Wind Knots

[Fishin' Fool]

I always hear this as one draw back to braid.  I'm pretty new to braid on spinning gear so I didn't really know what caused it but I was watching a video with Seth Feider over the weekend and he described how to not get them.  He said after you cast make your line is properly arranged within the line roller and not laying over the top of your spool and it's not an issue.  This really helped me hopefully it's useful to others.

[J Francho]

Wind knots from braid are from twist inherent in spinning reels.  Though not nearly as frequent as single filament lines, you still need to troll braid out once in a while.

[Crestliner2008]

Wind knots with braid on spinning reels is usually caused by trying to "force" the cast. That is, trying to get the most distance possible by making a hard, aggressive cast, opposed to allowing your rod to load evenly. I've got some reels, that are in regular seasonal use, with the same braid for over 2 seasons. I do not see line twist as the primary culprit. JMO.

[Scott F]

8 hours ago, J Francho said:

Wind knots from braid are from twist inherent in spinning reels.  Though not nearly as frequent as single filament lines, you still need to troll braid out once in a while.

As a guy who fishes all braid all the time and most of the time with spinning reels, this does not match my experience at all. I've gotten wind knots on fresh line that hasn't had time to get twisted. As the OP said, my wind knots come when a line loop lays on top of the spool, gets pulled off during a cast by the line going out, and then all that line is now spun while you are retrieving, causing the wind knot. My habit is to tug on the line, right after the cast to make sure there are no loose loops. The only time I get them is when I forget to check for the loop.

[RoLo]

 

Between the years 2005 and 2010 I used 'only' spinning tackle and braided line (both my wife & I).

During that 5-yr period, the number of guide inserts we lost probably outnumbered our noteworthy "wind-knots".

Though I'd like to contribute to this topic, I simply lack the experience with wind-knots (whatever they are)  

 

Roger

[tkunk]

I agree that if you check your spool before each cast, you won't get them. They seem to happen most often when you're casting light lures into a heavy wind (which is most days on the Great Lakes).

[EvanT123]

4 hours ago, Crestliner2008 said:

Wind knots with braid on spinning reels is usually caused by trying to "force" the cast. That is, trying to get the most distance possible by making a hard, aggressive cast, opposed to allowing your rod to load evenly. I've got some reels, that are in regular seasonal use, with the same braid for over 2 seasons. I do not see line twist as the primary culprit. JMO.

This has been my experience as well. 

[The Bassman]

Keeping my spool filled just below capacity seem to minimize wind knots for me. The trade off is a loss of casting distance. I keep spare spools filled both ways depending on my application.

[Airman4754]

12 hours ago, Crestliner2008 said:

Wind knots with braid on spinning reels is usually caused by trying to "force" the cast. That is, trying to get the most distance possible by making a hard, aggressive cast, opposed to allowing your rod to load evenly. I've got some reels, that are in regular seasonal use, with the same braid for over 2 seasons. I do not see line twist as the primary culprit. JMO.

 

This is the same for me. Whenever I try to cast a little too far it reminds me it's not a good idea.

[J Francho]

If you get a wind knot after freshly spooling your line, you spooled it wrong.  By "wind knots," I'm talking about two things that happen when there is twist in braid:

1.  Slack line loops back over the tip top and first couple of guides after the cast, or when you introduce slack line by grabbing your bait.

 

2.  Loops and snarls that appear during the cast from twisted line twisting on itself during the retrieve.  Usually results in a knotted mess of line caught in the guide train, where the ring size is much smaller than the previous guide.

 

Perhaps we're not all talking about the same thing.  If someone has another definition, please share.