I know there are a fair amount of accomplished fishermen on this site.
My question is.. Do you manually close the bail on your spinning reel? As I have grown into better quality reels, it seems I almost have to close the bails manually. It's not a problem as I tend to get into a rhythm, but it seems that the reels I used years ago closed effortlessly as you began to crank?

Just curious.

+1
I also miss the trigger style bail.

My first decent spinning reel was a mitchell 300. I started closing the bail by hand and now it's just a habit.

shimano had the quick-fire trigger on a few older models not sure if they have any models with that feature now ? but i liked it a lot but it does lose it's snap over time.

I don't exactly remember my father transitioning me from a cane pole to a spinning rod-so probably about 65 years ago. It annoys me to have to close my bail manually.

shock: "shimano had the quick-fire trigger on a few older models not sure if they have any models with that feature now ? but i liked it a lot but it does lose it's snap over time. "

I think shimano still makes the symmetry with that feature. I have one somewhere. It doesn’t have instant anti-reverse which is a hard pass for me. The anti reverse allows the bail to spin about 1/4 turn before it engages. Terrible for hook-sets if you don’t remember to manually back-reel until it’s tight before setting the hook. Introduces unwanted slack in the line.

As to the OP’s question. I ALWAYS close the bail manually. My two main spinning reels are a shimano sienna and a pflueger purist. On both you would really have to reel hard to get the bail to close on its own, it feels like it’s not good for the reel.

Always close it by hand. Prevents wind knots in your line, especially if using braid.

Tony my 1st spinning reels were hand me downs from dad. Even had the smaller 308. Always close by hand.

I never knew there was anything but manual close reels.

I always manually close my bail, and I try to always keep tension on the line. You will hardly ever have backlashes if you do this.

I always manually close it on spinning reel. Once I learned all the bad things reeling to close did to the reel/line. (20 years ago)

It depends. On my really expensive reels I manually close. We do use cheaper Shimano (60 bucks) Spirex spinning reels with the triggers when sight fishing or casting to extremely shallow, snaggy water as there is NO way you could do that by manually closing the bail (takes way too long) or by taking your eyes off "the spot" to glance down at your reel. Shimano still makes 3 reels with the trigger, Spirex (decent), Syncopate (fair), and a crappy cheapie I don't remember. It is one of the best inventions ever, but sadly Shimano reels are not the quality they use to be and most people do not know how to properly use the trigger. It is for right handers only and you reel backwards to center grabbing the line and pressing it against the trigger. I have never had a bail failure due to reeling to close, and have done it 10's of 1000's of times, maybe even 100's of 1000's. I just know it is harder on the mechanism, so I avoid when possible. Instant anti reverse is nice, but I've never in over 50 years of using spinning tackle, set the hook when my hand wasn't on the handle, so am not as excited by it as some.

I close mine manually. I always make sure it's in position on the left side of the spool after I open it so I don't need to look at it when I close it if I'm casting to surfacing fish or something like that.

Every trigger style reel (mostly Shimano) I ever had ended up getting weak over time and not closing all the way. Loved them when they first came out. Use Pfluegers now and close by hand. It's become habit now.

I've never once looked down to close it. I also have better lure control when it's landing since you can change with your hand how gently or abruptly it stops coming off the bail. If you're cranking the reel to close it, she's snapping to a stop every time. (and coming back at you depending on line and rod)

Its an efficiency and wear issue. to slam the bail shut - which is what the cheaper reels do - will cause wear and loosening especially in a reel that is designed to be light and tight. I honestly never even think about it, yet I always close manually.

74 years old
Have used only close bail since 6.
Johnson Century until they went out of business and then started to buys couple of cheap zebco each year. When line starts to twist, hand down to grandkids.
Never had difficulty in fighting and landing my share of 4# smallie Wally and 10# northern.
Mount on a flimsy rod and go fish!