Braided line stop while casting

[An Ngo]

I just started using braided line on baitcaster reel and I don’t know why when I cast my bait, and the line stop and it getting a little bit birdnet on the reel. So how can I fix that? Is that about the adjustment that I should work on? 

[Kenny Yi]

sounds like "braid bite" to me, when the braid is dug into itself.  use a thicker braid (my guess is you're using somewhere between 15 to 30 pound braid, use 40 to 50 instead)

 

when spooling the braid, make sure that the line is wrapped as tight as possible on the spool.  hold the line between your finger tips or have some other form of pressure so that there is no extra room for the braid to bite. 

 

lastly, sometimes it just happens ?.  don't whip out the cast, that can cause it to happen, think smooth and fluid casting. 

[An Ngo]

Hi Kenny, thank you so much for your advice. I’m using 30 lbs line so I think I should try another thicker line or maybe go back to mono line. And I have another question if you can help me to figure it out. So when I cast the baitcaster, sometimes I use my strength too much so it causes the birdnet too, do I have to tie the brake or the tension for that?

[GaryH]

Remember your thumb is your best friend when learning to use a bait caster. Get used to casting with a smooth cast and try not to go for the fences. In due time you’ll be loosing your brake and felling more confident. 

[Drew03cmc]

I use 30# Smackdown for chatterbaits, Spinnerbaits, Buzzbaits, light pitching, jigs, etc. On my medium rod, I like 20# Smackdown. I haven't had much issued with any of it yet. I think using your equipment to the best of its abilities is where it's at.

[bulldog1935]

if you're getting bad backlashes, you're not ready for braid - go back to mono or fluoro.  The stiffness of mono helps you recover backlash, while the total limpness of braid can create deep backlash that you can't even find.  

 

I didn't switch to braid on baitcasters until it took 3 years to remember my last backlash, and that was not a technique issue, but line wrapped one turn on the rod tip.  Thirty pound is substantial braid, and shouldn't dig if you're doing it right - I fish down to PE#0.8 on baitcasters, and some here fish even smaller.  

 

Spooling any line, I run it through a phone book with a weight on top so it goes onto the spool under tension.  I set my rod up in a rod holder and can even walk away from it, and it holds the line tension.  

 

  

[T-Billy]

Sound advice above. Spool braid on tightly and focus on making smooth fluid casts. 

[CrankFate]

If braid digs in it means the line is spooled loose close to the arbor and spooled tightly around the outside of the spool. If spooled tightly enough all the way through you won’t get dig in, even with super thin line. Stopping can be anything. A knot in the spool or an overrun coil is usually it. Happened to me on vacation about 2 years ago. Eventually I realized there was a tiny overhand knot in my line more than halfway down to the arbor. After I got home.

[JustJames]

30lb braid might be too limb for newbies but very doable. As everyone mentioned, “spool line tightly” is help but not really a “solution”.

Now before someone quote me, Iet me say why. In the real fishing time especially those that require rod movement not just cast and reel, line can get slack. In order to keep line in spool tightly all the time gonna be harder.

The best solutions for me is to learn how to deal with braid. Lure weight, spool tension and casting technique. If line dig-in when cast, meaning spool speed and line coming out is not in-sync. A little bit more tension on spool and/or more brake would help. Hard casting is a solution for disaster especially using heavier lure with braid, so go easy, lob cast if you can until you get a hang of “tethered the line”. when over run start to happen.

 

 

[Hammer 4]

I had 30 lb Diawa Samurai braid on my old Shimano 301 E7, never had a problem. As said above, it's spooled to loose.

[dodgeguy]

Braid does not backlash easier or worse. Use 50 lb or higher. Set your reel correctly. Don't force casts.  Braid is also easier to remove a backlash and doesn't get damaged.

[bulldog1935]

same with nylon rope on trailer winches

[Deephaven]

Stop casting differently for different length casta.  Cast as long as you can without the extra bird's-nest energy and use your thumb to shorten the cast.  From reading your posts I bet this is the largest problem you have 

[Bass Rutten]

Does the bird's nest happen at the very beginning or end of your cast? Two different solutions. Backlashing at the beginning of the cast means you need to dial in more brakes, the end of the cast requires more spool tension or feathering with thumb.

