Braided Birds Nest

[PeterF]

I fish PowerPro in a 15lb test on a Stradic 2500 and 1000 and every once a while, during a cast, a clump of line comes flying out >. What causes this?

[Tokyo Tony]

Line twist plus the nature of braid.

Something I've found is that when using braid on spinning reels, you'll get a ton more of these birds nests when you overfill your spool, which I do every time I spool a reel.  I just keep telling myself, "Ok, a couple more turns and then I'll stop..."  

But even on a spool that's not overfilled, you'll still get some of these.  You could take the twist out by trolling just the braid for a minute or two, or you could just deal with it and become more and more proficient at getting the nests out    As a big braid user, I've become pretty good at getting these annoying things out when they do happen.

[Live.2.Fish]

I had always thought the reason why braid on spinning reels was so great was becuase braided line didn't get line twist?  Is this true?  Isn't braided line, by nature, not able to twist?

[roadwarrior]

No memory is why some people like braid on spinning tackle.

In my opinion, visibility is a bigger issue.

The bird's nest is from overfilling and/ or having the line loosely wrapped. When fishing finesse baits this occurs when you reel in slack. You will notice, it rarely (never) happens when you fish a moving bait.

[Tokyo Tony]

I had always thought the reason why braid on spinning reels was so great was becuase braided line didn't get line twist? Is this true? Isn't braided line, by nature, not able to twist?

Any line can twist if the lure on the end of it is twisting.  

And as RW said, visibility is the biggest problem with braid.  I always use a flouro leader but it's kind of a pain, and I've found that a lot of the birds nests occur around the knot connecting the leader to the line, especially if you're using a really long leader (sometimes I'll use up to 15-20 feet of flouro in clear water).

[Live.2.Fish]

Opps! I was confusing memory with line twist. I apologize. :-[

[PeterF]

Thanks guys. I have noticed that this happens on all my rigs. I mostly fish with worms and I like the no stretch. What lines are you guys using for worms that would get rid of this problem? Or am I switching one problem for another.

[Wayne P.]

The only time I get "bird nests" with braid is when I don't check to see if the line has slipped over the forward edge of the spool when the bail is being closed.  It can happen a lot when the bail is closed on loose line. Sometimes on a windy day it will happen also.

[Garnet]

My tourney partneris bad for snap casting and he has problems with birds nest.

Garnet

[roadwarrior]

Thanks guys. I have noticed that this happens on all my rigs. I mostly fish with worms and I like the no stretch. What lines are you guys using for worms that would get rid of this problem? Or am I switching one problem for another.

Yo-Zuri Hybrid Ultra Soft #6 (.010" diameter, 11.9 lb test) solves all your problems.

[Guest muddy]

Opps! I was confusing memory with line twist. I apologize. :-[

Wait til you get to be my age, you will confuse a lot of stuff with MEMORY

[BIG M]

I still can't figure out why people think there is a visibility issue with braid lines.  I fish small Ouachita Mtn. streams in the summer and catch the same # of fish on braid vs mono.

Loose line on the reel causes the loops to come flying off on the cast.   About every 10 casts just reel the worm back in with a little speed and that will all but eliminate that problem.

[roadwarrior]

Guys have been fishing with a tree branch and kite string for more than a hundred years, but a less visible presentation might result in catching more and bigger fish.  

 :

[tyrius.]

Thanks guys. I have noticed that this happens on all my rigs. I mostly fish with worms and I like the no stretch. What lines are you guys using for worms that would get rid of this problem? Or am I switching one problem for another.

Line twist is more of a result of the lures used than the line used.  Worms twist coming through the water which twists your line which causes problems on spinning gear.

I don't think a line change is going to affect your line twist problems.

[grimlin]

I use braid with fluoro leaders and never have an issue with line twist.

Maybe it's just me? Something that helps alot is manually closing the bail.

[surfer]

I have fished Braid on my spinning gear for about a year now.  Twist and loose line can cause the loop jump off.  If it happens once in a while I ignore it and spend the 30 seconds to pull the mild backlash out.  If it happens a few times in 20 casts I will make a long cast and real back in fast to reset some of the twist and looseness.  That usually takes care of it for another couple hundred casts.

[PeterF]

Thanks again.