Tips For Reducing "Wind Knots" With Light Braid ?

[ChrisD46]

*For those who routinely use a spinning reel set up with light braid (i.e. approx. # 8 lb. ~ #10 lb. braid for the Ned Rig , please provide any tips you have found useful for reducing those irritating wind knots that often plague light braid / spinning set ups . Please also suggest a light braid line brand you may have found which is less prone to wind knots as well if you have noticed a difference . Thanks in advance !

[NHBull]

Finns if you must

 

 

[roadwarrior]

Smackdown #10

 

https://seaguar.com/freshwater/new-lines/smackdown-stealth-gray

[bulldog1935]

Manual bail is everything fishing braid on spinning tackle.  

Never use crank-auto-bail-closure.  

I hope this thing is on.  

Keep that spare hand close to the spool so you can feather outgoing line with it (kinda like using your thumb on a baitcaster).  

Close the bail with your free hand, and turn sideways with the rod to take up line slack before you begin retrieve.  

Never a wind knot no matter what braid you're using.  

 

this is a good habit even with mono/fluoro.  I only loan fluoro spinning reels, and they still always manage to get the line under the spool.  

[new2BC4bass]

26 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

Manual bail is everything fishing braid on spinning tackle.  

Never use crank-auto-bail-closure.  

I hope this thing is on.  

Keep that spare hand close to the spool so you can feather outgoing line with it (kinda like using your thumb on a baitcaster).  

Close the bail with your free hand, and turn sideways with the rod to take up line slack before you begin retrieve.  

Never a wind knot no matter what braid you're using.  

 

this is a good habit even with mono/fluoro.  I only loan fluoro spinning reels, and they still always manage to get the line under the spool.  

Hey!  I managed to do that 55-60 years ago on my Mitchell 300. 

 

I have 10# Sufix on one reel and 5# Fins on another.   I haven't used a spinning reel enough since getting back into fishing to get a wind knot.  I do manually close the bail now.  Usually hold the line with my free hand while winding up slack after a cast to keep it snug on the spool.

[Choporoz]

I use light braid to leader and the single biggest thing for me is to make sure that the knot tags are as small as possible.   Having tag catch that first guide on the cast will be fastest path to a mess.

[TnRiver46]

59 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

Manual bail is everything fishing braid on spinning tackle.  

Never use crank-auto-bail-closure.  

I hope this thing is on.  

Keep that spare hand close to the spool so you can feather outgoing line with it (kinda like using your thumb on a baitcaster).  

Close the bail with your free hand, and turn sideways with the rod to take up line slack before you begin retrieve.  

Never a wind knot no matter what braid you're using.  

 

this is a good habit even with mono/fluoro.  I only loan fluoro spinning reels, and they still always manage to get the line under the spool.  

That picture sure looks fancy, is that for flats fishing??

[A-Jay]

5 hours ago, ChrisD46 said:

*For those who routinely use a spinning reel set up with light braid (i.e. approx. # 8 lb. ~ #10 lb. braid for the Ned Rig , please provide any tips you have found useful for reducing those irritating wind knots that often plague light braid / spinning set ups . Please also suggest a light braid line brand you may have found which is less prone to wind knots as well if you have noticed a difference . Thanks in advance !

 

Wind knots seem to be a product of line twist for me. 

Fishing presentations like a Drop Shot all day can be a giant PIA.

Ensuring that my bait is rigged STRAIGHT is Critical.

If my rig 'spins' At All, even on the drop but especially on the retrieve,

at some point there's going to be cursing.   

So I do this - it really helps. 

 

Make 'Untwisting' your line part of your routine.

The process is simple.

If you're in any thing that floats, allow 2 or 3 cast lengths of line out behind your rig as you slowly move along.  Hold the length for a 30 seconds or so to allow the the line to straighten out and then reel it back in under sufficient tension to get a smooth & snug lay back on the spool.

Doing this when moving to a new spot can be a timely maneuver. 

 If there is no vessel involved, the process can (and should be) done on the beach.

Just find an open area where you can perform the above deal and you're good to go.  On trips where I didn't do it on the water, I'll run laps around the back forty to get this done.  Can be the difference between having a productive day at the lake and the reason you started this thread. 

 

    Two points of interest to ensure this ends up being helpful rather than adding to your problem.

1. Before letting out the line remove everything from the bitter end of braid -

bait, and any terminal tackle ~ Run out JUST the braid.

Otherwise you could be introducing More line twist.

