Can a Chip Help Your Cast?
Brisk winds had kept me ashore, so the fallback was our community clubhouse field with my trusty seven-foot medium-action rod and a hookless three-quarter-ounce surface plug. My purpose was to see what all the hoopla was with the new digitally controlled Shimano casting reel, the SLX DC 150 XG.
The letters DC refer to digital control. A tiny computer mechanism in its spool controls spin.
My first try with the borrowed reel on the maximum control setting of four sent my cast rocketing halfway to my target, 120 feet away. Then I heard the faint whirring of the reel spool as the internal resistance, generated by its computer chip, kicked in and settled the cast nicely to the ground about 25 feet short of the target.
The digital spool controls had worked exactly as advertised.
Hmmmm …
I have used revolving-spool casting reels for over 50 years, have fished with all sorts of backlash-control features and have heard promises of countless, different models. I found they all had one thing in common. None of them really worked.
An educated thumb, achieved through long experience, has been the only reliable device to prevent the dreaded backlash of the casting reel. The many minor technical features made available over the years have somewhat reduced the frequency of line snarls, but in the end it was always just you and your thumb.
The angling terms backlash, birds nest, rats nest and spool overrun all mean the same thing: the heinous tangle of line a revolving spool, or casting reel, can generate during a cast when the spool spins excessively, feeding line out faster than line is being pulled out by the thrown weight. With its fixed spool, the spinning reel has no such problem. It is by design backlash-free.
However, the casting reel compared to the spinning reel remains more accurate to throw because the angler can control distance and direction with thumb pressure on the turning spool. It can also handle heavier and a wider range of throw weights, can achieve superior distances, has a more robust and easily accessed drag system, can handle greater stresses in fish battles, does not experience the line twist inherent in spin tackle — and generally provides a superior angling platform. Except of course for that nasty spool over-run problem.
Noting that the digital control had eliminated one line problem but reduced the distance of the cast by a fair margin, I dialed in the three level, and fired off another cast. Again without any additional thumb pressure, the throw remained tangle-free and much closer to my max distance with that particular plug.
Next I fired a hard cast at an angle to the ground about 40 feet away, emulating an attempt to skip a bait under overhanging trees. This is a high probability cast for over-runs because the lure speed can drop to zero fast. Again, there were no unpleasant surprises.
Impressed I turned around and shot a firm, hard cast high and directly into the face of a sudden wind gust, a sure producer of a bird’s nest of at least medium proportions. A head wind can slow the velocity of the bait in flight almost immediately while the turning spool continues to spew out line at the original rate, the exact formula for a line snarl. The sensor immediately identified the situation and provided enough breaking effort to keep things under control. There were some loose coils, but they were easily cleared.
Continuing on to control setting two, I had no trouble reaching my normal casting distance for my plug weight, about 120 feet or so. The effort still did not require any thumb attention until the lure touched down. Turning the spool setting to one seemed to make little additional difference.
Then, with the sensor dial back on two, I purposely made some casting errors, such as snapping my wrist to cause excessive spool spin, next throwing down at the ground mere yards away, emulating an over-excited cast to fish breaking next to the boat. Usually these acts can be reel-line disasters. But with the chip in operation, no disabling tangles were experienced.
My overall impression was surprised admiration. The Shimano Corporation is deeply invested in the sport fishing industry, and this new concept, the affordably priced low-profile Shimano SLX DC 150 XG, is a significant and notable step in tackle development. It is especially handy for the angler without casting-reel experience who wishes to function comfortably.