bait cast vs. fly reel

[poorfisherman]

So all the rage this year is the fly reel.  Yes lots of changes to make them suitable for ice fishing. 

The biggest advantage it would seem to using a fly reel over spinning is line twist.  Is there more?

What is then the advantage to fly over bait cast reel.  A bait cast allows for no line twist and I'd think has a better drag system.

Lets hear the arguments.

[bpiatt]

Baitcasters work great for larger fish but for panfish they kind of lack. They are heavy and don't balance well on ultralight rods. Plus its hard to find a rod made for baitcasting reels. Sure you can use a spinning rod but graphite rods are made to bend a certain way. Fly reels excel for smaller fish species, baitcasters for larger fish.

[marmooskapaul]

I've used them on and off for years. They do not balance that great, but most I used where high end bass reels that didn't weigh much.They work fine if you are used to a bait caster in your hand. I spooled them with 2lb or 4lb trilene xl and use them for bluegills/crappie whatever. I would suggest using one with graphite palming side plate as metal gets mighty cold. Most casting reels have a large line take in ratio, so sometimes you have to slow down bringing the fish in.
Don't get me wrong I still use spinning reels most of the time, but if I want less line twist [I've got a 48" rod and quantem bait caster set up for hole hopping] and less lure spinng I wouldn't hesitate to use a bait caster. Also if your just wanting to try a straight line approach and already have a bait caster, go for it. I'm not ready to buy a 50$ fly reel when I've got 2000$ worth of bait casters...LOL
Paul

[mcsquinty]

We've decided line twist and twirling jigs are not acceptable. The next issue: curly line. When you look down the hole and your line is all wavy, you wont know when you're bit, theres slack in the system, you'll be missing fish. The larger the spool, the less chance of line memory. Baitcasters are great, but if you wrap 2 lb mono around a 1/2" spool and hang a itty bitty jig at sub freezing temp, you are more likely to have line memory.

[poorfisherman]

The lake we fish most is at max 11' it's a perch and like lake with a tough walleye bite in winter.  We make the odd trip to a couple lakes that are 60+ deep. Mainly for walleye in one and trout in the other most of the time fish 30' or less. I use a bait cast when targeting eyes and spinning while fishing perch. Not sure if running The fly style reel is worth the investment?

[bpiatt]

The lake we fish most is at max 11' it's a perch and like lake with a tough walleye bite in winter.  We make the odd trip to a couple lakes that are 60+ deep. Mainly for walleye in one and trout in the other most of the time fish 30' or less. I use a bait cast when targeting eyes and spinning while fishing perch. Not sure if running The fly style reel is worth the investment?

You might like the fly reel for perch fishing in 11 ft of water. The 1:1 ratio can be annoying in anything deeper than 15ft. You will definitely have less line twist with any fly reel which may increase your catch rate. Pick up one of the cheaper fly reels and see if it helps, if you like it than maybe invest in a quality one, there are also new fly reels coming out that have 3:1 gear ratios, I might be switching all my rods to them depending how they perform.

[slipperybob]

A rattling flyreel makes for a great rattling sleepy rig...takes a snooze. 

A baitcasting reel makes fish playing just playing too easy...