Baitcaster break-off on cast

[FishingGeekTX]

First time I recall this every happening.

I want to cast, don't recall anything out of the ordinary.  40# braid, new reel, buzz bait.

I cast and the line snaps at the reel, and the bait goes flying.

 

I am assuming the line must have fluffed up and caught just right on something which snapped it?  Is this a "control backlash else you may get a break-off" type of thing, or is there something I'm missing (other than my lure :(   )?

 

[Junger]

Any previous backlashes on that line? 

[Khoa Vu]

check your guide rings for cracks. the braid could've been slowly frayed away until the final cast that it snapped. could be braid quality too? 40# is no jokes though, to just snap like that if there's nothing wrong with it. any sharp edges on the line guide that could be fraying the line too? 

[FishingGeekTX]

Just now, Junger said:

Any previous backlashes on that line? 

Yes, probably.

I periodically get a mid-cast fluff up, and sometimes it jerks to a halt.  May be weakening the line eh?

[Junger]

1 minute ago, FishingGeekTX said:

Yes, probably.

I periodically get a mid-cast fluff up, and sometimes it jerks to a halt.  May be weakening the line eh?

Yep, it probably weakened a spot in the line and, voila, that was your cast off.

[islandbass]

56 minutes ago, FishingGeekTX said:

Yes, probably.

I periodically get a mid-cast fluff up, and sometimes it jerks to a halt.  May be weakening the line eh?

You can bet it does. Any real birds nest will cumulatively weaken any line over time. 

 

I know all of us kink the line when undoing nests. But there is a difference. What you are describing sounds to me like line dig as a first guess. Normally doesn’t happen much with 40# braid and up but apparently it’s happening to you. A buzz baits poor aerodynamics don’t help especially if it gets caught in the wind with line dig. Heavier baits can usually bust through line dig. 

 

 

[Mikeltee]

7 hours ago, FishingGeekTX said:

First time I recall this every happening.

I want to cast, don't recall anything out of the ordinary.  40# braid, new reel, buzz bait.

I cast and the line snaps at the reel, and the bait goes flying.

 

I am assuming the line must have fluffed up and caught just right on something which snapped it?  Is this a "control backlash else you may get a break-off" type of thing, or is there something I'm missing (other than my lure   )?

 

I have done this many times with a whopper plopper. It happens when I try to beat my PB in distance calculated by how many turns of the crank I get. Sometimes I get bored when I am not catching and this is fun to me. It hasn't happened since I started using a Palomar knot. I am not sure if it was happening at the knot because I was never able to retrieve any of the $15 lures, but I assume so because it stopped happening once I learned to tie a proper knot.

[dodgeguy]

I've been using braid since the early 1990s. I've never had it break on a cast. Also never seen braid weakened from a backlash.its also the easiest to unbacklash. 

[Dave Davidson]

Has this happened more than once?

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Line might have been dug in.