Newbie question...

[docjr03]

why are level winds bad?

[TreednNC]

theyre not depending on what ur using it for....

distance suffers because the level wind tries to keep up with the spool via the worm gear thus creating unness. friction

sand in the worm gears will make it sound like a coffee grinder IF You can get it to turn

[Mark G]

why are level winds bad?

They have there place, but not necessarily the best for fishing with weight and bait. For plugging where you need to work a lure, you don't want to have to level the line yourself, so that's where a levelwind pays off.

Levelwinds generally cut down on the casting distance, compard to non-level wind reels, -- and can sometimes be an issue with shock knots going thru the level wind. Some folks still prefer levelwinds, the only real positive to a levelwind is in the name ;), you don't have to level the line yourself. Most people get the hang of leveling the line with their thumb pretty quick, so at that point a levelwind is not needed for bait fishing.

[docjr03]

Thanks for the responses. I am a casual beach fisherman and am learning the baitcasting game. My reel has a levelwind, but I was reading another post where someone suggested crisscrossing the line on the retrieve to minimize BN's. I suspected that distance would suffer, but where I am fishing, it's not overly critical. Thanks again for the responses; I'll play around with it and see what happens!

[kingchaser34]

if your looking for distance then you dont want a levelwind reel. the levelwind slows down the speed in wich the line comes off the reel and that makes you lose distance on your cast.

[Rockfish1]

I am a casual beach fisherman and am learning the baitcasting game.

85% of the people who are half way competant with conventional gear can't throw any better with a non level wind then they can with the levelwind reel... have at it, enjoy your self...

if you decide you need a heaver then go to a non levelwind reel where you don't have to worry about a leader knot getting jammed up and messing crap up...

someone suggested crisscrossing the line on the retrieve to minimize BN's.

not a good idea... you lose to much line capacity if you do a radical criss cross... your line should lay on fairly close and semi tight on the spool...

enjoy what you have, and catch fish... when you get proficient with whatcha got then worry about all the fancy stuff... I've been throwing conventional's for 50 years and all my pier, plugging, and a couple of the boat reels are level winds... :cool:

[docjr03]

Thanks for the response, Rockfish; I was hoping someone would justify me leaving the levelwind on!

[RuddeDogg]

All of my flounder set ups and chunking set ups for striper are level winds.

[mkclanm]

i couldnt imagine jigging without a levelwind. it would be a pain to have to do it all yourself. and i dont notice losing too much casting distance....if any at all