[ray petch]

After posting my last thread I bought some 20lb Sakura braid and loaded it up as I normaly do by puting a scewdriver through the middle of the spool, then putting the screwdriver between each kneeand winding the braid straight on to the spool (fixed spool reel). I went fishing on a South Devon Beach last Thurs eve after work. There was a bigger swell than I expected and the water was coloured. I didnt feel very confident but gave it a go.... I had 2 waves hit the steep pebble bank in front of me and gave me a good drenching, I persisted on. Then the braid twisted on the cast after about 1 1/2 hrs fishing got caught in the but ring and craked off a £20 quid lure sailing out to sea. Feeling a bit hissed off after 2 drenchings and a lost lure I thought F it Im going home. I came on to the this forum to look up some tips on loading braid and line twist and then went on to "you tube" and found you wind the line on your reel with the line spool faceing the reel spool and the bail-arm should rotate the same way the line comes off the spool. So I got some £20 Powerpro moss green braid now and the instructions on the spool tell me to load it the same way as I originally loaded the spool. "Now I am feeling a bit confused". Which way do I load the line??. Ive had plenty of line twist before useing fixed spool reels but not after 1 1/2 hours fishing.

 

[Simon L]

Ive had plenty of line twist before useing fixed spool reels but not after 1 1/2 hours fishing.

Based on that comment, im just wondering if it was more to do with your reel :?: Perhaps your bail-arm roller siezed a little after a couple of soakings :?:

 

[Toby Harnett]

I think Ray that the vid means that you should load the line so that it comes off the shop bought spool the same way that your reel spool rotates i.e. clockwise...

 

[ray petch]

I went fishing on Sunday for a couple of hours with one of my daughters, she got bored so we came home early. Useing the same reel with 8lb mono no problem. Saying that I will check my reel when I get chance later.

 

[Dave Irving]

Ray,
It all depends on how the manufacturer loads the spools. Some will be fine with the screwdriver approach (daiwa 8 Tournament for example) others are better done with spool facing you.
I would have a good look at the reel though, as if the braid is incorrectly loaded then it is normally a nightmare straight away. Loose loop coming off the reel could have caused the crack off.

 

[Andy K]

One of the ways I have found gives me minimal grief with braid on a fixed spool reel is to put a few inches of water in the kitchen sink and lay the spool of braid in there. Using just the butt of the rod and reel, connect your braid to the spool and take a few turns of the reel to get things started. Now, holding the braid high up the rod blank, between finger(s) and thumb, wind the rest of the braid on to your desired depth on the spool.

Te only time I have suffered wind knots etc (so early on) was when I used to fill up my spool as I would fill it with mono. Took a long time to sink into my thick head, how much less braid is needed on the spool. For me, it works out as around 4mm to 6mm underfilled. Even then, when I feel that "click" or minor "crack" during a cast, I will abort that cast and wind it straight in. Holding finger and thumb, high up near the first eye / ring on the rod butt and keeping a good, firm pressure on the line too.
I have found that lighter, smaller lures, as well as most of my surface lures, will cause the need for me to "reload" my line under tension again. Much more often than lures which are staying subface and are keeping a fair amount of weight / pressure on the line, themselves.

So, as well as everything above, Ray, keep an eye on the amount of braid you have on your reeel, as well as the tension its loaded under too.

Sorry mate, more to remember, I know, but it doesnt take long before it all comes as second nature.

ps - I know, that with practice, you are suppose to be able to work a lure at the same time as keeping the tension on your line with finger and thumb. Whether I am just too "cack handed" or what I dont know, but it just wont happen for me with my current set up.

 

[ray petch]

I must admit I have been filling the spool up. I had a couple of hours last night with the mono again as I havnt had chance to load the spool up with the new braid. Had no problems. But will put the new line on over the weekend and take your advice Andy when loading the new braid. Thanks to you all for your help. Cheers.

 

[Andy K]

Out of curiosity, Ray. What reel are you using? Does it have a spare, shallower spool?

I use a pair of cheap Shimano 4000's I bought on Ebay a few years back. I have no backing on them. All I did was to put some black electrical tape tightly around each spool. Just two turns I believe. One of the spools of line I bought was about 120yards of 8 strand YGK. What I did was (initially) to just load this straight onto an empty reel. That way, I could take it out and immediately see how well it cast. Or not. As it happened, it seemed to cast perfectly fine. So, I spooled all the line back onto the orignal line spool (using an electric drill), did the double wrap of electrical tape and then loaded the braid on top of that. I have just double checked it and the spool is definitely under filled by about 4 or 5 mm.
If you underfill the same, you should find that your casts "feel" a million percent better from the very first one you do. As such, your confidence with the tools in your hand will grow considerably too. As will your enjoyment of your fishing, the feel of everything that gets transmitted back to your hands and your knowledge of how your lures should be "feeling" as they go thru the water. Its amazing how easily you will notice a couple of grams of weed hanging on a hook!

Anyway, good luck with it Ray and let us know how you get on with your spool underfilled. Just remember that at the first feeling of a windknot or a cast "clicking" as the line goes out, retrieve the lure all the way back under tension between thumb and fore finger.

 

[ray petch]

As it happens I use Shimano 4000`s as well and I have a couple of shallow spools so I take your advice over the weekend and see how I get on. Thanks again. Ray

 

[andy cottam]

Hi Ray
I had a similar experience recently also with powerpro. I have been using it all season without any problems whatsoever, when all of a sudden 2 trips ago i started to get wind knots regularly. I put it down at first to the fact that the braid had had a tough season and that i needed to respool and that possibly the shad i was using was causing line twist and the wind knots. Having replaced the braid for my last trip, i still started to get wind knots with whatever lure i was using, so i started to look for another reason-i soon found it. After casting i close the bale arm manually with a flick of my hand, but i noticed that the bale arm wasn't closing completely(bale spring worn?) and as a result the braid wasn't locating and engaging the bale arm roller properly. As soon as i started to close the bale arm fully-no more wind knots for the rest of the session. So in short, as Simon mentions, have a look at your whether the bale arm roller is working correctly.