Bought a Duckett MH 7' micro magic and put a Lew's Superduty Speed Spool on it MONDAY NIGHT

I've caught several nice fish flipping and pitching but when I try to cast the thing it birds-nests every time. I've tightened the drag, and the magnetic *** on the other side of the Lew's reel and it keeps birds nesting. No wind.

Trying to cast a Baby brush hog texas rigged with a tungsten bullet weight and a bead.... what is the deal

 

Last night I was so frustrated that I reverted back to when I was 7 years old wanting to throw the rod, reel, and everything else I own into the lake

6 minutes ago, Texas_Rig_Aggie said:

I've tightened the drag, and the magnetic *** on the other side of the Lew's reel and it keeps birds nesting.

Are you adjusting the drag or the spool tension? If you are adjusting the drag, then that could be your problem.

Yep, adjusting the drag won't have any affect on the problem.  Here's how to adjust your reel properly:

 

 

10 minutes ago, Texas_Rig_Aggie said:

I've tightened the drag

Say what ?!?

 

If the drag is REALLY, REALLY, REALLY loose, that could be a problem, but I doubt that's the issue.  Watch the video, and practice.  It's likely a user issue, though there is the extremely slim possibility that the spool tip shims are worn.

Keep in mind that on Lew's the magnetic cast control dial tightens COUNTER-clockwise and loosens clockwise. It is counter-intuitive. That could be the problem. Turn it counterclockwise most of the way (8 out of 10) and try again. If no backlash, if you need to, you can then loosen one click at a time till it's tuned perfectly.

If that is the problem, you'll feel like an idiot, but if it's any consolation, I did the same thing -- twice.

When you have the rod up, about 11 o'clock position, engage the cast bar and with the lure at the rod tip, it should slowly go to the floor with hardly no overrun when it hits the floor. Keep adjusting until it does this. Does this make any sense.

An old Bronson I have has the spool tension labeled as "drag". ?

Josh

I meant tension.... dammit

The video helped me quite a bit when I started.

2 hours ago, Texas_Rig_Aggie said:

I meant tension.... dammit

When you tighten the tension knob does the lure fall slowly?

34 minutes ago, georgeyew said:

When you tighten the tension knob does the lure fall slowly?

This may sound like a foolish question, but it isn't.  I had a new reel that put zero tension on the spool when I tightened the knob as tight as I could go hand tight.   Well...I didn't reef on it, but you get the idea.  Backlash every cast which is actually weird now that I think about it.  Normally I only set enough tension to remove side-to-side play.  You wouldn't think it would make that much difference casting, but it did.