With all due apologies to Emily Dickinson, there are fewer and fewer of us with the ability to cast a revolving spool reel using one’s thumb to control the line and prevent a dreaded tangle known as a backlash. When I started surfcasting in the late 1930s those reels were the only choice, and I developed an educated thumb at an early age. There were no spinning reels then ... they came later, imported from Europe after the end of World War II. Line spirals off fixed-spool spinning reels with no need for angler control. Anyone can do it. Spinning reels have made millions of beginners instant casting pros.

However, there were lots of problems with the early spinning reels, and they didn’t conquer the surf for many years, during which the traditional revolving spool reel was still considered “conventional” equipment for surf fishing. “Convench” in hardcore beach lingo. You need an educated thumb to use one.

Spinning’s early shortcomings were gradually solved: the reels became increasingly stronger and more reliable, drags got smoother, and lines steadily improved, culminating in today’s new generation of superbraids that cast beautifully and are all but unbreakable. Convench is still the more powerful choice, but spinning has advanced so far that there is little or no incentive to use anything else. Indeed, a popular surfcasting website recently posed the question, “If you were starting out today, would convench even be an option?”

The answer was no, except for one respondent who pointed out: “Convench has one very important trait: nobody can use it! You hear about expensive spinning reels being stolen all the time, but when was the last time you heard about somebody stealing a Penn Squidder?”

Convench has become an oxymoron, and an educated thumb is pretty much obsolete – you know.