Is it ok to have just 1 break locked on a baitcast reel & 5 off ? One break on & 5 off .

I do it all the time on my shimanos.

Any combination is acceptable.  However, If leaving an even number on, I do like to use opposing brakes.  I think most would agree with that.

Although it's recommended to do it in pairs, it's not against the law to switch on/off odd numbers.

 

You can if you want 

Thanks for all the help, my thumb is not a A student maybe a C -  GodBless

20 minutes ago, Ghostshad said:

Thanks for all the help, my thumb is not a A student maybe a C -  GodBless

If you only need one brake on, then you are better than I am.  I can get away with 2 on, but it is much more hassle free for me to leave 3 on.  I do run spool tension less than how most people tell you to set it.  Normally I can run less braking on reels that have been supertuned.  DVT supertuned one of my Curado 51Es.  One he just did a thorough cleaning on.  I can run either with 2 brakes on, but 3 allows me to be more lax with my thumb, and not have to worry about over-runs as much.

Supposedly Daiwas don't benefit as much from a supertune, yet I can run fewer brakes on all my Daiwas that have been supertuned.  Maybe because I learned on Daiwa reels, and the first few other reels I bought also were Magnetic brake reels....such as my Gen 1 STX.

 

EDIT:  I feel (for me) that I get better distance with a couple extra brakes on and a freer spool, than the reverse.

One brake and no brakes are the most common settings for me.