What to adjust for backlashes

[Preytorien]

I've got a few casting reels, and while I'm not what I would consider an expert with them, I rarely backlash. However, I emphasize "RARELY" because I do backlash more than I'd like. I've watched quite a few videos to answer this question, but I thought I would ask you all, the guys that do this all the time, what your ideas are.

 

I typically will encounter a backlash, say a couple bad words, curse even the most non-existent headwind, then try to figure out what portion of my reel to adjust to prevent it again.

Aside from a BPS casting reel that I rarely use, all of my reels are Shimano - 2 Curado 71's, and a Chronarch MGL151, all with the SVS braking system, and all have just 4 brakes to turn on/off. When I get a backlash I'm not sure which part to adjust. Do I tighten the cast control knob a bit? Do I turn on a couple more brakes? Do I increase the SVS dial? All of the above? I can't figure out what part of the cast process each will control.

 

I can't seem to establish enough of a consistent success pattern to definitively say, "If I backlash I need to adjust _______."

 

What are your thoughts?

[kschultz76]

When is your overrun happening in the cast?  Is it happening at the very beginning and getting out of control?  Is it at the very end of the cast just before or as your life splashes down?  Different results with different line types?

 

And it's totally possible you're not doing anything wrong. Sometimes backlashes just happen. 

[Choporoz]

20 minutes ago, Preytorien said:

I typically will encounter a backlash, say a couple bad words, curse even the most non-existent headwind, then try to figure out what portion of my reel to adjust to prevent it again.

.............................

I can't seem to establish enough of a consistent success pattern to definitively say, "If I backlash I need to adjust _______."

 

What are your thoughts?

My thoughts are that once I quit blaming the reel, things got better....maybe not better, but at least less 'emotional'...lol

 

"I can't seem to establish enough of a consistent success pattern to definitively say, "If I backlash I need to adjust  ME_.""

 

 

Point being that if it happens once every few dozen casts...or whatever....then it almost always is because I put a hitch in my swing; or didn't account for wind;....or tried to reach the green in two on a par 5...

[islandbass]

11 minutes ago, kschultz76 said:

When is your overrun happening in the cast?  Is it happening at the very beginning and getting out of control?  Is it at the very end of the cast just before or as your life splashes down?  Different results with different line types?

Indeed. You need to figure out when the overrun is occurring to better fine tune making the necessary adjustment(s) to solve it.

 

For example if it happens:

 

Early, like right after the cast, then adjust the ___________

Later, like at the end of the cast, then adjust the __________

 

Regrettably, I forgot so hopefully one of our fellow anglers here can fill in the blanks.  As a best guess, I'd guess

 

Early - Adjust Cast Control Knob

Later - Adjust Centrifugal Brakes

 

It might very well be the reverse.

 

However, other things like line and angler mechanics can be culprits.  For example, if your reel was working fine and adjusted properly for some time and you didn't change the lure, but an errant overrun happens, I would be inclined to think my cast was faulty, as in not properly loading the rod properly and yet "flicking" my wrists forward going ahead to make the cast. That tends to add too much energy into the casting equation and an overrun can result.  It translates most of the time to user error, lol.

 

The biggest culprit for me to date has been a fuji hook keeper that is in a place that it could catch the line during the cast. It's made me remove it during fishing.  On one fishing trip, the hook keeper was the culprit for causing me to birds nest my Curado 201 DHSV AND Cardiff 301A.  My error was not removing it after it first happened.

[kschultz76]

I'd have to double check Shimanos instructions. But I'm pretty sure early in the cast you need to adjust the SVS brake control. For late in the cast you need to adjust the spool tension cast control. 

 

Ive also had unpredictable and unrepeatable backlashes due to improperly lubed brake pipe or a shoe that kind of hung up in the raceway. 

 

I also found invet I get much better and much more consistent casting without unexpected backlashes with properly cleaned/lubed and tuned reels. 

 

Im not saying no backlashes - still get plenty that are my fault due to any number of user errors. Those are expected because I screwed up. 

[IndianaOutdoors]

This is my first year with baitcasters but I find that if I'm backlashing early in the cart it's usually because my was to snappy in the wrist.  This seems to be the case on both my bps pro qualifier and my Daiwa exceller.  Iv pretty well got casting gear figured out but sometimes muscle memory takes over and I cast it like a spinning setup.

[Koz]

I got my first baitcaster within the last month and while I've been fortunate enough to have only one large bird's nest that I had to cut out there are a bunch of times where I cast and everything is fine only to find that after I reel in there are some overlaps and tangles.

 

In my case, what I found is that I didn't set quite enough tension tight enough when I set up the lure. Once I set the tension slightly more than what I had previously thought was the correct tension all of that looping and twisting stopped.

[Preytorien]

To answer some of the points above I would say that the majority of my issues come at the end of the cast just a second or two before the lure hits the water and doesn’t seem to matter if I’m truly into a headwind or not.

[The Bassman]

If I'm not mistaken I think Shimano's intent is to leave all four brakes on and adjust with the dial.  Keep cast control tension minimal. The point made earlier to not snap cast is good advice.  I just lightly roll cast sidearm.  That said, some lures just catch the air wrong and you have to be quick with the thumb.  Hope this helps.

