Braid digging into itself

[pondbassin101]

I got a new baitcaster yesterday and decided to spool on some #30 braid as I had never used braid before and wanted to try it. I watched Glenn's video on spooling on braid and he said to spool it on very tightly. I spooled on 4-5 layers of mono backing and then spooled on the braid tightly. Went out to cast around and on a longer cast i hear a pop and see my lure flying into the water. The braid had dug into itself and stopped short, no backlash. I don't think the braid slipped on the spool as I had backing and the reel was properly adjusted. Does anyone know what this and how to fix it? could really use some help

[ThePolkFolk]

Maybe you spooled it on too tight? I pull on the line to make sure there is tension but not so much that I would describe it as "tight"

Do you use baitcasters with mono/flouro and have no issues?

[Hez]

I have experienced this problem before and the solution for me was to get heavier pound braid.  

 

I throw 50 # braid on my baitcasting reels mainly for performance.  The diameter of 50# is equivalent to approximately 12 # mono. 

 

Here are the diameter comparisons for Power Pro Braid and Trilene mono - so your 30 lb braid is approximately equal to 8 lb mono, which is very thin - leading to the braid digging into itself in the spool.  You would experience the same phenomenon after a hookset.  

 

Power Pro
US Sizes

SIZE (lb.) DIAMETER (in) ~ Mono Equivalent
8 / 1
10 / 2
15 / 4
20 / 6
30 / 8
40 / 10
50 / 12
65 / 16
80 / 18
100 / 20
150 / 30
200 / 50
250 / 80

 

 

[pondbassin101]

On 5/26/2017 at 12:47 PM, ThePolkFolk said:

Maybe you spooled it on too tight? I pull on the line to make sure there is tension but not so much that I would describe it as "tight"

Do you use baitcasters with mono/flouro and have no issues?

 

 I use mono on the same kind of reels with no problems

On 5/26/2017 at 1:00 PM, Hez said:

I have experienced this problem before and the solution for me was to get heavier pound braid.  

 

I throw 50 # braid on my baitcasting reels mainly for performance.  The diameter of 50# is equivalent to approximately 12 # mono. 

 

Here are the diameter comparisons for Power Pro Braid and Trilene mono - so your 30 lb braid is approximately equal to 8 lb mono, which is very thin - leading to the braid digging into itself in the spool.  You would experience the same phenomenon after a hookset.  

 

Power Pro
US Sizes

SIZE (lb.) DIAMETER (in) ~ Mono Equivalent
8 / 1
10 / 2
15 / 4
20 / 6
30 / 8
40 / 10
50 / 12
65 / 16
80 / 18
100 / 20
150 / 30
200 / 50
250 / 80

 

 

 

If #30 braid is too thin is there anything I can do besides get thicker line? This is new braid and I don't want it to go to waste, so are there any other solutions. I was told that I should use #30 braid and nothing was mentioned about it being too thin

[Glenn]

30# braid on a baitcaster is about as low as I would recommend, but it's manageable. 

 

Does your reel have magnetic brakes in addition to the spool tension knob? Usually the magnetic brake control is located on the opposite side of the handle.  If your reel has this, then I'd turn it up about 1/2 way for starters.  It will help slow down the spool near the end of the cast, which seems to be issue, given your description.

[pondbassin101]

9 minutes ago, Glenn said:

30# braid on a baitcaster is about as low as I would recommend, but it's manageable. 

 

Does your reel have magnetic brakes in addition to the spool tension knob? Usually the magnetic brake control is located on the opposite side of the handle.  If your reel has this, then I'd turn it up about 1/2 way for starters.  It will help slow down the spool near the end of the cast, which seems to be issue, given your description.

 

I have magnetic brakes and usually have them on 4/10 unless theres wind. Backlashing isnt the issue here, I had no over spin at the end of the cast, just the braid digging in because it wasn't coming off the spool freely

[OkobojiEagle]

Spool braid on tightly, but then send a good cast off gently then hand pull a few more yards off the spool and reel it in under normal bait resistant tension.

 

 

oe

[pondbassin101]

Just now, OkobojiEagle said:

Spool braid on tightly, but then send a good cast off gently then hand pull a few more yards off the spool and reel it in under normal bait resistant tension.

 

 

oe

 

what about just stripping line and then reeling it back on. Meaning going outside on a calm day, having someone grab one end and then backing up like 20 yards and realing it back up. What you mentioned will work but a gentle cast wont loosen up the amount of braid youll need for harder, farther casts

[OkobojiEagle]

1 minute ago, pondbassin101 said:

a gentle cast wont loosen up the amount of braid youll need for harder, farther casts

 

That's why I suggested hand stripping a few more yards at the end of the cast...

 

oe

[pondbassin101]

I stripped and respooled about 20 yards and it casts fine now unless I mess up. Still getting used to braid but it's alot smoother than mono

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

I'd transfer it to a spinning reel if it were mine. Barring that pull off a good amount of line and reel it back on normally. Use care chucking big baits and pull off some line after snags etc. 

[RoLo]

 

You're clearly doing something very wrong, because you should be able to cast 30-lb braid for years

without any line-burrowing. Below are a few mistakes that can lead to line-burrowing:

 

> Fishing with a 'locked down' drag (A big No-No, because it takes the drag out of the equation!)

> Exerting heavy pressure on snagged lures in an attempt to rip them free (phase one of line-burrowing).

> Fishing a lightweight lure on a rod rated for heavier lures

> Fishing a slack-line delivery (e.g. Senko) and laying loose line coils on your spool.

 

Roger

[beardown34]

What power rod? I have 20lb on a BPS PQ1 on a medium light BC rod, 30lb on BPS PQ1 on a medium BC rod, and 40lb on a silver max on a MH rod. 

