BAD Problems With My Line

[Lord Castlereagh]

I'm a new fisherman, (since July) but I've been out with the same rod and reel approximately 120 times since July. About 30 trips back I put on 10 pound test for the first time, used to have only 6 pound line. No problems at all. The other day, for the first time ever, I used a heavy bullet sinker with a light spinner bait. No problem. After using this rig for about a week, I suddenly got MASSIVE line tangles SIMULTANEOUSLY out in front of the rod AND on the reel. A fellow fisherman told me the spinner might be torqueing the line and causing the problem. Took the spinner off. Problem persisted. Removed ALL the line and went to the second half of the original spool and loaded that up. Went to the pond 30 minutes ago, and continuously got MASSIVE tangles both in front of the rod and on the spool at the same time.

 

In my thousands upon thousands upon thousands of casts I have NEVER had this happen before. My first guess is it's just bad line, but if that's the case, why did it work like a charm for weeks?

 

It's a light action rod, and I just noticed it's rate for 4 to 8 pound line, but, again, it worked with the 10 pound for weeks.

 

The reel is a Pflueger, and is rated for braid 10 pounds/160 yards.

 

Please help me before I have a fishing related mental illness.

 

Thanks all.

[Cak920]

What kind of line? What kind of spinner? If your using line with a lot of memory and a spinner that’s twisting the line it could wreak havoc 

[Lord Castlereagh]

Berkley Trilene, clear. I can't see where it says mono or braid... Just clear.

 

Remember, though, I took the spinner off and loaded up the second half from the spool, and it's never had a spinner on it.

 

Thanks

[Cak920]

Hmm I once bought a couple spools of 10lb mono (don’t recall the brand) but I spoiled it up on 3 reels and went fishing and one setup was giving me bird nests almost every cast. That was the only rod with line from the 1 spool so my assumption was it was sitting on the store shelf or a warehouse for a long time and had terrible memory. 

[TylerT123]

Probably line memory, just get some new line.

[WRB]

Definitely twisted line, doesn't take long if the lure is spinning. 

There is a right way and wrong way to spool line on a spinning reel. With a pencil through the spool center hole the line needs to come off the bottom of the filler spool, off the top it will twist.

10 lb test mono, Fluoro or Copoly lines all twist using spinning reels.

Check the bail roller it may not be turning freely.

Check all your guides for cracks using a cotton Q-tip.

Try a smaller dia line like 8 lb test Sunline Natural mono.

Tom

[Lord Castlereagh]

Thanks much for the tips, guys.  Just ordered some more line--4 and 6 pound this time.

[Shimano_1]

This is why I use braid on all my spinning gear. I use a fluorocarbon or mono leader. Braid just behaves so much better especially on small spinning reel spools. Theres a reason all the pros use braid on their spinning gear. 

[Boomstick]

My first thought is how old is this line? I tend to replace monofilament line fairly regularly as it does have memory issues. The unfortunate thing about monofilament line is that it also be rather line twist prone as well.

 

The best longer term advice I can give is to spool up some braided line, 15# is generally a good bet then tie on an appropriate sized leader for what you're fishing. Braid is largely resistant to line twist issues (although you may eventually get wind knots but they're much less common.

[Lord Castlereagh]

Again, thanks for the tips, guys.

 

Think I'll get some braided line. The line I was using (unless I am completely missing it) did NOT indicate exactly what kind it was. Berkley Trilene smooth casting, XL, clear, super strong, etc.... What kind of line is that?

 

Also, if I go: main line, barrel swivel, leader, spinnerbait... Will that solve my problem.

 

Thanks

[WRB]

Define spinnerbait, do you mean inline spinner then yes, spinnerbait shaped like a safety pin with blades on a arm above the jig head then not as much.

Remember that a spinning reel wraps line around a stationary spool and every turn of the rotar applies 1 twist to the line if the end of the line can't untwist. Every line type twists using a spinning reel. Braid basically is a multi filament yarn and twisting doesn't immediately affect it like a single filament line.

Trilene XL is a low memory monofilament line, good line choice for spinning reels if you stay below 8 lb test / .010 diameter.

Tom

[Sam]

Suggestions

 

1.  Look at rod's paramaters. Take the high and low line test and add them together. Then divide by 2. You now have the optium line weight for the rod.

 

2.  Look at the reel. Note the reel's line parameters. Stay with them, even if they are lower than the above formula.

 

3.  Use braid. Less line twist than with mono or fluorocarbon.

 

4.  Check bait weight on rod. Do not exceed the bait's weight.

 

5.  Are you using a baitcaster or a spinning set up? Sounds like a spinning setup. Line twist happens with spinning rigs.