[kschultz76]

In that case try tightening your spool tension a smidge. Make sure you check it every time you change life weights. And always check at the beginning of each outing, sometimes it loosens in transit. And you may just need to practice feathering a bit more with your thumb. Not a single one of my Shimanos are thumb free casters. I could dial them in tight enough to be thumb free but then I'd compromise distance. 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

What bait are you throwing? Some, like spinnerbaits, decelerate quickly and require some extra thumb. 

[hawgenvy]

I find when I get overconfident, I may neglect to put my thumb down as the bait hits the water. As long as I do that simple step of stopping the spool at splashdown, I don't get a backlash. Then again, I tend to keep the centrifugal brakes most the way up.

 

A good way to practice is to cast a spinnerbait directly into the wind during one of our Florida hurricanes. Once you are proficient at that you'll never get another bird's nest.

[Preytorien]

1 hour ago, The Bassman said:

If I'm not mistaken I think Shimano's intent is to leave all four brakes on and adjust with the dial.  Keep cast control tension minimal. The point made earlier to not snap cast is good advice.  I just lightly roll cast sidearm.  That said, some lures just catch the air wrong and you have to be quick with the thumb.  Hope this helps.

If this is the case then I’ve been doing it really wrong! Hah! I’ll give it a try tomorrow and see how it goes

[kschultz76]

I know it's going to sound a bit crazy. But before you start changing how you have things adjusted I'd recommend you get the instructions out of one of your reel boxes and read the instructions from Shimano on how to setup the SVS brakes and the cast control. Read em a couple times then apply any adjustments you need to from there. Of course I'm assuming you haven't done that yet but maybe you have. 

[Raul]

7 hours ago, Preytorien said:

 

 

I can't seem to establish enough of a consistent success pattern to definitively say, "If I backlash I need to adjust _______."

You need to adjust this ----> 

 

Other than the initial setup where I tighten the cast control ( spool tension cap ) where I  allow the lure to fall slowly on freespool I very seldomly adjust anything else, ocassionally I might increase the centrifugal/magnetic braking in case I have to ( like casting into the wind ) but I leave it to the thumb.

[islandbass]

8 hours ago, kschultz76 said:

I'd have to double check Shimanos instructions. But I'm pretty sure early in the cast you need to adjust the SVS brake control. For late in the cast you need to adjust the spool tension cast control. 

 

Ive also had unpredictable and unrepeatable backlashes due to improperly lubed brake pipe or a shoe that kind of hung up in the raceway. 

 

I also found invet I get much better and much more consistent casting without unexpected backlashes with properly cleaned/lubed and tuned reels. 

 

Im not saying no backlashes - still get plenty that are my fault due to any number of user errors. Those are expected because I screwed up. 

Yes, I probably got it mixed up but I knew it was one way or the other.  Thx. 

[Glenn]

This explains the different adjustments to make, and in which order.

 

 

[Boomstick]

If you are only backlashing occasionally, I would think you don't have to adjust anything. You could try increasing the brake and if that doesn't work, tighten the tension knob down and see if that helps, but that will also sacrifice casting distance.

 

Instead of reel settings, I would pay attention to how you are casting when you get a backlash. For example on my baitcaster with thinner line (40lb braid, same with as 10lb mono), I find when casting overhand and not thinking about it, I often backlash and sometimes pretty badly too. But if I pay extra attention to how I'm casting, in my case tossing my bait backwards before casting (like a sidearm cast) and being sure to throw it in the same direction after taking my thumb off the spool, I'll be backlash free every time.

 

On my other rod which has 17lb mono, it's virtually impossible to backlash short of hitting a something unexpected.

[Catt]

14 hours ago, Choporoz said:

My thoughts are that once I quit blaming the reel, things got better....maybe not better, but at least less 'emotional'...lol

 

"I can't seem to establish enough of a consistent success pattern to definitively say, "If I backlash I need to adjust  ME_.""

 

 

Point being that if it happens once every few dozen casts...or whatever....then it almost always is because I put a hitch in my swing; or didn't account for wind;....or tried to reach the green in two on a par 5...

Ya never ever blame the angler!

 

It's always the tackle!

 

I adjust my centrifugal brakes once & only once; my tension knob is only slightly moved due to wind or drastic weight change.

 

I do how ever adjust my thumb constantly ?

[Hulkster]

I have the curado 200i, and I almost never backlash unless I hit a tree.

 

what I do is this: set the internals to 50% on, 50% off. in the case of your reel, 2 on 2 off.

 

set the external dial to 3 (I can go down to 2 if its a spoon or crankbait that casts like a bullet). some baits have a lot of wind resistance might need to go to 4.

 

set the cast control tension knob so that the lure slowly falls when you press the thumb bar.

 

I don't side arm, I overhand cast. wait for the rod to load before moving forward.

 

this should work for you, as it works like a charm with my curado 200i

[OnthePotomac]

Check for wind.  It only takes  a light breeze casting into it with a high arc on the cast to cause a backlash.  If you want to cast into the wind, keep it really low.  I am a wind coward and will do anything to avoid casting directly into the wind/breeze.

[Michaelangelo]

I set my spool tension knob first to where the lure falls fast but controlled, then I set the magnetic brake to the middle setting which will give you the ability to finely adjust either way, then I make some casts. At this point, you want to adjust your brakes inside the reel to where your lure casts well, but doesn't wanna start backlashing right away. The happy medium is in those brakes. I never use them all. Once that's good, just use your magnetic brake, should be all you need to adjust for wind. 

 

Also keep in mind, your eyes and thumb are probably the best brakes you have.