Bird's nest.

[new2BC4bass]

My daughter (29) said she would prefer one of my push button reels over the spinning reel she was using. I told her she could practice with one of mine to see if in fact she would prefer a baitcast reel. Well we finally got out tonight for a bit of practice.

Let's just say I shouldn't have let her try an overhand cast until she was more familiar with the reel and the timing required...and the thumb control required. : She threw into the ground a few feet in front of her. She wasn't trying to shoot for the moon. I know she didn't use any thumb. Now I've had a few small backlashes while learning (am still learning as I am new to baitcast reels this year). Nothing that the trick of turning the spool a fraction with the drag way up and holding the spool from turning with your thumb hasn't taken care of efficiently. (Thanks are deserved to those of you who have posted links showing how this is done.)

Now I need to know how you guys get rid of backlashes when the thumb/drag tip doesn't work. Maybe I got impatient and pulled too hard. I wound up making several line cuts.

Admittedly the spool was overfilled. In fact it is still over-filled even after I had cut off enough line to get rid of the bird's nest. Just took the reel off a MH rod and put it on a Medium rod last night, so while I was at it I removed the 12 lb. line and re-spooled with 8 lb. I set the reel up for me and made a couple nice casts to check the combo out, then tightened the spool up a little (spool didn't move with the free spool/shake rod test), and set the brakes to maximum.

Obviously I didn't tighten spool tension enough. ;D ;D

This is on a Fuego that was super tuned by Nitroman77. I also had it over-filled with the 12 lb. line, but was making 2-handed power casts with no problems. Well, honesty makes me admit I had a couple small backlashes, but all I had to do was pull out a little line before starting my retrieve. No bird nests. Will 8 lb. react differently than the 12 lb.? Reel was on an Airrus Ultra XL 7' MH and is now on a Falcon EC-7-M rod if that makes a difference.

[D4u2s0t]

the birdsnest happens when the line falling off the spool gets caught up in the line going out the eye...  if you can find where the tangle is sitting over the main line, if you can get it off and pull on that usually it gets the tough ones out.  pretty easy to find because when you start pulling out your line, when it stops, it will be right there for you.

[new2BC4bass]

Thanks D4.  I found where it stopped.  Looked like the line went down into the line on the spool.  So the trick is to try and get the line overlapping the main line loose enough to find where it has caught?

[grimlin]

Another idea...If you have a beginner using your baitcaster.Cast it out and strip off another couple of feet then tape it off.That way the backlashes aren't as major.Heard that tip here and on BPS tv show from a female angler.

That could save you some headache.

[K_Mac]

I've had times where I caught my bait on something during the cast and had such a mess cutting was the only answer. If you can, set it aside and mess with it at home. Good light and no time pressure will make it easier to do. You may still have to cut it...

If you still had too much line on your reel after a couple of cuts, you must have been seriously overfilled. :-?

[D4u2s0t]

Thanks D4. I found where it stopped. Looked like the line went down into the line on the spool. So the trick is to try and get the line overlapping the main line loose enough to find where it has caught?

yep!  Most of the time it's farily easy to find (assuming that someone that was using the baitcaster KINDA knows what they're doing...)  if someone just casted, or let the bait fall, and let the reel keep spinning till it got so jammed it stopped, at that point best bet may be to just cut it out and re-spool.  This will become easier the more you both learn, because after a while when something goes wrong you quickly apply pressure, which stops a birdsnest from turning into a BAD birdsnest.  If you stop it quickly, 99% of the time it will come out using this technique if the "thumb and reel" technique doesn't work.

[acmaul13]

http://forums.fishusa.com/m_174888/mpage_1/key_baitcaster/tm.htm#174922

[new2BC4bass]

http://forums.fishusa.com/m_174888/mpage_1/key_baitcaster/tm.htm#174922

Thanks for the link.  Going to see if any of the places mentioned in my end of the state in one of the threads is close enough for me to fish.

[new2BC4bass]

If you still had too much line on your reel after a couple of cuts, you must have been seriously overfilled. :-?

Yup. Had it right to the bevel on the spool lip. Like I said, tho, 12 lb. line wasn't causing me any problems as long as I did my part. I had forgotten that she would be better off using heavier line. I was thinking more along the lines of having her try a light rod/reel combo as she thinks a 6'6" rod is too long.

[K_Mac]

If you still had too much line on your reel after a couple of cuts, you must have been seriously overfilled. :-?

Yup. Had it right to the bevel on the spool lip. Like I said, tho, 12 lb. line wasn't causing me any problems as long as I did my part. I had forgotten that she would be better off using heavier line. I was thinking more along the lines of having her try a light rod/reel combo as she thinks a 6'6" rod is too long.

It took my wife a little while to get used to 6'6" rods when she first started using a BC. She had always used 6' or less. Now 6'6" is what she uses most of the time, and she will occasionally use one of my 7' rods without too much problem. She just doesn't care for the longer handle length. Hang in there and enjoy the process. 8-)