Reel with bayrunner - advantages and disadvantages

Bayrunner: general information

When fishing, fishermen, as a rule, do not sit for several hours just clinging to the tackle and fishing rod, and some use several fishing tools at once, and do not hold on to them with both hands and feet throughout the entire fishing trip.
After all, this is relaxation, and until the moment of the bite, when it’s time to pull out the prey, you can put the fishing rod on the stand and relax, admiring nature. But here a problem arises, which experienced fishermen, of course, have encountered. The fact is that big prey is most often caught at the most inopportune moment, when you are not expecting it, the fishing rod is lying on the stand, a large and strong fish is rushing about on the hook and, in the end, either drags away the entire tackle or breaks the fishing line. It’s a shame, but don’t despair, because it is for such situations that a special reel with a baitrunner was invented. It acts as a braking system that disables the friction of the reel with fishing line, and allows the fish to unwind the fishing line from the spool when biting.

This system acts like a car brake; you can, of course, pull the handbrake at full speed and “instantly” stop, but wouldn’t it be better to use brakes, which will still stop the car sooner or later, but without any negative consequences.

A baitrunner, like good brakes in a car, increases the weight and price of the reel, but almost always saves the tackle, which is much more important for any fisherman.

The principle of operation of a baitrunner on a reel

Reels with a baitrunner externally repeat the design of standard inertia-free devices for winding fishing line. They have both a spool and a front brake with a rotor reverse stopper. But they have a baitrunner installed, which works on the principle of an additional independent, individually adjustable brake.

If we continue the comparison with a car, which should be clear to most fishermen, then a baitrunner is not just a standard braking system, but secondly, racing brakes, specially designed for extreme conditions of high speeds and sudden loads on the track, and not in the city when going to the bakery.

Externally, such a reel differs from a regular one in that a special bracket is placed next to its rotation handle. When the handle is retracted, the mechanism is in the working position, with the spool released. Thus, if at this moment a strong fish tugs on the line, the unlocked spool will unwind, simply lowering the fish like a dog on a longer leash.

But the fish itself and the fishing rod will not go anywhere, because while the fish is freely spinning the line from the spool, the successful fisherman has time to remove the fishing rod from the stand, turn off the baitrunner and begin the most interesting part - pulling out the prey.

In the off position, the baitrunner will not be activated, the spool will function as usual, the line will be stretched, and the fate of the gear will depend on the size, strength of the fish caught and the reaction of the fisherman.

Advantages and disadvantages of using a bayrunner

Do you need a reel with a baitrunner? Of course, it is necessary, because it solves several problems at once:

1. Firstly, it greatly relieves the fisherman during the fishing process, allows him to really relax, doing the most monotonous work of waiting for a bite for him, since he insures against the gear falling into the water in case of an unexpected bite;
2. Secondly, when activated, neither the fishing line nor itself will experience extreme sudden loads, which, when using standard devices, would most likely lead to their breakdown and, as a consequence, the end of fishing;
3. Thirdly, the baitrunner allows it to work in two of the most critical modes: waiting, when the fish is already biting, but the fisherman is not yet ready to pull it ashore, and when the fish is large enough, and it cannot be pulled out with a simple force, but must be carefully and gradually fished out.

Pros:

1. Ensures the smoothest and most balanced operation of gear, unlike devices not equipped with this gadget.
2. For devices with a baitrunner, vibration is unusual, which greatly disturbs any fisherman during the fishing process.
3. The fishing operation becomes simpler, and the chances that a particularly large catch will be lost are reduced significantly.
4. When using a marked float with it, it becomes possible to take depth measurements in a reservoir.
5. If it is activated, there is a good guarantee that expensive gear will not be snatched by prey during a powerful bite, from a stand or by the clumsy hands of a novice fisherman.

Like any more or less complex and technological solution that provides additional comfort, reels with a baitrunner, in addition to advantages, also have their own specific disadvantages.

