomis rod and licking my chops but I don't know if I can justify it.  Do I have to?  The curse of the bait monkey!

I run pack rods...the three fit into two 20" tubes that tuck into the sides on the GG packs that I run or bungie toggle to the thwarts. St.Croix makes them in spinning and bait casting models, a company that makes a decent rod in my opinion. I also have been lucky to pick a couple up that are very affordable over the years (still in service) that are not of the previous persuasion, one could also pursue the the endeavor too through the making of one, as the blanks are available ... just find a fly shop that has the support of rod making classes, then you could make what you want. ;)

Been years since I made a rod from a blank, but it's easy to do. Fenwick used to provide a set of instuctions to all who bought a Fenwick blank. Cabela's sells blanks in various dimensions. Lot of satisfaction in using a rod you made yourself.

Kerry wrote on Nov 12^th, 2010 at 9:53pm:

Old Salt wrote on Nov 12th, 2010 at 5:16pm: Why do you want a 2 pc rod? Why not go with a 1 pc? Well I know everyone has their way but I have found after considerable experimentation that what has worked for me with my spinning gear is a two piece rod split and loaded in a rod case pretty much ready to go.  How various folks carry their rods, lashed or whatever, has been argued to death on this and other sites.  To anyone who has a system that works for them, I say more power to you.  But I've been very happy with the ease of use and accessibility with a 2 piece.  Of course, as Jax points out, baitcasting is a different animal and I'll either have to shell out some serious bucks (G Loomis makes a beautiful 2 piecer but they put a real bite on the wallet), rethink how I want to manage carrying my rod and reel or just forget the whole thing and stick to my spinning gear for backwoods canoeing.

Not looking to mess with your system, but...

I have a 3" diameter PVC about 3 1/2' long, strapped in behind the bow seat under the thwarts and gunnels on one side of canoe. It can hold up to 5 rods. I just rest the butts on top of the thwarts in front of me, and strap them down. When, I'm ready to fish, I just release the strap in front of me, and draw the preferred weapon. No rod assembly required. Mine are ready to go. But, I certainly have no issue with those who prefer a different system.

Sounds like a nice system old salt.  ;)

[quote author=old_salt link=1289447665/10#15 date=1289670763Not looking to mess with your system, but...

I have a 3" diameter PVC about 3 1/2' long, strapped in behind the bow seat under the thwarts and gunnels on one side of canoe. It can hold up to 5 rods. I just rest the butts on top of the thwarts in front of me, and strap them down. When, I'm ready to fish, I just release the strap in front of me, and draw the preferred weapon. No rod assembly required. Mine are ready to go. But, I certainly have no issue with those who prefer a different system.[/quote]

I'm confused Old Salt, what do you mean when you say that your rod case is three and one half feet long but no rod assembly is required?
This past spring I built my own rod case out of PVC pipe with a cap on one end and a threaded cap on the other. I made it just long enough to hold three, two piece rods. That was the first and the last time I will use that rod case (or maybe another kind)!!! It was just too akward to carry and lash in the canoe, not to mention too heavy. Next time I'm just bungee strapping the rods in the canoe, when I want to fish, debungee and pull the line through the guides and tie one on (a lure that is).

I mean that it holds the tip ends of the rods, with the butt ends sticking out. The case and the butts are lashed into the canoe. The rods go with the canoe on the portages. When I'm ready to fish, I just remove the strap holding the butts, and draw it out of the holster.

Last night I picked up an Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 4600 C3 from the clearance big at Gander Mountain. Only $40 because it was half off. I had been looking at this reel for a long time and the guy I had talked to about it competes in bass fishing tournaments here in the Midwest. He says it's the only reel that he uses and that he has 7 of them. It is the narrow version of the standard C3.

Does anyone have any experience with this reel?

Lots of good points in this thread. I much prefer a 1 piece rod and would forego a rod case although I like what OS has going on. Just the right amount of protection plus ease and availability. Only the front end of your rod needs protection IMO on a canoe trip. 2 piece rods invariably suggest a rod case lest you run the risk of losing a piece.

But down to brass tacks on the baitcaster decision. I enjoy using a baitcaster as much as I enjoy a spinning reel and typically have both with me. Light line and lighter lures go with the spinner (4/6/8/10 lb test) and the baitcaster handles 12 to 20 lb test very nicely. I would think in terms of line classes when deciding what outfit to bring. If you only feel comfortable throwing cranks on 12 lb test with a baitcaster without snarling things up I would weigh very carefully wether that would be my strategy as cranks for the most part do better with lighter line. Plus throwing lures in the backyard on a nice calm day is quite different than with the wind in your face. Get my drift?

casting into the wind with a baitcaster leads to very little fun and lots of annoying untangling... been there done that