[The Maestro]

Another thing that I've noticed can happen with certain rod and lure combinations is that the rod will load up and then the tip will snap back mid cast and stop the bait mid air which is what you're describing. This is usually just a matter of adjusting your casting technique more than adjusting the reel.

[Dens228]

On 7/13/2021 at 4:09 PM, Drew03cmc said:

I use 30# Smackdown for chatterbaits, Spinnerbaits, Buzzbaits, light pitching, jigs, etc. On my medium rod, I like 20# Smackdown. I haven't had much issued with any of it yet. I think using your equipment to the best of its abilities is where it's at.

Same exact thing here.  I've had one backlash this year and it was with FC.   

I haven't had dig in, wind knots, birds nests..........

[Drew03cmc]

On 7/13/2021 at 4:57 PM, bulldog1935 said:

if you're getting bad backlashes, you're not ready for braid - go back to mono or fluoro.  The stiffness of mono helps you recover backlash, while the total limpness of braid can create deep backlash that you can't even find.  

 

I didn't switch to braid on baitcasters until it took 3 years to remember my last backlash, and that was not a technique issue, but line wrapped one turn on the rod tip.  Thirty pound is substantial braid, and shouldn't dig if you're doing it right - I fish down to PE#0.8 on baitcasters, and some here fish even smaller.  

 

Spooling any line, I run it through a phone book with a weight on top so it goes onto the spool under tension.  I set my rod up in a rod holder and can even walk away from it, and it holds the line tension.  

 

  

Ron is right. While I stop short of using the phone books (not sure I have owned a phone book in a decade), I have a spool holder that puts spring tension on my line, then I hold it between my thumb and forefinger while winding. 

 

On my Metanium MG, I have 20# Smackdown as mentioned before, and this rod is used for, literally, everything. I throw Spook Jr, Sammy, Ploppers, buzzbaits and spinnerbaits to 3/4 total weight, crankbaits, weightless plastics and light T Rigs. I haven't had a non-self-inflicted issue yet. I also feel the rod has a lot to do with it. I use a Legend X 6'8" medium power, fast action.

[bulldog1935]

30 minutes ago, Drew03cmc said:

...not sure I have owned a phone book in a decade...

 

I probably don't have any other use for one, but there are still privately published phone books delivered every year in my semi-rural county.  

 

What makes braid difficult is the way braid backlashes.  

The backlash loops fold deep into the line stack, and tighten to 180-degree flat loops when you're working out backlash, making them difficult to even find.  

This is because of the total limpness of braid compared to the minimum stiffness of mono - you can always find mono backlash loops.  

Edited July 15, 2021 by bulldog1935

[Captain Phil]

On 7/14/2021 at 7:31 AM, dodgeguy said:

Braid does not backlash easier or worse. Use 50 lb or higher. Set your reel correctly. Don't force casts.  Braid is also easier to remove a backlash and doesn't get damaged.

 

This certainly hasn't been my experience and I have been using a casting reel since 1962.  As others have stated, braid needs to be tightly spooled.  I use a pair of cotton garden gloves when I spool my line using my fingers to tension the line as I reel.  This provides more control than a phone book. 

 

There are things to like about braid, just as many not to like.  On the good side, braid has no stretch and it's thinner.   This is offset by the fact that braid is more visible under water.  On the negative side, braid tends to backlash more than mono.  This is especially true if you are attempting to make long casts. Braid backlashes can often be are harder to pick out. Brad is more visible to fish in water than mono.  Braid is more buoyant which changes the way plastic baits fall.  Braid is expensive.  Braid is rougher, harder on rod guides, has more surface tension and hangs on logs and reeds.

 

A discussion of braid vs. mono line is similar to religion and politics.  There are braid lovers and braid haters.  Both lines have advantages and disadvantages.  Don't be afraid to find out what works best for you.