 

I had occasional snap offs on my MH rod when it had 30lb braid on it, but none since increasing to 40lb. I get no snap offs on my ML or M setups. 

[pondbassin101]

1 hour ago, RoLo said:

 

You're clearly doing something very wrong, because you should be able to cast 30-lb braid for years

without any line-burrowing. Below are a few mistakes that can lead to line-burrowing:

 

> Fishing with a 'locked down' drag (A big No-No, because it takes the drag out of the equation!)

> Exerting heavy pressure on snagged lures in an attempt to rip them free (phase one of line-burrowing).

> Fishing a lightweight lure on a rod rated for heavier lures

> Fishing a slack-line delivery (e.g. Senko) and laying loose line coils on your spool.

 

Roger

 

> drag is properly set

>literally just got, no snags ripping

>i was fishing a 1/2oz t rig, rod is rated starting at 1/4

>no loose coils when reeling in

 

52 minutes ago, beardown34 said:

What power rod? I have 20lb on a BPS PQ1 on a medium light BC rod, 30lb on BPS PQ1 on a medium BC rod, and 40lb on a silver max on a MH rod. 

 

I had occasional snap offs on my MH rod when it had 30lb braid on it, but none since increasing to 40lb. I get no snap offs on my ML or M setups. 

 

I'm fishing a m fast action rod with a 7:3 reel

 

2 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

I'd transfer it to a spinning reel if it were mine. Barring that pull off a good amount of line and reel it back on normally. Use care chucking big baits and pull off some line after snags etc. 

 

I'm pretty sure that would fix it

[Angry John]

I run 30 on my cranking rod.  It's suffix and each line handles a little diffrent.  I rUn 1/2 oz lures most and have not launched one into the sunset in the last three years.  Just start off slow and break in the line and you should be good.  Line might have just been on to tight.  30 is thin and does not shock well.  8 fiber lines are what I use most so not a lot of experience with 4 carrier.  One consideration is worm drive speed.  I upgrade to faster worm drives on braid reels

[CTBassin860]

6 hours ago, pondbassin101 said:

 

 I use mono on the same kind of reels with no problems

 

If #30 braid is too thin is there anything I can do besides get thicker line? This is new braid and I don't want it to go to waste, so are there any other solutions. I was told that I should use #30 braid and nothing was mentioned about it being too thin

Put it on a spinning rod

[hawgenvy]

I get the problem mostly after fighting a bass over 4 or 5 pounds because of all the pressure on the line as I reel in. Another cast or two and I'm back in business. It's good to spool on the base layers of braid quite tightly, so when the braid does dig in when fishing it wont go too deep into the spool. But the outer layers can be layered on with moderate tension only.

[Yudo1]

30lb is not too thin. I use it on most of my combos except frogs and punching. Take the good advice that was given and you should be fine.

[pondbassin101]

8 hours ago, hawgenvy said:

I get the problem mostly after fighting a bass over 4 or 5 pounds because of all the pressure on the line as I reel in. Another cast or two and I'm back in business. It's good to spool on the base layers of braid quite tightly, so when the braid does dig in when fishing it wont go too deep into the spool. But the outer layers can be layered on with moderate tension only.

 

I spooled on the whole thing with tight tension, first time with braid so im going to make some mistakes. So reeling off some onto another reel then respooling the baitcaster will solve this issue?

[new2BC4bass]

Back when I researched braid for my first ever use (was for a b/c reel), it was suggested not to go below 40# braid for a baitcast reel.  I put 40# on it and have never had a dig in that I can recall...and have been hung up plenty of times.  A used Alphas F I bought came with 30# Ghost.  It took quite a few casts..and stripping out extra line after each cast...to get all the tight spots out of the line.  Have not had a problem since then.  Actually I was surprised at how well it handled afterwards.  It has also been snagged a few times and haven't had a dig in yet.  Every so often I will reel the line in using slight pressure between thumb and finger.  You can tell the line is well broken in.

[JustJames]

19 hours ago, pondbassin101 said:

I got a new baitcaster yesterday and decided to spool on some #30 braid as I had never used braid before and wanted to try it. I watched Glenn's video on spooling on braid and he said to spool it on very tightly. I spooled on 4-5 layers of mono backing and then spooled on the braid tightly. Went out to cast around and on a longer cast i hear a pop and see my lure flying into the water. The braid had dug into itself and stopped short, no backlash. I don't think the braid slipped on the spool as I had backing and the reel was properly adjusted. Does anyone know what this and how to fix it? could really use some help

Which reel and braid brand?

 

I have 30lbs j-braid 8 strands braid(super soft) on my 50e, and I have no problem whatsoever. But before, this same braid was on Daiwa Alphas SV105, and I had the digging issue many time while casting. I conclude the problem was super free spool and strong whip cast that cause the problem.

[pondbassin101]

I put the the braid on a Daiwa Exceler 7:3 LH. The braid I'm using is this-

 

I found a spool of it lying around

[Angry John]

12 minutes ago, pondbassin101 said:

I put the the braid on a Daiwa Exceler 7:3 LH. The braid I'm using is this-

 

I found a spool of it lying around

I still have that on some rods and i have to say i like it just fine.  Strange color but it does not seem to effect anything.  Its now discontinued and that sux

[pondbassin101]

How easily is the color supposed to come off braid, especially this one?

 

I went out this morning and fished for about an hour and a half. Made at least a 100 casts and the braid handles and casts fine now, just needed some loosening up. Thanks for all the help guys

[NHBull]

He'll, I must be lucky because I am using 10, 15, 20, and 30 and have never had any digging in,

I set my drag on the slightly lighter, but that is it