I practiced last night casting my borrowed RH baitcaster.  Its a Pfleuger (however you spell it) Templar baitcaster.  Not sure how good this one is to be learning on but its what my buddy let me take home and try.  I started out casting sidearm and then I tried the one handed cast and I can't to save my life cast very far.  It leaves the rod tip and goes almost straight down.  Last night I tried the two handed cast and that is a lot easier to me than the one handed. Is that how you are supposed to cast baitcasters, two handed?  If I had to guess I was proabably casting about 50 feet or so. 

It's all about the release point, just like throwing a ball. If the rod will load with the bait weight and he reel is adjusted correctly very little force should be needed. Accuracy first distance second. Horsing a cast is the surest way to get the backlash from hell. If the rod handle is long a two handed grip may be more comfortable for an overhand cast, I use a roll cast, side arm or back cast 75% of the time. Flip/pitch a lot and occasionally bomb one out there (deep cranks).

Did you adjust the friction knob with the brakes off to adjust it to the lure weight? Hold the rod horizontal and release the spool as if casting and just the friction knob till the lure just falls to the ground slowly with the brakes off. I turn the brakes halfway on and try casting. At the end of the cast I apply my thumb brake.

On a side cast I let the spool go about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way through the cast.

 

This is a starting point till you find your own nitch in bait casting.

Since I'm just learning, is a side arm cast used most of the time?  I guess what I'm trying to ask is I shouldn't be worrying about overhand casting since most of the time side arm is better for spinners and soft plastics.  I do like a shallow crank or atleast the first time I tried it last year I caught a bass

Did you adjust the friction knob with the brakes off to adjust it to the lure weight? Hold the rod horizontal and release the spool as if casting and just the friction knob till the lure just falls to the ground slowly with the brakes off. I turn the brakes halfway on and try casting. At the end of the cast I apply my thumb brake.

On a side cast I let the spool go about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way through the cast.

 

This is a starting point till you find your own nitch in bait casting.

 

I took the side plate off of the reel and saw the brakes but didn't know how to adjust them so I kept them at the setting he had it on.  Then I set the spool tension to where the lure drops slowly when the button is pressed.  I'm not getting a lot of birds nest which is good and its not (knock on wood) as hard as I was thinking a baitcaster would be.  I always heard horror stories of my dad saying they were bad

This is my first year with a baitcaster in over 40 years.  I can sling a side-arm spinning rig onto a frisbee from 25 yards.  I can't get a side-arm baitcast within a quarter mile of my target yet.    By the way, nearly every cast that isn't finessing a side-arm or a gentle pitch is two-handed for me; spinning or baitcasting.  I just like the control moreso than the distance.

If your friend has a crankbait rod, put the reel on that. A rod that bends easier, more parabolic, is easier for you to learn to cast with. Trigger stick handles are longer (12"-15") so you can use both hands.

I believe there are threads or vedio's that detail how to cast a bait casting reel on this site, read and or look at them.

Tom

Once you get a little tennis elbow or wrist pain, you become much more motivated to learn two handed casting, for me it seems to save wear and tear on my joints and doesn't hurt as much.  Pitching , of course, is still a one handed deal.  For me, all medium to long range cranking (spinning & bait casting) are two handed.  Most side arm roll casts are two handed.  Most of my directly overhead arc type and line drive type casts are two handed.  It is just easier for me to do it that way.

Does casting with two hands improve accuracy?

Basically any forward cast I do like a roll cast is 2 handed. My backhand cast are 1 handed. Generally those are little pitches or high velocity skips under stuff.

Other than flipping/pitching, I cast 2 handed 98% of the time.  I learned to throw a baitcaster when I was 3.  At that time, the only way to handle a 6' rod(that was long for back then) was with 2 hands.  I learned that way, and have never switched.  Do what is most comfortable to you!

 

Jeff

_{My next thing is, when I first started thinking about a new baitcaster I was thinking about going lefty since I've always thrown right and reeled left, but since I borrowed his rod/reel and his is a RH I've been switching hands like some do here.  I hope I'm not setting my self up for failure.}

I don't worry about one handed vs two handed.  If I get it to my target I am good to go.