anyone use a reel that has a twitching bar and do they work well ? every now and then i see a deal on something like a daiwa viento and was just curious

Those reels were hot sellers for awhile...

A retired guy I know said " hell I can fish/ retrieve with one hand, and smoke my cigar with the other" that was said to be cute, but, they have been handy for some folks.. Last I heard the bearing in the twitching bar needs replaced every so often, idk.. Never owned one..

They are sort of gimmicky imo. They use a mini AR clutch style bearing that I've replaced a few of. It doesn't do anything you cant do with the crank or rod tip. 

Wow ... funny because I was at my club meeting last Friday.  We hosted our annual "tackle swap".  One guy was selling a left handed model.  Thought it was "cute" ...

 

Never saw one before.

I have a Viento. Not something I would have bought myself. My wife got it for me for a birthday. I have it on my jerkbait/twitchbait rod. It's just the thing for those early spring jerkbait days when you need to get the bait down and let it sit. The twitch bar allows me to make very small moves, leaving the rod in hookset position.

 

It's also good for small poppers and original floating rapalas.

 

I didn't think I would like it, but I do, for those limited applications.

I knew a guy that lost the use of his left arm in a farm accident that used a Daiwa Megaforce (?) and the twitch bar to pick up the slack on line when working jigs, Texas rigs, Carolina rigs, etc. He would set the hook and reel with his teeth. Learned from Tim Farmer on Kentucky Afield.

I have two Daiwas that came with the twitch bar and I can use one finger to count the number of times I've used that feature. I just prefer using my rod tip.

Its a nice add on similar to some reels with a flipping switch.

But for me its not a "must have feature" for all reels.

 

I usually use my rod holding hand to flick the handle to move the lures similar to what the twitching bar does.