2. When reeling the line back on the reel. MAKE SURE your drag is NOT Slipping against the weight of the line.  If it does, you guessed it, more line twist. 

A-Jay

[Junk Fisherman]

My wind knots (that annoying wrapping around the first guide during a cast) are 95% with braid and fluoro.  It was such an annoyance that a couple years I switched to straight fluoro on my small swimbait reel which completely solved that problem.  I try to keep my connection knot as small as possible, always manually close my bail, and not overthrow a cast.    

[Jig Man]

Close the bail by hand and look at your spool as you do.

[WRB]

Spinning reels put 1 twist in the line each revolution of the bail around the spool unless the end of the line can untwist.

Manual opening and closing the bail can prevent line loops on the spool performed properly. Line loops on the spool isn’t line twists but will create loose line coming off the spool knotted. 

To eliminate line twist use a small high quality swivel like #10 Spro about 1’ above the lure or on the lure. To manage line twist unwind the line by dragging it behind the boat without anything tied on. 

Spinning reels are spinning reels, they spin the lie onto the reel spool.

Tom

 

[JustJames]

These are good recommendations, but@A-Jay is spot on. Wind knot is the after affect of line twisted. It is gonna be hard to prevent line twisted with spinning reel. There are type lures that I won’t fish with spinning reel, kastmaster, lipless crank, fluke and of course dropshot. Those are the most that created line twisted for me. @bulldog1935is also right to not start retrieving with slack line.
Another thing i want to add, when cast, if you whip cast too hard and too fast, your lure gonna spin like no tomorrow and that also create line twist. Also as @a-jay mentioned retrieving crooked lure creat line twisted but even straight but reel in too fast, line twisted can happen as well.

Learn how to deal with line twisted up front is another way to go. Cast the lure out and reel in slowly with tension every once awhile, I also let the lure spin off about 4-5’ from rod tip when I reel in too fast. 
The braid I like is not too soft and too stiff, Sufix 832 is the one, Finns I tried it but not long enough to confirm, original power pro is not bad either.  Stay away from Jbraid x8 for spinning, it is super soft harder to deal with windknot when happen and a lot of tip wrap as well.

[Boomstick]

If you manually flip the bail and don't forget to open it when casting, you shouldn't have many problems.

 

Also if you now and then take a little line out and let it spin in its natural direction every now and then, that will take some twist out of the line and reduce future problems.

[bulldog1935]

I've seen horrific line twist (every trip) on my buddy's old Penn with 40-lb PowerPro, and moderate on his very new benchmade IRTs.  Though I did talk him into 832 on his new reels. (one trip last fall, his IRT shut him down for the day).  

 

In a few years of braid-only on salt spinning reels from UL to MH, I've never experienced line twist - nada.    That's with X8, thin, dense braids from Florida Fishing Products and YGK (and some 832, 15- down to 6-lb).  

 

I'm going to rack up no line twist to having no sealed line rollers.  

I hate them in the salt and apparently they're a factor in braid.  My Tica's have TiN-treated BB rollers without seals.  

 

On all my Shimano's, first thing I do is replace the chromed-brass and sealed single-BB rollers with titanium 2-BB MTCW line rollers (no seals).  Future maintenance will just be the BBs.  (What's lithium grease doing in Shimano line rollers, anyway - rhetorical.)  These are the same line rollers on Stradic to Stella

 

MTCW rollers were designed just for light braid (<PE#2) and recommended for salt (doesn't keep them from working better in freshwater)

The no-seal line rollers spin like a bicycle wheel.  I know for sure this is Florida Fishing Products braid 20-lb, 0.14 mm.  (20-lb 832 is 0.23 mm, and their 15-lb is 0.21)

 

 

[waymont]

I routinely  use 8lb and 10lb original Power Pro, and never get wind knots.

Three things to do:

1-Always close your bail by hand

2-Don't over fill your spool

3-Don't cast too hard. really whipping the cast will cause you more problems than it's worth.

[Hulkster]

for me, I kept getting it using 10 pound Sufix 832 braid, so I went back to mono. no issues at all. 

 

in hind site if I had gone with a heavier braid (20 pound 832??) it might have been perfect. 

[GetFishorDieTryin]

I haven't had a serious wind knot in a few years.  Avoid taking up slack line will greatly reduce the likelihood of a knot forming.  Line twists cause problems,  rig your baits as straight as possible to prevent spin.  If you notice your line is twisted try to straighten it when you have a chance.