16 minutes ago, Big Hands said:

But when you get to the point of pushing the performance boundaries of the system, casting light and/or bulky baits into the wind for example,

 

My bad I thought we were teaching a rookie the basics.

53 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

My bad I thought we were teaching a rookie the basics.

Touche!

Smooth acceleration is the key to reliable baitcasting.  

Any jerk you put into the cast is only backlash.  

If you want/need to increase rod tip velocity for longer casts, go to a longer rod.  

 

Bulldog is right.  Smooth acceleration is the key to reliable casting.  Be that spincasting, spinning, baitcasting or flycasting.  There's no whipping in any of those, all the same.  Flycasting taught me to envision the rod tip traveling out in a straight line, not an arc.  Same for the other casting.   

 

I put the bait caster on my Zebco 33 rod and its perfect. Went fishing today and not one backlash. I also took the advice and put electric tape then mono backing and electic tape then the 20 pound braid. The spool looks much better now this way too. 

On 3/13/2021 at 1:04 PM, Big Hands said:

Sometimes the only way to know where the limits are is to exceed them, and with the cost to fill a reel these days, that can be very costly.

So true 

Sounds like your line is too light and your bait is too heavy. Re-tying often helps with break offs too . Watching your bait launch into outer space just happens every once in a while though. 
 

On 3/14/2021 at 9:09 AM, bulldog1935 said:

Smooth acceleration is the key to reliable baitcasting.  

Any jerk you put into the cast is only backlash.  

If you want/need to increase rod tip velocity for longer casts, go to a longer rod.  

 

But the extra length should be in the rod....not the handle. 

 

The example I had to show was Lami 8'6' MTC - this is for getting away from hull slap drifting the coast flats in a power boat, or casting across a cut - it throws 1/8-oz with aplomb, btw.  Another friend uses this same rod for lures in the surf.  

 

The answer is in ballistics.  For the same rotational velocity on the rod, every 20% increase in rod length doubles your cast.  

For a first rod I’d not go too long, 6’6”-7’ and practice with a weight in the upper 1/3 of the labeled range. Easy side arm, lob and roll casts. Accuracy first.