Jigmasters are a good first, for baitcasting. They're pretty easy to work on, and you can upgrade them with accurate or tiburon parts to make an awesome reel. Learning how to cast with that reel is another story. I haven't found jigmasters the kindest for casting. Smaller reels are generally easier to learn on. I'd suggest picking up a cheap, small reel, like a little abu, or a corsair and learning how to cast with that reel. Just keep light thumb pressure on the spool, like Frank said. You want the spool to stop, or very nearly stop, when your bait hits the water, or just before. The good thing about the jigmaster is you can keep it for basically your whole fishing career, and just keep upgrading it with accurate parts until you've got yourself a nice "99", or accurized jigmaster.
-Brian