Getting back into Bass fishing

[mas3]

Hello Everyone,

 

I am trying to get back into Bass fishing after being out of the sport for 4 years.

 

I purchased a spinning rod 7' Med and a 2500 Daiwa reel.

 

I spooled the reel with 10LB braid, with a 6LB flouro leader.

 

I am having a problem with wind knots.

 

The braid is getting tangled and knotted while casting.

 

The wind is 5mph and a calm day.

 

Braid and flouro is new.

 

Any ideas would be great.

 

Thanks

 

Mike

[MN Fisher]

Go to a heavier braid - I run 20# on 2500 size reels

 

Also, only put on 60 or so yards of the braid, back-fill with a cheap mono - Zebco Cajun 6# is what I use on my spinning reels for backing.

 

If you're trying to whip it out there, ease off. You don't need to 'swing for the fences' when casting, a good wrist/elbow movement should be plenty.

[mas3]

Thanks MN Fisher

 

I think you are correct, I'm throwing too hard and the 10 lb is too thin.

 

will try both suggestions 

 

 

[Deephaven]

I use 10lb PP braid on my spinning rigs.  My guess is you are getting a lot of line twist and it is biting you when you cast.  MN is right though.  Nice mellow motion can net you way more accuracy and quote often distance as well 

[Darth-Baiter]

What bait?  Is it twisting as you reel it in?

 

I find it also helps to close the bail manually and tug the line tight on the spool before I do any cranking.  

[mas3]

Thanks MN Fisher

 

I think you are correct, I'm throwing too hard and the 10 lb is too thin.

 

will try both suggestions 

 

 

I was throwing a Drop Shot with 1/4 oz weight

Also a small 5/16 oz jig

 

I suspect throwing too hard as I was bank fishing a trying to get the bait out as far as possible.

[dodgeguy]

Line twist is your problem . Use a swivel at the top of the leader.

[WRB]

Before you change your line try untwisting it first.

1. Cut off the leader.

2. Walk off about 50 paces (50 yards or so) of line.

3. Wet a terry cloth towel with water and lay the line near your rod tip between folded wet towel. Towel needs to soaked with water.

4. Run the braid line between your thumb and index finger up near the 1st large guide to apply some pressure and feel for any twists while you wind the line back onto your reel. The rewind line needs to be tight!

retie your leader and go fishing. When retrieving lures keep the line snug on the reel spool. 

Tom

[PressuredFishing]

Is the line actually twisted, or are you get tangles between the reel and the first guide, the ladder is often associated with line twist but is completely separate, it is instead wind knots. They are often worse in windy conditions but will occur without wind when throwing lighter lures, overfilling your spool, casting too hard, or reeling slack onto the spool over time. Many other factors contribute to this problem, but I won't bore you, it's not worth the extra 10 feet of casting extra hard to get wind knots, manage your line well, stop line from coming off of the spool when the lure hits the water to prevent wraps deeper in the spool from loosening. Take time to managing your line, use as light of diameter as you can. Spinning reel spool lip design and line lay is much more complicated than 95% of anglers realize, many expensive reels actually purposefully use uneven line lay to reduce and if used by a skilled angler, eliminate wind knots. ABS spool design is one example. 

[Big Hands]

10 lb braid with 7 lb leader is on at least four or five of my spinning combos. 'Wind knots' do happen occasionally, but I have found that I can minimize their occurrence by being deliberate when I move the rod at the end of a cast. if the rod tip bounces around at the end of a cast, that is usually when the line fouls at the tip of the rod.. Some rods are worse about this than others, but it's the price I pay to have less wind resistance on my line when it is blowing. I would trying top modify my technique before trying different line, JMHO.

[mas3]

Thank Everyone

 

I will un-spool and use Toms wet cloth suggestion.

Next time I go fishing I will make sure I am not overdoing the casting.

[GetFishorDieTryin]

Taking some power off of you're cast or going with a heavier lb braid more than likely won't change anything.  If the line lay of the reel doesn't have any gaps the knots are being cause by taking up slack line and or line twists. Instead of going with a heavier test of the same braid, its more beneficial to go with a stiffer braid, but if you are taking up too much slack line it you are going to run into problems regardless of the properties of the braid.  If you're line is twisted the braid will constantly wrap around the tip, the limper the braid, the worse it will be.  It can be fixed a number of ways, but prevention is the key.  Make sure you're bait is rigged as straight as possible.  After you rig a bait up, put in the water and make sure its not spinning on the retrieve.  

To prevent wind knots, you must minimize taking up slack line.  Start by manually flipping the bail and putting tension on the line before you begin to retrieve.  To put some tension on the line you can close the bail at the end of the cast and lift the rod to get some slack out, pinch the line between you're fingers and reel, or a combination of the 2.  The lighter the bait is the more attention you are going to have to pay to managing the line.  Now the line doesn't have to be super tight before you begin to retrieve, just do the best you can within reason.  Some baits I use are so light that the line still spools fairly loose on the spool in ideal conditions, much less a heavy cross wind.  As long as you can get just a little bit of tension where you are taking up what I call "semi slack" line you won't have issues.

I know it sounds like a PITA, but its really not.  It wont take long until it becomes an effortless natural process after every cast. Once proficient, its extremely effective, I haven't had a wind knot that I have had to cut in years and I fish practically everyday.  Best of luck to you.