Braid Problems

[webby]

Have always used mono, but finally suscumbed to some braid on weekend
1. abu 660 100m 14lb fireline
2. shimano catala 300 130m of 15lb platil millenium
had ample backing on both ??, only using them for close
in work around mangroves and other structures, but every
time i cast, either with plactics or other baits, not using
much weight 1 or 0 and 1 m leader, the cast would go abt
12m and then the braid seemed to lock up on the spool,
causing everything to come to a sudden halt.
1. have i got it loaded too tight or loose
2. not enough weight
3. or do u have to cast different with braid
never had this prob with mono on the same reels
?? some of you knowledgable people out there, must no
the answer.
regards

[Roman]

Im no expert.
I have never used mono on a baitcaster before so i carnt tell you whats the difference, but isnt it over running?

[imported_admin]

Sounds like it is too loose. With braid you need it wound on fairly firmly or else when you wind in line under load it will be forced down into the spool and be wedged in tight. Make sure the mono you are using for backing is on nice and tight also before you spool up with the braid or else the braid will be worked into the spool of mono as well.

[Fitzy]

Hi Webby,
When casting with mono all your life, many tend to use the spring in the mono to accelerate the cast. You can't do this with braids as they have little or no strecth. You need to adjust the casting brake on your reel a little then adjust you casting style slightly until you are used to it, stop the sling shotting. Now so much a short, sharp burst of power, rather a constant acceleration on the rod thru the power curve. If you are casting things too heavy or too light for the rod you can also run into a few probs. These will be made worse if casting directly into the wind.

Braid will also run off a spool & thru the runners alot quicker than mono.
Try starting out with short casts at 80% of the normal power you would use with mono.

It is worth persevering as your distance & accuracy can & will improve once you are proficient at fishing with braids.

It's a bit hard to explain in text right off the top of my head. If we cross paths I'm more than happy to run thru it all with you.

Cheers,

Fitzy..

[webby]

Hi Fitzy
It was nt the best condition on sunday evening, but was in
a fairly good wind break, the rods are abu "morrum"
graphite med-hvy action 5-6kg, was only using 6kg mono
before on them, with the braid it just seemed harder to
cast , it seemed as if the braid was overlocking on it self
on the spool, i got fairly frustrated with the damm stuff
and tried some fairly vigourous casts and even snapped
the the lot, i wouldnt have over spooled the stuff to cause
this locking to occur, they bloody stuff hard to tie during the
day let alone at night and with my eyesight, thing got very
frustrated. will try in the back yard , as only spooled it tat
arvo threw rod in boat and away.
regards

[Fitzy]

OK,
Think I know the prob.
Run all of the line off the reel & wind it on really tight & even. Most braids will loosen a bit when you first spool up, especially if the barrel is not flat It can gather together.
It should settle down after that.

[Slates]

G'day Webby.
Most have rounded up your problems, but here's one more thing to think of.
When casting ultra-light baits and lures with an overhead, the line is normally more slack when the lure hits the water than it is with a heavier bait.
When it is wound on, it is done so much looser than when you're using heavier baits.
It then gets heavier as you wind bedding the tightly wound line into the loosly wound line and binding when you cast.
This is particularly evident when using lures in the surf. The combination of distance, lure arc and wind will give you a large belly in the line that needs to be taken out by feeding the line onto the reel tightly.
Also, is it possible your rod is a little stiff for the light weights you're casting?
Try casting the same bait/lure with your reel on a lighter rod and see how you go.


Cheers, Slates

[Peter_Braid]

I had the same problem when I started using braid. I narrowed it down to one of 2 things. When ever I had a birdsnest I had the problem for the next two or three casts and it seemed to be caused by a kink in the braid where the main part of the knot was. It was either that or if you started to get an overrun it would catch on the first loop that had formed. Now i have had a lot more practise and cut down on the birdsnests I don't seem to be having the problem.
Hope this helps
Peter
8)

[webby]

Think i solved the problem thanks to Fitzy, stripped the reels
of line and rewound fairly tightly, the casting distance from
the first trip improved twice as far and no lock ups, a few
birds nest but thats overheads for you, also changed my
style a little and bingo i started hitting the target instead of
falling short, just one thing got busted off a few times, whats
the easy knot for braid to mono, as my eyesight not the best
at nite and sumthing simple to tye would be great.
and a good mossie repellant, u want to see mossies go to
the pimpama on a still nite, they sounded and looked like
boeing 747, great fishing except for the above. had three
coils buring in the cab so i could have a nap. but back to
the braid thanks for all the advice re my prob, few more
trips and i'll be an expert on braid excepts for the knots??/
regards

[Fitzy]

Hi Webby,
If using braid upto 20 pound try using one of the albright knot variants. Not too hard to tie. With a bit of practice you can tie em in the dark.
Above 20 pound braid I recon you're better off doing a double in the braid & using a knotted dog.

Note- Some braids are very slick (fused braids & those with teflon). Make sure you snug knots down really tight before trimming tags as they can slip a bit, especially if used in conjunction with flurocarbon type leader line. (eg Penn, Vanish etc)

Don't forget to practice them knots until you can do them by feel. Makes life easier in the dark when the pressure is on.

[aussiebasser]

I'm with Fitzy on this one. Except I use Knotted Dogs on everything. Learn to tie a Bimini Twist, and slip on the Knotted Dog the same as in pack describes. I only know two knots, and one of them is in my shoes. ;D