http://www.LouisianaSportsman.com April 2015 | Louisiana Sportsman 17
Langridge said. “In most saltwater applications, you’re not try-
ing to cast to an exact spot. But I fish a lot of shorelines for red-
fish where I’m throwing a bait or a spinner or a cork up close to
the canes but not in the canes.
“I can put it right where I want with the baitcaster.”
But if you’re looking for sheer casting distance, Langridge said
a spinning reel is definitely the way to go.
“It’s pretty obvious: When you throw a spinning reel, there’s
nothing moving when you let go. The line is just spinning off
the spool,” he said. “Whereas on a baitcaster, even though it’s
loaded with ball bearings, that spool still has to turn and there’s
friction there.
“And you’ve got the possibility of a backlash, so that’s the rea-
son you have a braking system on a baitcaster. You’ve got mag-
netic and centrifugal brakes working to slow your cast down, so
you’re not going to get the distance with a baitcaster that you
will with a spinner.”And for ease of use, whether a young child or someone who’s
never fished before, the advantage goes to a spinner — hands-
down.
“There’s definitely a learning curve you’ve got with a baitcaster
and lots of practice involved, where the learning curve is so
much shorter and quicker with a spinner,” he said. “
And besides being much easier to learn to use, spinning reels
also have another couple of advantages, he said.
“They can hold a lot more line than a baitcaster,” Langridge
said. “I probably put 75 yards of line on a baitcaster, and prob-
ably put 125 on the spinner. It holds considerably more line.
“And if you’re after sac-a-lait, and you want to throw very light
baits and you don’t want to use a fly rod, you almost have to
use an ultra-light spinning reel. It’s just a fact of life.” ■