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  1. #1
    Member angleiron's Avatar
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    Nov 2004
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    Morris, IL
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    872

    I am in Braided Line Hell

    I am in Cabo for 2 weeks, and have been surf fishing every morning for 3-4 hours...less lately because of the problems I am having.

    1st rod is setup with a Penn Torque II spinning reel on a Penn 12' rod. Reel has 65 pound PowerPro braid, and I have been switching off using this rod with an other depending on the weight of the lure I am throwing. For 3 days of use...flawless. Then one morning I started getting knotted loops as I was casting...massive knotted loops. I have been throwing either a 3 or 4 ounce Robertson Ranger on this rig, and things got so bad that I had to peel off over 100 yards on line until a knotted loop developed at the end of a 350' cast...and that was the end of that rig to be able to be used.

    2nd rod setup is a Diawa Saltista 6500H spinning reel on a Penn 10' rod with 40 pound PowerPro braid. Using this rig to throw 1.5 - 3 ounce lures. Same scenario initially...things were going flawless...caught 2 Dorado on consecutive casts 1 morning until the line started breaking when casting. Not talking about the knot coming undone...talking about made a cast, lure is in flight, and then poof the line breaks while in the air before the lure even hits the water. To make a long story short I have lost almost $200 worth of lures because of the line just breaking. This morning I was reeling in a top water, and the lure was about 15' from sure and poof...the line breaks. I could see the lure floating in the surf with braid still tied to it. When I look at the line after reeling it in the end of the line does not have a clean cut/break...almost looks like the line broke from exceeding the strength of the line.

    Now in both cases I am putting a lot of ass into getting the lures out to where the fish are. In both cases I am using fluorocarbon leaders to handle the shock.

    So I have a few questions...

    Does braided line degrade with saltwater use?

    What would all of a sudden start to cause knotting in braided line on a spinning reel when it was fine for a few days before?

    Why would 40 pound braid start to break off randomly but was fine for almost a week before? I checked for nicks on the spool, bail arm, guides, etc. and everything is nice and smooth.

    Just bad spools of PowerPro?

    Any ideas or input would be appreciated...

  2. Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
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    Goose Creek, SC
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    971
    #2
    Does braided line degrade with saltwater use?

    - No, not really. i.e. not a factor in your situation.

    What would all of a sudden start to cause knotting in braided line on a spinning reel when it was fine for a few days before?

    - Sounds like wind knots. caused when the line twists. Adding a swivel can help. Ensure your lure tracks correctly is more important.

    Why would 40 pound braid start to break off randomly but was fine for almost a week before? I checked for nicks on the spool, bail arm, guides, etc. and everything is nice and smooth.

    - it breaks because you are casting through an existing knot. the power of your cast pulls the line through the knot causing friction and either weakening the line so it breaks next cast or breaks as it pops out of the knot.

    Just bad spools of PowerPro?
    - No, just how power pro is. It's doesnt like knots and really doesnt like line twist.

    Start by eliminating the line twist. I use a quality swivel like SPRO between my leader and main line to help line twist. It helps but some lures are twisters and will wind knot any line.

  3. Member Mr.Bass's Avatar
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    Nov 2010
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    Franklin, MA
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    #3
    Sounds like wind knots in the line. Wind plus long casts = wind knots.

  4. Member
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    Jun 2004
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    Naples, FL
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    319
    #4
    Check your eyelets. That much weight on braided line can cut grooves in eyelets.

  5. Member
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    Jun 2018
    Location
    Redding, CA
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    222
    #5
    Had a couple mysterious breakoffs, and found out (as above) that the braid had worn a notch into the ceramic tip guide of my rod. The sharp ceramic was cuting my line on hooksets. It was diffciult to see without my glasses, but I could feel it. Fresh tip on the rod and all's well. So....ceramic guides?...
    A goal without a plan is just a dream.

  6. Member
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    Oct 2015
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    Pensacola, FL
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    639
    #6
    Agree with above responses.
    Will add that winding against the drag will cause major line twist regardless of using a swivel.
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  7. Member
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    Jul 2017
    Location
    Knoxville, Tennessee
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    #7
    Go out one morining and let your braid off the spool into the water, walking a mile down the beach pulling your entire length of braid through the water. Make sure it is clean cut at the end with no knots to cause spinning. This is equivalent to letting all your braid out behind a idling boat. The friction from the water will let the braid slowly untwist. Put it under high tension and reel it back onto the reel. Should fix your problem.

  8. Member
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    Jul 2007
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    Paducah, KY and Palm Bay, FL
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    #8
    65 braid is equivalent to 15-17 lb mono which is pretty stout off the beach. Consider switching a spare spool over to mono and giving it a try. You should be able to stop anything short of a shark with a few hundred yards of 15 mono. I think your wind knots will go away. We routinely fight giant black and red drum to the beach with a couple of hundred yards of 12-pound big game.