I don't use spinning gear at all. Do you?

[SSS]

I know he has been into them for a while. Was curious for how long exactly.

[SteveSchmelzle]

spinning rods and reels RULE the Niagara River from late November until early April.

So many styles of fishing support spinning tackle over bait casting....just not the warm water, warm season angling that is mainly done on this board.

Spinning reels are work horses. Casting reels are meant for ideal conditions, or shelves looking pretty.

[DrTrevorkian]

I hear ya on that! That’s how hardware fishing steelhead goes for me. When it’s down right nasty, spinning reels. Bobber fishing, I even put the baitcaster away and just run the centerpin. When it’s nice to middlin, though, I do enjoy the baitcasters very much.

[Oktayne the Red]

I'm like 90% coastal saltwater, 9% offshore, with the occasional sweetwater trip with some buddies. I'm all baitcaster/conventional with the exception of ultralight tackle, which is a bit of a passion for me. I think my biggest tackle fantasy would be waking up to the announcement that Shimano is finally making the Stella 500. I'm definitely looking forward to the Vanford 500. Unless I've missed something (always possible), the Vanford should be pretty much king-of-the-hill in sub-1000 size spinners?

So, while baitcasting gear is my bread-n-butter, spinning gear will always be an important part of my gear.

[ftl1951]

I use only spinning gear with the exception of fly fishing.

[BIGBOY]

I only own 3 spinning rods...a Megabass Simoom, an NRX 822 dsr, and an NRX 842s. I use them at highland reservoirs only, namely Lake Lanier. I much prefer BFS but fishing 50ft+ I find spinning gear much more efficient...especially when the bite is on..

[SteveSchmelzle]

BFS is just a fancy way to do what spinning gear will already do...and do it easier....and cheaper.

But really, this board isn't full of anglers looking to be efficient

[MeatHead]

I fish mostly inshore throughout South Louisiana and always have a spinning outfit with me setup with a popping cork. Not my favourite way to fish but can be extremely effective when other techniques don't work.
Also have a spinning outfit for shallow water flounder fishing throwing light jigheads and plastics.

[CFDoc]

I fish mostly inshore throughout South Louisiana and always have a spinning outfit with me setup with a popping cork.

Just got back from three days in Dulac fishing decade, mechant, etc. Absolutely wore the trout out. Limits every day. Reds were a little tougher to find and riding around was tough with the wind.

Not a spinning rig in the boat. All baitcasters. Even for the popping corks.

[Sterfry26]

This is a tricky question for sure. When I found BFS casting gear I wanted to sell all of my spinning gear right away. However, I found it very difficult to find rods that had appropriate action for some spinning techniques. Dropshot specifically possed a particular issue. I eventually found some light vertical jigging rods that were great for drop shot. As more light casting rods become available I think more people will begin to move to cast only.

[SteveSchmelzle]

i know most of ya'll are tucked away for the winter, or fishing southern environments, but fishing below zero means spinning reels.

so many specialty applications, but for the masses, bc gear will fit most needs.

[Dalleinf]

BFS is just a fancy way to do what spinning gear will already do...and do it easier....and cheaper.

But really, this board isn't full of anglers looking to be efficient

Cheaper yes. In the US at least. Easier maybe. But put a little time and effort in to it, and with experience then no. Efficient depends on what you fish for, where and when as you elude to in other posts.
For inshore fishing, I find spinning to be easier (at least when starting out) and more efficient with longer casts.
For fishing small streams with a lot vegetation - many years of first spinning followed by many years of BFS - BFS wins in my book with it being more efficient. I catch more fish with BFS and I catch them faster... When I fish my local streams, I walk many miles and I cover a lot of water, and I do this faster with BFS - there is no competition BFS>spinning>fly gear.

You forgot fun - baitcasters/BFS wins any day at least for me.

[hungry_cow]

Depends on how extreme light you need to go. I haven't taken a spinning rod bass fishing in years. With a shakey head, ned rig, 1/8 oz jig, small crankbaits, baitfinesse actually works as well and with more precision. However casting a 1 gram jig for bluegill and crappie with a true high end JDM super ultra light spinning rod actually works better and is more fun than trying to do with BFS. I haven't found a BFS setup that actually casts a 1 gram jig with distance and accuracy, or lets a 5 inch bluegill put up a fight.

[Dalleinf]

Depends on how extreme light you need to go. I haven't taken a spinning rod bass fishing in years. With a shakey head, ned rig, 1/8 oz jig, small crankbaits, baitfinesse actually works as well and with more precision. However casting a 1 gram jig for bluegill and crappie with a true high end JDM super ultra light spinning rod actually works better and is more fun than trying to do with BFS. I haven't found a BFS setup that actually casts a 1 gram jig with distance and accuracy, or lets a 5 inch bluegill put up a fight.

I agree. I may use BFS gear / UL trout casting gear, but I mostly use 1/8 to 1/4 oz lures (3.5-7 gram).
I do use lighter lures but when below 2.5 gram I switch to spinning.

[Kurt L]

Being in Alaska we sometimes have very target rich environments and I have gone both ways, but have come back around to mostly spinning gear. For King (large) salmon I use both interchangeably but for the remainder of the Salmon species I use light tackle (6-10lb test) with that said I have found that baitcasting reels do not hold up well, I find myself doing teardowns on my baitcasters every 8-10 hours of use Max to keep from ruining the gears, and if it's raining hard I find most baitcasters are not protected well from the elements and if soaked from a heavy rain it only takes a handful of fast or long runs from fish and you can feel what were smooth gears quickly going away. I find that Spinning reels are smoother, more durable and versatile. I have bought so many sets of primarily Shimano gears (Metanium 13, MGL, Curado 301, 201 and Tatula gears) no matter what grease I have tried that I'm rarely use them anymore and have started selling them off. Conversely I have Stradic CI4+ FA's, Stradic FJ's, Certate LT's and even Fuego's LT's that have years on them are still butter smooth with only normal maintenance.

Kurt