First of all, I'm not an expert angler, not a beginner, but somewhere in-between. There is a reason I'm posting this in this beginners subreddit, more on that in a moment. The Frankenstein rig you see here is a Lews CF1SHL casting reel spooled with 10# braid, and an Ugly Stick Dock Runner spincast rod. Here is the backstory before the reason for the post. This was my first ever casting reel that I bought new some years ago, and it sat unused after I upgraded to a nice Penn reel. I also had a really old Zebco spincast rod sitting in my garage. I always used the handle half of the Zebco rod to hold reels while spooling new line. One day I cut a short piece of Pex plumbing pipe and taped it to the end of the Zebco half rod for a makeshift guide. I tied on a short "no-show" sock to the braid, and used this for casting practice in my basement during the winter months. I kept thinking "Man, this would make a sweet bank fishing rig in the heavily forested areas that surround some ponds I fish." I went to Walmart today and bought the Dock Runner spincast version for $20, and also got some Seaguar 10# Tactx braid spooled up on the Lews. I haven't fished it yet, but I'm going to try it out for sure, and I'll donate the spincast reel that came with it or give it to someone who needs it. This rig won't be used for bomb casts or lunkers, but for short casts around ponds in heavy shrubs and trees. Now to the reason I posted it here. For the new anglers that either want to try a casting reel but are afraid, or for those who struggle with the process. This. Is. The. Way. I found that making short casts with this with a heavy sock on the end (no noise or damage to my walls) over and over again, has improved my casting and control skills immensely. This Lews reels brakes pale in comparison to my Penn reel, but the heavy weight of the sock (major backlash possibilities) and furniture obstacles have really helped me to achieve almost zero backlashes, even with a cheaper reel, and also helped my accuracy. I'll let you know how it fishes, but I hope this helps those who struggle with casting reels.
Posted by Sparkynerd