Braid problems on a spinning reel

[FCPhil]

My wife uses a spinning reel when she fishes. It's an old Shimano reel that is probably a bit big for bass fishing. In the past we constantly had line twist issues with mono so we switched to braid. Problem solved!

 

Now however we have a new problem. Often the braid gets small kinks in it on the reel. They are not in the line that has been cast out but deeper in the spool. When she casts often the line being cast get caught on the kinks of the line deeper in the spool and makes her cast stop mid air. I have tried pulling out most of the line and rewinding it tightly which seems to help for awhile. Anyone know how to avoid these kinks developing? We had been using 30 pound braid but we switched to 50 which improved the issue somewhat. 

[riverbasser]

I've never had this issue. I run 20lb braid on my spinning setups. Are you using a backing? I don't doubt what your saying but it sounds more like its digging in which is common with braid

[bigturtle]

Sounds like your drag is way too tight

[PatrickKnight]

Might be a line management issue with the reel as well. I found a lot of my older reels couldn't handle braid nearly as well as the newer ones on the market can. 95% of my fishing is spinning tackle with braid and I don't have any digging or line management issues with my newer reels and 10-20 lb regular Power Pro. Also reduce the drag pressure some and make sure she isn't reeling while the fish is pulling drag.

[Jig Man]

How much braid vs backing do you have on the reel?  I have never had that issue.  I have the longest cast possible + about 60' of braid.  The rest is backing and I use small diameter backing line.

[NHBull]

At a minimum I would remove any line twist  by trolling it out.  I would take it down to the backing if possible.

 

Also make sure she is flipping the bail by hand and give the line a slight pull.  Do not crank through it.

 

This is likely user error and not a braid thing.

 

Has it been happening since you spooler it?

[MickD]

First, I think 50 pound test braid on a spinning reel is much too heavy.  At least it is for good casting distance, and maybe for this issue too.  I recommend no more than 20.

 

The loops will not form if the line is wound onto the reel under at least a little tension.  If it is being wound onto the reel while the rod is being dropped, thus creating a "no tension" condition, that will add to the problem.  Especially if the line has a twist in it.

 

Also, all braid is not the same.  This looks to me like the braid is too limp, not stiff enough.  You didn't mention the brand, but I really like Suffix braids, also Power Pro in second place.  If using an off brand, try the name brands, especially Suffix performance braid.  There is also a braid from American Tackle that is excellent, though hard to find.  E-mail me if you would like more info.

[Largemouth21]

1 minute ago, MickD said:

First, I think 50 pound test braid on a spinning reel is much too heavy.  At least it is for good casting distance, and maybe for this issue too.  I recommend no more than 20.

 

The loops will not form if the line is wound onto the reel under at least a little tension.  If it is being wound onto the reel while the rod is being dropped, thus creating a "no tension" condition, that will add to the problem.  Especially if the line has a twist in it.

 

Also, all braid is not the same.  This looks to me like the braid is too limp, not stiff enough.  You didn't mention the brand, but I really like Suffix braids, also Power Pro in second place.  If using an off brand, try the name brands, especially Suffix performance braid.  There is also a braid from American Tackle that is excellent, though hard to find.  E-mail me if you would like more info.

X2 I have a friend who has 80 lb on a bass rod and it goes only like 25 yards at most. Its hilarious 

[the reel ess]

Make your wife flip the bail manually before she starts reeling. This may help.

[WIGuide]

It sounds like there's still some line twist going on. Ways to eliminate it on a spinning reel would be to make sure you're manually flipping the bail, not reeling while a fish is pulling drag, and also to make sure the bail roller is moving freely. Remove the twist that's already there by cutting off any lures/hardware and letting the line out behind the boat while you idle. Take it all the way down to the spool and then reel it back in. If you don't have a boat, you can do the same thing in a flowing stream or river. Once you do that, if problems persist, you may just want to look into purchasing a new reel. 

[OkobojiEagle]

Unspool a long cast + an additional ~20 yards of line, put water proof tape (J & J cloth medical tape works well) on the spool one complete circumference of the spool.  

 

 

oe 

[FCPhil]

11 hours ago, riverbasser said:

I've never had this issue. I run 20lb braid on my spinning setups. Are you using a backing? I don't doubt what your saying but it sounds more like its digging in which is common with braid

Hardly any backing. When I had backing the line would sometimes get snagged on the joining knot so I kept the backing deep in the spool. 

[Glenn]

I never use braid on spinning reels and NEVER have line twist problems....ever!  Seriously, I learned about line twist problems here, but have never experienced it.  So I made two videos that show how I use spinning reels, and why they prevent line twist.  Simple, easy-to-follow steps that eliminate line twist issues forever.

 

 

 

 

[FCPhil]

Thanks for the suggestions. So far all I have tried is taking off a bunch of line and re-reeling it on real tight. That's seems to have worked well for the time being. 

[Boomstick]

This happens time to time with lighter braid and especially on certain brands that may not use as many strands. Spiderwire is very good, I put 15lb test on my son's spinning reel and have no issues with line twist and no issues with it digging into itself (although come the colder month's it's still a possibility), but I like the Daiwa J-Braid even better, it seems to frey a little bit less. With some other brands of braid especially with lighter line, you may have issues.

 

I also backed it with a few solid wraps of monofiliment as well. I would say I put just enough on to make sure the spool is solidly covered in every spot, but not much more than that.