Hows it goin guys, new to this forum, been fishing for about 2-3 years and have mastered the spinning setups i have.  Decided the other day to run out to basspro shops and bought a new daiwa tourney procaster baitcasting reel and uglystick.  I went outside and practiced for a half hour with a bunch of heavy rubberbands tied on and got the birds nest a number of times.

Now I know that I have to practice but I have a few specific questions:

When I cast iI am casting harder than i normally do with a spinning rod, and yet i'm getting half the distance? how can I increase distance? Will it not cast as far with plastics as my spinning outfit does?

Also, I was told by the guy at the counter to practice with mono, however I use braid on all my spinning outfits.  Will my inexperience with baitcasting reels and braid seriously make a tangle from hell?

thanks guys

I started out with my brake set where the lure slowly fell from the tip.Remember your thumb is the break however.As you get more used to casting you can start trying less and less brake.The main thing is practice.

I also find when throwing lighter lures like unweighted plastic If I leave a little more line out past the tip before I cast it helps carry the line off the reel better.

On heavier plugs I leave about 8 to 12 inches past the tip.Practice,practice,practice.

I'm no means an expert this is just what works for me.I'm sure you'll get some good advice from others on here as well.

Oh yeah and welcome aboard!

There's a bunch of things that can add to your casting distance.

Rod is one of them.

Adjusting the brakes on your reel and casting control knob (this will cause more backlashes especially for beginners).

Lighter line.

Heavier bait.

The better quality the reel, typically, the better performance you'll get from it.

Baitcasters are better with heavier baits in general. I use spinning for all baits under 1/4oz and above 1/4oz i use a BC.

As someone who is going through the same thing but getting more and more comfortable - my advice is to start slow and dont worry about trying to max out the distance just yet.  Keep working on the mechanics, and get a easy to manage line to start out with.  I tried with stiffer copolys and floros and the overruns were a nightmare.  TIME ON THE WATER!