Minuses:

1. Firstly, it’s weight, which is significantly greater than its analogue without such a gadget, but this drawback is almost completely offset by the ability to free your hands from the fishing rod while waiting for a bite and put it on a stand, because thanks to this device it won’t go anywhere anyway.
2. Secondly, for automation and a smooth rotation speed, such reels pay for their fragility, but it is better to change a relatively expensive reel once a season than to immediately lose all the gear at the beginning of the season or spend half of each fishing trip refilling constantly breaking fishing line.
3. Thirdly, the relatively high cost of the device does not encourage its purchase as a kit for cheap gear; it obviously makes no sense to hang a barn lock on a thin door, but this does not negate the comfort of fishing with just such a gadget.
4. Fourthly, the operation of such a coil differs from conventional analogues, and therefore requires a certain skill and habit of working with oneself.

List of budget models

When planning to purchase your first fishing tool, it is not at all necessary to overpay a lot of money and choose the most expensive branded models. On the market you can find good budget carp reels that demonstrate good stability and are equipped with a baitrunner mechanism. Of course, products from well-known global manufacturers are much better, but affordable models are quite suitable for training and catching decent specimens weighing up to 3 kg.

If we are talking about Chinese counterfeits, they are significantly inferior to original products in terms of quality, service life and reliability. You should be prepared for the fact that a reel purchased for 200-300 rubles will let you down at the most crucial moment. With an aggressive bite, such a device may jam or simply break, which is due to the manufacturer’s savings on materials.

Also, fake reels cannot boast of good performance properties - casting range and accuracy. They also have an insufficiently balanced baitrunner, which can deprive you of large prey.

To avoid becoming a victim of a rash purchase, it is better to pay attention to proven models:

1. OKUMA Enduro Baitfeeder. The products of this company are still unfamiliar in the fishing world, but they deserve special attention. Despite the budget price of 2 thousand rubles, the model demonstrates high quality work and is not inferior to branded analogues in functionality. The sample has a graphite spool, a rotor balancing system, and a line tangling prevention system. It can be used for fishing for small and medium prey.
2. SALMO Sniper Baitfeeder 3+1. A good working tool that costs only 1,500 rubles and is intended for bottom gear. It comes with an additional plastic spool and is also equipped with a line release system with a frame switch in a carbo-plastic case.
3. OKUMA Proforce Baitfeeder. Another good model, which is available at prices from 1500 to 2700 rubles. When looking for your first educational device, it will be a very good solution.

The above reels are ideal for beginner carp anglers, so if you consider yourself one of them, be sure to pay attention to these models.

For what gear is a reel with a baitrunner used?

Such devices are usually used in conjunction with medium-action rods and for long-distance casting. For example, for fishing on lakes of large area and depth, as well as on turbulent, fast-moving rivers with powerful currents.

Due to their versatility, these gadgets are very popular among most avid fishermen, who install them on spinning rods, donks and feeders. After all, there are no universal fishing rods, and each type of fishing requires a separate type of gear specially adapted for it.

But due to the fact that the baitrunner mechanism can be used even for combined fishing, which includes fishing with a regular rod and using a feeder, you can fish even in complete darkness at night.

Universal reel for feeder fishing

As has already been said, you should not chase low weight in feeder fishing. The rod is two-handed, the long feeder is heavy, the lever from the feeder negates the feeling of a “feather” in the hand. Therefore, we can recommend fairly heavy reels for both picker and universal feeder. And only for heavy vehicles it is worth making an exception and installing special coils on them. For most fishing trips, you can use the same reel, simply changing the spools on it.

You can ask your question to our author:

What types of fish are used for fishing?

The technical characteristics of such devices and their functionality open up wide opportunities for anglers to catch especially large species of fish, such as catfish, carp and trout.

To catch fast-moving trout, a special compact and lightweight type of baitrunner is even produced, which quickly releases the fishing line during the bite process.

Most often, devices of this type are used when fishing for carp. For its fishing, a special type of reel has also been developed, which is simply irreplaceable for this, because it allows you to lower the line without much resistance until the fisherman finally notices the bite.

Otherwise, when fishing only with the front brake, which is configured to work with large-sized fish, a carp caught on the bait can easily drag both the rod and reel into the water, since its brake system is configured for larger fish, and therefore has great resistance release of fishing line.

