good beginner setup?

[Fiskadoro]

So I always find it funny when people PM me questions rather then just ask them in a thread.

Someone just sent me a PM asking why mag brake systems would be better for spectra and why they'd be different then any other braking system like the centrifugal braking systems most reels use.

Ok.... So I thought about this one some.

Magnetic braking works where you have a magnet by the spool and it slows the spool by electromagnetism. I could go into detail but it works like the reverse of a electric motor, or like an electric brake.

Centrifugal braking uses tiny weights that are pulled out from the hub as the spool turns by centrifugal force, they then rub against a braking ring and slow the reel through friction.

Centrifugal braking is therefore greater, or more intense the faster the reel spool turns. The faster the spool turns the greater the outward force on the weights and the more surface they cover or turn against on the ring. It's like the braking force is something like the proportional square of the spool speed, where braking with with magnetism is more linear, or directly proportional to spool speed.

So with centrifugal braking you have almost no braking at lower speeds and heavy braking at high speeds, where with magnetic braking you have consistent braking, I.E. more braking then Centrifugal at low speeds and proportionally less braking then Centrifugal at high speeds.

So when you cast the centrifugal brake is only working in the faster portion usually the middle of the cast where a mag brake works the whole time.

Personally I get most of my backlashes one of two ways, either I get one by trying to cast too hard at the beginning of the cast or have it over-run at the end of the cast. That said I like to cast heavy baits, or really lures like Iron.

When you cast with centrifugal braking and a heavy bait the spool is not braked until it's turning fast, so you get kind of a weird bump when it comes into play, then you abruptly loose the braking when it slows down. That's the two points you're likely to backlash. Mono absorbs the shock of those changes in brake force, but Spectra unlike mono has no stretch so there is nothing to absorb the shock of changes in spool speed, or braking friction.

I find that with a mag control and spectra you don't have to cast as hard to get the same distance and the braking since it's constant is smooth throughout the cast. The braking increases steady then decreases steady so there are no surges or drops where your likely to backlash.

At the end of the cast when the spool does start to slow you still have braking. With centrifuge braking it cuts off, but with mag braking it stays steady, and prevents the overrun backlashes at the end of the cast.

That said this only works lures that have some wieght to them and cast a long ways anyway.

Extremely light lures can be cast further with centrifugal brakes because they do not brake until the reel speeds up. Say your on a party boat trying to cast a live chovie or sardine with no weight. A centrifugal brake allows the reel to get up to speed quickly, but then slows the reel if it starts to over-run in the middle of the cast, while a mag reel with it's steady braking makes it harder to get the spool spinning and it would actually be more prone to a backlash in the middle because it doesn't brake as much at higher speeds.

So in real world reel terms a Daiwa SL20SH fishes and casts flylined baits much better then the same sized Penn SQL12 but the SQL12 can outcast the SL20SH with light Irons or heavier plastics, if that makes sense.

So which casts further? Well it depends what they are casting but with heavier lures like Iron and plastics mags cast better. Centrifugal braking is trying to slow things down when the spool is at it's fastest in the middle or distance part of the cast. In contrast with mag you get more carry or a longer period of higher speed, and with spectra the line is thin and light, so the bait carries further before slowing down. That's where you get your distance with larger baits. So with a mag brake and spectra you can outcast Mono with a traditional centrifugal brake, when casting heavy lures.

That said if your throwing very light baits traditional centrifugal braking offers you more control, and the same size reel actually outcasts a reel that is mag controlled with smaller baits like flylined chovies.

I've seen it first hand and that's how I think it works.

Jim