Braid Snapping On A Cast

[mixmasterg]

What gives I'm throwing jerk baits with a casting outfit.Randomly my bait snaps off and flies away! What gives!! Thinking of going back to mono the good old days!

[MassBass]

What brand of braid? Spiderwire stealth starts to break on the cast after some use. Power Pro is much more durable in my experience. 

[Turtle135]

If you have a leader in the mix I have seen that happen with the constant banging of that knot (leader to braid knot) through your rod guides. If you are tying direct to the jerk bait check your line guides to make sure they do not have any nicks that are abrading your line.

 

Some of us never left mono!

[nestor]

If you have a leader in the mix I have seen that happen with the constant banging of that knot (leader to braid knot) through your rod guides. If you are tying direct to the jerk bait check your line guides to make sure they do not have any nicks that are abrading your line.

 

Some of us never left mono!

I was fishing with braid before I even realized why I was fishing with braid.  I too had the same frustration and found it was the leader knot.  

 

Right before I started relining my reels with mono I downloaded an app called "Knots 3D" for $2.99.  It quickly taught me how to tie a uni-to-uni knot and I haven't had an issue since.  

 

I've also learned why braid is great; especially when fishing w/ light plastics. 

[A-Jay]

You have to remember to mash that button on the back of the reel with your thumb BEFORE you cast . . .

 

 

A-Jay

[Senko lover]

You have to remember to mash that button on the back of the reel with your thumb BEFORE you cast . . .

 

 

A-Jay

 

ROFL!

[Catch 22]

I try to tie my leaders short enough to  not have them pass thru the guides or tip.If that can`t be avoided I retie more often.Some Power Pro line has been known to mysteriously break.

I use the PP Slick 8 with no problems.

C22

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Passing through a guide will not hurt a properly tied knot. Braid has no shock resistance so dug in or tangled line can snap on a cast. If breaks are at a leader knot change knots or review your tying.

[einscodek]

You dont indicate you are using a leader or not and you didnt mention the # braid

If using a leader, check if the leader knot was the issue.. check if yer knot to lure or snap was the issue

Check yer guides to make sure there isnt anything there that might fray or cut the braid cast after cast

I have a snappy cast and had braid snap off issues as well before esp. w/ low # braid.. its not forgiving of shock

[MickD]

I've read the whole string a couple times and still don't know where the break is ocurring or what the appearance of the broken line is at the break.  Many are trying to help, but they are guessing at what's going on.  They could be a lot more help with proper details.

 

Tying direct to lure?  To a snap?  To a leader?  Line brand?  Leader type?  Breaking at the reel/rod tip/at a knot/which knot/type of knot?  Pound test of line/leader?  Have you experienced line digging into the spool?

 

It is not just that you are using braid.  Most fishermen never have a line breakage on a cast with braid, so it's not that you are using braid that is the issue.

 

If you are new to braid you may not be using the right knots for braid.  It has different requirements than mono.

[rippin-lips]

When braid comes to a sudden stop it can snap. I've watched 1/2oz spinnerbaits go sailing off using #50 power pro original. As DVT mentioned it has no shock resistance. In my case it was almost always after pulling a snag free, or breaking off. The line digs in, and when you cast again it hits that spot, and stops. Bye bye lure. Now and then it would be from trying to cast way too hard. Same result generally.

[Snakehead Whisperer]

Passing through a guide will not hurt a properly tied knot. Braid has no shock resistance so dug in or tangled line can snap on a cast. If breaks are at a leader knot change knots or review your tying.

This is the truth. Best knot I've found for braid to leader is an albright-ish knot. Trim the tag end of the mono/fluoro close to the knot, and leave the tag end of the braid just a little bit longer. Always wrap the braid around the clear leader, and not the other way around. 

 

Could it be that your line is wrapping around the guides on your rod? 

[SirSnookalot]

The end of the braid should tell you what went wrong.   I fish every day and tie lots of joining knots, sure there is problem once in a while.  I'm human and prone to make a mistake once in a while, it's usually my error and not the fault of the line.  Couple days ago I had lure go flying as I was casting in the surf, looking at the tag end I could plainly see the knot gave loose.  I had the same leader on for a few days with the same lure, caught fish so I saw no need to retie, something I have done many times with no incident.  It was just "one of those things", I read nothing more into it.

It will happen again one day and I'll do the same thing, examine the line to determine what went wrong.  The line is curled and the knot came loose, clean break and something is severing the line, a jagged end and probably abrasion.

[Tim Kelly]

If you're using casting gear you want to have 30lb+ braid to reduce the line digging into itself on the spool. If you have a backlash, get snagged or otherwise put extra pressure on the line it is likely to dig into itself to some extent, o you need to be aware of this and either be sure to pull out enough line to completely undo the dig in, or make a gentle cast next to get to the point where it's digging in, so you can release it.  Going for hero casts can result in snap offs too. Too much force in a cast makes it less smooth and causes a backlash, which in turn causes a half mile unattached lure launch.

 

There's a learning curve to braid in the same way there is for fluoro or mono. They each have their own demons and you have to learn how to use each.

[TorqueConverter]

What gives I'm throwing jerk baits with a casting outfit.Randomly my bait snaps off and flies away! What gives!! Thinking of going back to mono the good old days!

