Fishing reels have come a long way over the years from the typical conventional reels that were being made back in the day. It would be very easy for any novice or person just starting out with fishing as a hobby to easily get confused about the astonishing amount of choices on the market today. Just go to any of your local sporting goods store and have a look around at the rows and rows of fishing reels available at your disposal. Hopefully we will be able to dispel some of the fears that you may have if you are just starting to fish and needing to purchase a new fishing reel with an overview of the types of fishing reels on the shelves these days and what you might look at eventually buying.

The first reel that I started out with was a closed face fishing reel made by Zebco. These reels are great for beginners. It's a simple push-button release system that can really let the novice fling the bait a good long way. They are called closed face reels simply because you can't see the line on the spool. Closed face reels are really good if you plan on doing a lot of pond type fishing. Why you may ask, well because pond fish won't put the reel under as much duress as a fish caught in the lakes and bays or ocean where they have much more room to roam. Another upside of closed face reels are that they are not as expensive as the other types of reels.

If you are past the closed face reel stage you can then think about graduating up to a spinning reel. Spinning reels are also sometimes referred to as spincaster reels. These reels are called spinning reels for a reason. Spinning reels basically spin the line around a spool while the action in the turning shoots the spool up and down to keep the line uniform. These reels are a little harder to use in that you don't have the push button release of a closed face reel you have a bail to work with. Don't fret though as even a novice fisherman can pick this up fairly quickly. Simply hold the line pressed between your index finger and the rod and rear back and throw. Be sure to let the line loose from your finger in your forward motion.

Probably one of the hardest and most frustrating types of reels for any fisherman to throw is a baitcaster. These reels also have a push button type of release but you have to keep your finger planted firmly on the spool when you press the release button and during your throwing motion again only releasing your finger when the rod is at the front-end of your cast. The reason they are the hardest and most frustrating to cast is because they have a tendency to backlash if not thrown properly. Backlash is simply when the line gets tangled all in the spool and becomes very hard to untangle. This is a fisherman's nightmare especially if you have been catching fish. That being said, they are probably also the most loved fishing reels of avid fisherman as when you do practice with it and get to where you are not backlashing the distance and smoothness you get from a cast is incomparable. Add in the fact that these reels can typically handle any duress that a fish can throw at it and you have a winning combination.