[Drew03cmc]

2 hours ago, Captain Phil said:

 

This certainly hasn't been my experience and I have been using a casting reel since 1962.  As others have stated, braid needs to be tightly spooled.  I use a pair of cotton garden gloves when I spool my line using my fingers to tension the line as I reel.  This provides more control than a phone book. 

 

There are things to like about braid, just as many not to like.  On the good side, braid has no stretch and it's thinner.   This is offset by the fact that braid is more visible under water.  On the negative side, braid tends to backlash more than mono.  This is especially true if you are attempting to make long casts. Braid backlashes can often be are harder to pick out. Brad is more visible to fish in water than mono.  Braid is more buoyant which changes the way plastic baits fall.  Braid is expensive.  Braid is rougher, harder on rod guides, has more surface tension and hangs on logs and reeds.

 

A discussion of braid vs. mono line is similar to religion and politics.  There are braid lovers and braid haters.  Both lines have advantages and disadvantages.  Don't be afraid to find out what works best for you.

Braid, actually, isn't more visible under a lot of conditions. There have been tests done comparing braid to fluoro. A lot of this is due to the fact that it is thinner, often half as thick as the mono you'd generally throw. For example, I went from 15# Abrazx to 30# Smackdown in gray. The Abrazx lit up like a Christmas tree in clear water. The more matte, natural colors of braid, even white, can almost vanish underwater.

 

Braid does not backlash more. Sounds like a reel isn't adjusted properly and may be causing it. 

 

Braid is no more expensive than fluoro and is actually cheaper. You can run the same spool of braid for multiple years vs having to change your fluoro out every few months. This isn't including the cost of KVD line conditioner. I can buy a spool of 30# Smackdown for $29.99 or a spool of 15# Abrazx for $24.99. The catch is that I will still be using the braid in 12 months, or going onto my second filler spool of Abrazx. 

 

Finally, the coarser braids, PP, 832, etc, cut through reeds when under tension whereas fluoro will be nicked and damaged. Braid isn't ideal in wood, but it does a good enough job for me. 

 

Finally, what I am getting at is try them all, use what you like. I am even using 20# braid to a 12# Invizx leader for squarebills on the river in crystal clear water. 

[Koz]

It is my experience that people moving from spinning gear to baitcasters get a lot of backlashes because of casting technique.

 

With spinning gear there's no problem getting whippy with your cast or trying to muscle a cast out there because of the way that the line comes off of the spool. You simply can't do that with a baitcaster with the line coming off the spool inline with the bait. More importantly, you don't need to.

 

Casting for distance with a baitcaster is primarily controlled by your brake and tension settings. You an see what I mean by cranking them both down, making an easy toss, and noting the distance. Then turn off the brakes, loosen the tension, and make a cast using the same motion and force and note the distance.

 

With a baitcaster, focus on being smooth and letting your elbow be the hinge that drives the cast, not your wrist. As you get more experience you will learn how much wrist you can put into it with different casting techniques (overhand, 3/4, sidearm, pitch, flip, etc.). For distance casting, remember that it's your brakes, tension, and the weight of your lure that are the primary factors, not how much power you try and put into the cast.

 

Easy and smooth is your friend as you develop experience. Braid is not the issue. In fact, I find it easier to control on baitcasters than mono or flouro, but that's my personal bias. That's where I think confidence plays a bigger part in what line people consider better on a baitcaster.

 

 

[dodgeguy]

This idea that braid backlashes worse is so false. I have only had 2 backlashes with braid I couldn't get out by pressing my thumb on the line and reeling it in then pulling it out in 30 years. Flourocarbon and mono get damaged a lot when backlashes braid does not.

[huZZah]

I don’t think braid backlashes worse either, and it seems easier to undo with far less damage to the line.  I’ve had my lure and a good amount of mono set sail after undoing a backlash where I missed how the line had burned itself when locking down. 
 

A bird nest is a bird nest. The type of line won’t fix it if you are causing it.