A spool brake device for a dual-bearing reel, the spool brake device includes a spool brake, a rotation detector, and a spool controller. The spool brake can electrically brake a spool during a releasing of a fishing line by applying a braking force to the spool. The rotation detector can electrically detect a rotation of the spool. The spool controller can determine whether a terminal tackle has landed on water based on an output from the rotation detector after a starting of a casting, and can control the spool brake such that the braking force is maintained at a magnitude when a determination that the terminal tackle has landed on water, the magnitude equal to a magnitude of the braking force at a point of time the determination is made that the terminal tackle has landed on water.