This is a basic question and has probably already been asked somewhere on these forums before. But I'm new here so I hope you will cut me a little slack.

I am in my late 30's and have been fishing off and on my whole life, but have never had a desire to get serious about it until just recently. I have always used only baitcast reels to fish with and I have several of them rigged with various lures. But for Christmas last year, someone gave me a nice spinning rod/reel combo as a gift. I've never really fished with a spinning set-up before. So can someone enlighten me as to the pros and cons of spinning tackle? When should I use it versus the baitcasters. Right now I've got it spooled up with 10# mono and have a texas-rigged worm tied to it because I saw someone on TV fishing a worm on a spinning reel. But what other techniques and circumstances dictate the use of a spinning reel versus a baitcaster?

Thanks in advance for your insight, and I look forward to learning much from these forums in the future.

Coming from New England, I grew up with spinning outfits.  I thought baitcasters were the odd type of reel  Until I got a baitcaster last year, I never used any line over 8#.

I think you'll find that spinning outfits work best in finesse situations (lighter baits) where stealth is required.  You might find line management better if you use a mono or copoly in the 8# or lower range.  I like 6#, but then again a 3 pounder is enormous in my neck of the woods.

If you provide some more details about your outfit the experts on BR may be able to give you more specific uses for your setup.  Cheers!

first of all, i fish from a boat 99.999999999% of the time so this only applies to boat fishing. flipping tube baits around docks, dropping a shaky head worm on the head of bass you see on your graph, jerk baits.

there are some guys on here that breath spinning gear and they can really open your eyes to uses for that type of gear.

Welcome aboard!

Here's my take:

Spinning gear: Finesse fishing

Baitcasting gear: Power fishing

For the most part, I fish all soft plastics and light lures on spinning tackle. Medium and heavy weight hard lures, as well as jigs, on baitcasting equipment. I have a particular preference for baitcasters on all "moving" lures.

That said, all lures and techniques can be fished on either type of gear. Many of our members are "spinning only" or "baitcasting only". It really boils down to personal preference. Although I like both styles equally, I have a strong preference for one over the other for specific applications.

8-)

Personally I prefer my baitcaster for almost everything except for the extremely light lures.  But on a windy day I take no shame in using my spinning reel for everything especially if I'm throwing into the wind.

pretty much same as above.  I'm a power fisherman/flipper, so I use basically all baitcasters.  The few situations you need a spinning rod is for  fishing little lures on light line, especially in the WIND.  If you need to skip it under and around docks, spinning rod.  I you are throwing a #5 shad rap, spinning rod.  I only use a spinning rod when I have to.  Once you start fishing more, you'll get a feel for when you need it and when you don't.

I use baitcasters for all my types of fishing even finesse fishing. Because I am more of a power fisherman. I like to use heavyer lines and strong rods.

Whenever casting is involved, I use spinning gear exclusively.

The only time I may use baitcasting gear is to cast bait (shiner fishing),

trolling and certain saltwater chores.

Roger