 

Are you absolutely sure it's breaking and not simply coming untied at the knot?  I've lost many a bait with brad to sudden spool stop before I started tying unit knots with a bunch of wraps   I have a reel with a 'flipping switch' that I sometimes forget I have engaged when I decide to fire off a long cast and the reel will engage the clutch mid cast when I relax on the thumb bar causing the reel to suddenly stop sending the lure to a mid-air halt and I have NEVER lost a bait since I switched over to the uni knot.  All those previous mysterious no shock absorbency break offs have now been written off as the very obvious knot failures that they were. 

[Hooligan]

It is not just that you are using braid.  Most fishermen never have a line breakage on a cast with braid, so it's not that you are using braid that is the issue.

 

Actually, I've seen about 95% of the guys I fish with cast a bait off at some point in their careers while fishing braid. If you haven't, you will. It is not at all uncommon, bordering the more common than not.

As DVT states, get a slight dig in the spool and that bait turns into a 600fps missile that's lost its fly by wire. I've cast fifty feet of line off the spool only to have the bait go sailing. I did it with a Roman Made Mother and promptly went swimming.

As to the OP, yes, there is some info missing, but there's also an awful lot that could be going on.

[MickD]

Of course there could be a lot going on, which is impossible to figure out with nothing more to go  on than what was posted.  We don't even know the pound test of the line.  I should have been more specific: I have  never had braid break because it was old, deteriorated, or for no apparent reason.  Braid is way more reliable than the other lines, lasts seemingly almost forever,  and this failure is not happening just because "braid is bad" or for no reason.  It's most likely bad knots, inappropriate drag settings (causing digging), or broken tiptop ring.  BUT, more info could help determine what is going on.

 

If your braid is digging in loosen the drag.  Some lines are worse than others for this and require different drag settings.

[jitterbug127]

it is either bad line or a bad knot. Ive seen both recently. That spider wire ez braid is junk.

[RoLo]

Assuming that your knots are sound, that fluorocarbon is not in the mix

and you're not dealing with a bad batch (I ran it to that with Power Pro), I can only entertain two possibilities:

>> Frayed line (this undercuts all the above and is the most likely culprit)

>> You're braid is too light (I didn't see line-test mentioned. Though polyethylene is superb line material, it does break at its testing strength)

 

Roger

[wnybassman]

When braid comes to a sudden stop it can snap. I've watched 1/2oz spinnerbaits go sailing off using #50 power pro original. As DVT mentioned it has no shock resistance. In my case it was almost always after pulling a snag free, or breaking off. The line digs in, and when you cast again it hits that spot, and stops. Bye bye lure. Now and then it would be from trying to cast way too hard. Same result generally.

 

This has been my observation as well.   Normally for me it's getting a little over anxious with deep diving cranks using 30 lb.   If I back off on my cast, and let the rod do the work, the results are much better.

[mixmasterg]

Thanks for all the advice!! I'm using Suffix 821 10 pound tied with a fluorocarbon leader using a uni to uni knot, I'm thinking that knot is hanging up somehow in the guides. I have a snap cast too which I am starting to adjust 

[Tim Kelly]

If you can teach yourself the FG knot it will eliminate the problem of knots catching in the guides almost completely.

[MickD]

Your info helps a lot!  I think you are using too light braid, for one thing.  I think you'll find a much better handling and tougher line in the 25-30 pound test range, but don't max out your drag.  That will make it dig in more.  Use your thumb to pressure fish if your drag setting isn't enough.    Don't pull snags out by simply pulling on the rod, that will make the line dig too.  Wrap it around something and pull just on the line.  I agree that there are better knots than uni-uni for size, like Albright and its improved version with double wrapping the braid - but make sure the tag end goes out of the knot correctly or the knot will fail (I learned that the hard way) . It is  a much smaller knot.  You can also use a short leader that doesn't go through the guides, but unless you're using micro guides, the recommended knots will pass through well.  I would use at least 15 pound flourocarbon for a leader, too.  With the right knots the lines I have recommended will go through all but micros quite well.  IMHO, knots going through guides do get damaged in time, so retying every day or two will eliminate any possibility of that.

 

You mention snap casting-you obviously will soften the shock by using a more "progressive" casting style, but I'd be surprised if snap casting will fail a 30-15 setup assuming you're not digging in.  I recommend a florocarbon other than Vanish.  Florocarbon leader material is tougher than FC line, also, but I've used FC line for leaders for years and had no problems with it.

[Tim Kelly]

Missed the part about you using casting gear. 10lb is asking for trouble. Lighter than 30lb is risking regular dig ins and braid having very little shock strength will part at the hint of hesitation in the spool.

[Ojurb]

wow already read a few people advice against using some of the Lines, I use, maybe thats why I got them on clearance.

 

I have been Using, 12# Vanish for leaders, only had issues with break off from the thinner #12 spiderwire stealth braid  diggin into the fluoro and cutting it, only learned this after pulling on the knot and seeing it happen

tried different knots and eventually found the Gt knot to work best for me when mating braid to fluoro but the thin braid would wear and fray fast

 

,I matched diameters between the two with some Berkely Fusion #50 braid  havent had any breakage issues and many fish on the same line and leader, this is on a 7'3" MXF with a revo s, that i pretty much use for everything, though moslty soft plastics, weedless frogs, and theoccasionla  spinnerbait, even though i have had success, and long life from this combo i feel like the diameters are lil too thick and now that my spools are empty i can try something else,  thinking of 10# fluoro with #30 braid might be better and more limp.

 

I like using a palomar knot at the tackle end and the gt knot to connect the braid to the FC