The Shimano Baitrunner Reels

Baitrunner is a recognised trade mark of the multinational company  Shimano. Many other manufacturers have now copied the concept of the bait runner reels, with various degrees of success. These other similar reels should really not be called bait runner reels and are best described as free spool reels.

When a fish takes the bait, the baitrunner reel allows the fisherman to set up his tackle such that no resistance is felt when taking line. It removes the danger of a large fish taking the bait and dragging the rod into the water. The normal clutch can be instantly re-engaged by the angler in order to strike and land the fish in the normal way.

On a normal fixed spool reel there is an adjustable clutch with either rear or front adjustment that permits the angler to adjust the tension required before the line is permitted to be released from the reel while the bail arm is still engaged. This prevents the line from breaking when playing large fighting fish. Even the cheap Shimano reels are a great improvement on the standard technology.

The bait runner reel has another clutch that permits line to be taken freely from the reel when the bale arm is engaged. A small lever engages and disengages this additional clutch, and it can also be disengaged by a small turn of the reel handle.
The result is that a fish can take the bait and run with it with no resistance, hence the name Bait-Runner.

Operationally having put the rod in the rests with the alarm set as normal. The baitrunner clutch lever is switched, permitting line to be released either totally freely or with tension set by the baitrunner clutch control. This means that fish may now take the bait and run without either feeling line tension, and there is no danger of the line tension pulling the rod into the water. When ready, the angler takes the rod from the rests and re-engages the normal preset clutch tension by either flipping the baitrunner lever, or turning the reel handle . The fish can then be played as normal against the normal clutch.

The tensions of the standard and baitrunner clutches can be set independently as required by the fishing conditions.

When first using the Shimano baitrunners it would be advisable to not set it in a completely freeline  mode, but to always have a little resistance set on the baitrunner clutch. When set completely freeline it is likely that the new user will forget to re-engage before striking. This can result in a real birdsnest tangle if there is no clutch tension set.