The situation is completely different with the bayrunner system turned on. The caught carp will easily remove the line from the spool until the fisherman notices the bite. Then you can reliably take the fishing rod in your hands, smoothly turn off the recoil of the fishing line and begin to gradually fish for the prey, which will not only allow you to save the fishing line, fishing rod and nerves, but also to catch fish of the maximum size, for which neither the fishing rod nor the fishing line was designed without help. this ingenious device.

Rating of budget feeder reels

The criteria for choosing a reel for a feeder are clear; carp gear requires the same characteristics as for fishing on the current. The TOP 5 budget reels compiled by us are based on a survey of English donkey professionals, as well as amateur fishermen.

RYOBI

For the feeder, Riobi with a 3000 spool is most often used; this option is recognized as the best tandem in terms of price and quality.

Shimano

The Ultegra reel is recognized as the most promising new product on the market.

DAIWA

Many Daiwa models have proven themselves to be reliable and compact products; a special place is given to the Fuego reel.

Salmo

The Elite model with a baitrunner is recognized as the best budget option of this type, many say that Salmo has outdone herself here.

Preston

Preston PXR will be an excellent option for fishing in strong and moderate currents; the manufacturer claims that the model can compete with products in its price range and an order of magnitude higher.

Some Chinese reels can be a good competitor to the ones listed above, but low-quality goods can also fall into your hands. It’s better not to take risks and use products from already proven brands.

The number of bearings in the reel is the last thing you need to pay attention to. Of course, the more the merrier. But this is often an advertising ploy; manufacturers shove a bunch of bearings where they are needed and not needed in order to sell them at a higher price. At the same time, they often save on the quality of gears, other parts, housing, and handles. The main condition is that there should be bearings on the rotor, feed mechanism and line guide, that’s all. The rest is at the request of the manufacturer.

How to set up a baitrunner reel

Preliminary tuning is done on shore and begins with debugging the operation of the clutch. To do this, the fishing line is secured to some support such as a tree. Then the fishing line is tensioned on the clutch until a sufficiently strong tension is felt.

But the main feature of such devices is that even directly during the fishing process, the baitrunner device can easily be adjusted to different operating modes depending on the specific stage of fishing:

1. At the initial stage, a fishing line with bait is thrown into the water, and the gear is installed on a stand. The baitrunner turns on, sets the reel to standby mode, and the soft brake system is activated.
2. When the bite starts and you need to start hooking, you need to turn off the braking system and start catching the prey.
3. During the fishing process, the system will signal that the clutch is engaged with a strong click.
4. Now you can release the small lever on the gadget, which acts as a stopper for the handle. It will start to spin, but then return to its original position and allow you to reliably control the line.
5. When the line is completely tightened, you will need to switch the device to closed mode by rotating the handle, after which the standard line control mode will work.
6. The reverse option should already be turned off.
7. The friction brake is adjusted in such a way that under load, at the point of greatest bending of the gear, a slow descent of the fishing line occurs. This will prevent the line from breaking or the entire fishing rod from breaking.
8. In conditions where the friction brake is not really needed, it is better to weaken its mechanism in order to prolong its performance.

How to set it up yourself?

The baitrunner actually works in conjunction with the rear clutch. In fact, when it is turned on, it does not simply release the fishing line, but switches to working with this friction brake.

It can be installed in different ways.

One of the most effective options is to install it at a relatively low weight (for example, 300 grams), and the front clutch will need to be set to the expected maximum load.

This way, when the fish bites, it will be able to pull out the line almost unhindered (with very slight braking). Then, when it is time to pull in the fish, the baitrunner will be turned off and the front clutch will operate, adjusted to the maximum load.

Tips and tricks for using a reel

1. It is recommended to use products based on durable, wear-resistant materials. That is, not cheap plastic fakes, which are fragile and often break. And branded gadgets with all all-metal parts and casing.
2. When choosing a reel, you must take into account that its side, which is subject to the greatest friction and wear, should be coated with zirconium or titanium nitride. Less expensive products have an oxide coating, but it is much inferior in its characteristics.
3. When purchasing a gadget, it is recommended to find out about the threshold of force that it can withstand, so even reels made of metal that have a small thickness may not withstand a catch of seven kilograms, which any high-quality fishing system should be able to fish without problems.