Braid and wind knots

[surferman]

The braid on my reel seems to be a little loose. Would this be a problem if I caught a fish or should I respool the braid? How tight should it be?

[Frankiesurf]

That tends to happen more when tossing light plugs or casting into the wind. All you need to do to remedy this is to put on your best casting plug or tin. Cast it as far as you possibly can, make sure you are into tight or virgin line, then reel in quickly while pinching the line tightly between your fingers. It helps to hold the rod tip down and to keep the line wet as you reel it in. Gloves or tape on your fingers helps if you are using braid. THis will tighten it up.

I make sure my line is tight by doing this at the end of each trip so I know the next time out I will be ready to fish.

Loose line or just a mushy spool will also affect your casting distance. Keep this in mind. Keep an eye on your spool, if you are aware of the situation then you can more quickly fix it and prevent headaches.

This could potentially be a problem with a fish on. If your drag is a little tight the braid could actually dig in to itself and produce loops over the spool causing "wind knots" or just lock up on you.

Always be aware of what the condition is of all your tackle at all times. If you see a potential problem with anything you will prevent future heartache. This is not to say something can't just foul up at any minute but if you are aware then you will have less problems in the long run.

[nitestrikes]

Always be aware of what the condition is of all your tackle at all times. If you see a potential problem with anything you will prevent future heartache. This is not to say something can't just foul up at any minute but if you are aware then you will have less problems in the long run.

What he said, there is nothing like the heartache of losing a big fish because you weren't prepared. Also make sure you have enough mono backing on your spool before you load it with braid.

[surferman]

Hey thanks for the tips guys. I followed Frankie's advice a while ago and have no trouble since!

[porgy75]

Is it over spooling or the diameter of the braid that creates wind knots?

[Frankiesurf]

Wind knots are commonly caused by overspooling. I never heard anything about specific diameter of the braid but lighter line always has more flexibility therefore tends to knot up easier.

For the most part, due diligence on your part will decrease your wind knots drastically. Make sure that your line is always tight on your spool. I believe that is the number one reason for wind knots. This will also decrease any loops over the spool that will eventually either cause a wind knot or just jam up in your guides.

When casting you can either give a sweep to the rod to take up any slack line once the lure hits the water or if you have a bail, after you flip it, grab the line and give it a tug to tighten it up. If you are bail less, try and get the line on the roller before the lure hits the water. This will come after some practice. Timing is everything.

If you are throwing lighter lures then do a sacrificial cast once in a while. Toss it out as far as you can or even tie on something heavier and let it fly. Make sure there is plenty of line tension when reeling in or pinch it in between your fingers. Usually at the end of the night I try to put on something heavy that casts well, like an A47, and pinch the line so I know I can just start casting my next time out and not worry about it.

Just remember slack line is no good. It also causes the braid to dig into itself which can negatively affect your cast and even affect your drag if a fish happens to need to take some.

[Simp]

I think that about sums it up!

To begin the year I was fishing 40# PP and had no problems. In seeing that a majority of the fish were out past the bar, I decided to go with 30# PP, for more distance and had problems almost immediately. No more 30# PP for me. I'm sure there are tons of guys that use 30 and love it though.

[CharlieTuna]

Porgy, there are a lot of great tips there by Frankie. Follow his advice and wind knots will be diminished.

[DarkSkies]

A friend mentioned trouble with wind knots today. This was my response to him.

Some things that have helped me avoid wind knots:

1. Used to exclusively use Power Pro. Stopped using it and most of my wind knot problems have been minimized.

2. I used to use the reel action to close the bail. Once I stopped doing that and closed the bail manually each time, this also cut down on my wind knots.

My biggest risk of wind knots now is when I am breaking new braid in, usually for the first week.
Also, wind in your face can be very challenging. For us guys who fish NJ, it's a E/NE that...for those of you who fish the SS of LI it's that dreaded S wind.....when that happens there isn't much you can do except deal with it and be careful how you lay the line on the reel each time.



Anyone else who has something to add, feel free.