 

6.  Old line. Gland you finally changed line. Old line can fail. Always have fresh line on your rigs.

 

7.  Baits spinning. If your baits spin on the retrieve you will get line twist. Braid cuts down on line twist.

 

8.  Also, if I go: main line, barrel swivel, leader, spinnerbait... Will that solve my problem. - Why the barrel swivel? Can you learn to tie your main line to a leader? Or directly to the spinnerbait? Check out the knots to tie your main line to a leader. And a spinnerbait will not cause line twist but if the spinnerbait twists over on the cast you will have line twist.

 

9. Loudoun County. One of the richest counties in the world. As you are sitting in traffic on Route 50 just practice line to line knots.

 

Now make an outline of all the information form each post and study what everyone tells you. After all, you have the time to read the posts over and over again while sitting in traffic.

[sully420]

Remember to manually close your spool after casting instead of letting the reel do it for you. And spool the line the way WRB described.

[Log Catcher]

Like sully420 said close the bail by hand. Also using a barrel swivel and a leader will solve a lot of your problem.

[Lord Castlereagh]

47 minutes ago, Sam said:

4.  Check bait weight on rod. Do not exceed the bait's weight.

Hi, Sam:

 

Am I missing this? I do not see on the rod a recommended bait weight.

 

Thanks for your help.

[Shimano_1]

That line u were using is monofilament. Try u some braid and I bet u have better results 

[Sam]

57 minutes ago, Lord Castlereagh said:

Hi, Sam:

 

Am I missing this? I do not see on the rod a recommended bait weight.

 

Thanks for your help.

It should be there along with the rod's length, power and bait size.

It would read "8-16 pound test".

Check it out.

Sam

[Fishinthefish]

That line is Mono. Mono has memory issues and is hell on the water when using and lure that spins. Adding a swivel to new line if you want to use mono will remove a good majority of the line twist. Changing from mono to braid with a mono or flouro leader and a swivel will also drastically help reduce line twist and any form of memory problems. My suggestion would be a diawa J braid or a power pro 20lb test to a 6lb flouro or mono leader with a swivel that has a bearing.

 

Personally I completely ignore all ratings for line on a rod. Dont be abusive and yank 65lb braid with a medium rod or similiar abusive tendencies and you should be fine for the most part. Having a different size line on a rod than the recommended test is not going to cause the issues youre experiencing.

 

For future knowledge if you use flouro or mono lines and leave them spooled for a good bit of time I suggest buying line conditioner, tying your line to a tree in the yard spray the line and walk it off while keepingyour thumb on the spool or drag light enough to pull without stretching the line but still keeping it tight. Doing this three or four times before a trip will help remove memory and line twist. Some will still exist though, that is the unfortunste trade off with mono and flouro lines and why I exclusively use braid unless its a crankbait rod for debth.

[WRB]

The OP identified his reel as a Plfueger and his rod being a light 4 to 8 lb, your basic trout rod. He also stated he fished a long time without any line issues before changing to 10 lb test XL. All The OP needs to do is go back to 6 lb mono and spool it onto to the reel correctly and avoid using bass lures over 1/4 oz. flipping the bail by hand eliminates loops, not line twist. Reeling agianst fighting fish creates line twist and using any lure that spins or too heavy will also create line twist. 10 lb braid would also be a good option, leader is optional.

Tom

[Sam]

15 minutes ago, Sam said:

It should be there along with the rod's length, power and bait size.

It would read "8-16 pound test".

Check it out.

Sam

OOps. Mistake. My bad.

 

Look for the bait weight on the rod next to the line test parameters.

 

Is there a "lure wt" on the rod?

 

As Tom suggests, go back to 6 pound test and a lighter lure.

 

If you use a "Rooster Tail" type bait you will get line twist, sooner or later.

[Lord Castlereagh]

Hi, Sam:

 

Here's what the rod says:

 

"PPG56LS 5'6" ACTION LIGHT (4-8 pound line) H13

 

Thanks again...

[Preytorien]

That's a pretty light rod. I would stay around the 4-6lb test line. If you use braid you can actually use something along the lines of a 10lb test braid. It won't have nearly the twist issues that mono or fluorocarbon will. I would highly suggest going to braid on your spinning reel, very light braid. 

 

This time of year (and this year's no exception) I have immense success with just a plain old Blue Fox Vibrax or Mepps #3 spinner with a gold blade. I can tell you from the first couple years' experience, those spinners will twist up a line in a heartbeat.