Thread: manual bail flipping...

I've seen people mention manually flipping the bail after casting. I've been wondering why. I've tried comparing manual flipping vs just cranking the handle with both mono and braid, but other than the manual action being a bit slower I've not found much difference.

I always do it because it just feels right to manually flip it after casting. It's just a habit. I have heard people say it can wear out parts on your reel quicker though if you don't manually flip it.

Originally Posted by Fisherman102

I always do it because it just feels right to manually flip it after casting. It's just a habit. I have heard people say it can wear out parts on your reel quicker though if you don't manually flip it.

It's a habit for me, and there is sense of control. I do it because my first Penn's auto mech broke and I was too poor to fix it. Wore it out striper fishing below dams. Still using it that way.

Hmm. I fish quite a bit, but I'm not sure I've ever worn out a bail lever (or whatever the proper term is). I've killed several bail springs on my old Mitchell 300s... But that's really all that ever seems to wear on them. Those reels are just used for crappie fishing, but the same question applies. To flip or not to flip...

I've been using the Penn pursuit 6000 for striper fishing below dams for a few years now. Cheapest Penn you can buy (new) but the bail mechanism has no slop or obvious wear. I can't seem to get used to flipping manually. Takes a constant effort to remember.

I manually flip my bail then grasp the line and give it a little tug. Once I established that habit I stopped having any overspool problems which sometimes causes a bird nest when you cast.

My Penn 650SS was purchased in '81. Wore the bail spring out 5 years later, on stripe and the ubiquitous white drum. Still using the old ugly thing. So, after thirty years, don't even think about the bail, it's automatic, I close it manually.

Originally Posted by oldfisherman

I manually flip my bail then grasp the line and give it a little tug. Once I established that habit I stopped having any overspool problems which sometimes causes a bird nest when you cast.

this is a good reason,
as well it eliminates the 1/2 twist imparted onto the spool when using mono.
Many folks who experience 'line twist issues' are mechanically tripping their bail while doing it manually will eliminate much of that issue.

Also most of the newer spinning reels feature universal anti-reverse and many of those have a 'dead spot' in the rotor rotation which makes the bail very difficult to flip mechanically.
This leads to more wear on the gears and much more stress on the handle (especially in the 'cheaper' models).

Originally Posted by oldfisherman

I manually flip my bail then grasp the line and give it a little tug. Once I established that habit I stopped having any overspool problems which sometimes causes a bird nest when you cast.

I do the same thing. Cranking the handle to automatically close the bail will sometimes throw a loop in your line and cause a major mess on the next cast.

I developed the habit of manually closing bails years ago, and it has become an "automatic" practice. My conversion to Penn Z's will take some retraining since you can NOT trip manually... But only on my 712's. I took the bail off the 710's and 704's. The first few hours on the pier might be fun to watch come October!