Customer was already in the shop this morning. Picked up a few rigs and with two cups of coffee we relaxed and started talking fish.
The first thing he mentioned was the problem he has with casting. Never did much when he was younger and fished on boats but now he is doing more bridge, bulkhead sod and beach fishing. He said he is getting better at accuracy mostly because of the time spent doing it. His big problem is with wind knots.
There seems to be a lot of confusion with this problem and mostly because it just has the wrong name. Wind has nothing to do with it. The down side to casting conventional reels is the backlash. The down side to spinning reels is the so called wind knot that would be better called the loop knot.
A spinning reel works great if all the loops of line on the spool are in place under the same pressure. If they are it's probably only once when the line was irst spooled up. After that it will vary on what you are doing with it. Fighting a fish will compress the line you are reeling in. Casting and reeling will cause more relaxed loops on the spool. It's just the nature of the beast. The cause of the so called wind knot is the person using the equipment and wind has nothing to do with it.
We cast and reel in. We cast and reel in again and again. Now the line that was spooled up perfectly is tight in some spots and loose in others and problem bound. We make one more fatefull cast and the fuse is lit. We turn the handle and the bail flips. We beging reeling and we have one very loose loop that sticks up of the spool. Just like a hang nail it will grab everything including loops of line that are reeled in over the loose loop. Now we cast again and each coil of line catches and tugs on the loose loop. Finally one more cast and as the loops roll off the spoll they catch the loose loop and pull it off the spool many loops ahead of when it should have come off. Unless we are looking for it we don't always see it. We end up with our line going out through the tip and then a section where a few extra feet of line from that loose loop that came off early is wrapped around our line. May not be saying it the best way but it's difficult to describe. Now as we reel in and even worse if we have something like a lure, weight or fish on to put pressure on the loose section of line gets pulled tight and forms the so called wind knot. Nothing to do with the wind. It all started with one simple loose loop of line that just never sat on the spool the correct way.
Best way to almost eliminate this problem is simple. Every and I mean every time you make a cast do one thing before you touch the handle o your reel. Flip the bail over by hand and give your line one good tug. That will usually eliminate the loose loop that forms from just flipping the bail and reeling. If you do notice somewhere past your rod tip after a cast that there is a thin long tangle of line don't just reel it in. That will pull it tight and orm the knot. Slowly try to pull your line in by hand and then carefully unwrap the loose line then reel it in. All tangles and knots formed when casting are caused by the dreaded loose loop on your spool.
If you can every once in a while let almost all of your line out off your spinning reel. Then in one continuous motion reel it all back in. This will keep your line in the best shape for many days of trouble free fishing. Don't curse the wind when you get the knot. It's the loose loop that is the problem.:thumbsup:
The first thing he mentioned was the problem he has with casting. Never did much when he was younger and fished on boats but now he is doing more bridge, bulkhead sod and beach fishing. He said he is getting better at accuracy mostly because of the time spent doing it. His big problem is with wind knots.
There seems to be a lot of confusion with this problem and mostly because it just has the wrong name. Wind has nothing to do with it. The down side to casting conventional reels is the backlash. The down side to spinning reels is the so called wind knot that would be better called the loop knot.
A spinning reel works great if all the loops of line on the spool are in place under the same pressure. If they are it's probably only once when the line was irst spooled up. After that it will vary on what you are doing with it. Fighting a fish will compress the line you are reeling in. Casting and reeling will cause more relaxed loops on the spool. It's just the nature of the beast. The cause of the so called wind knot is the person using the equipment and wind has nothing to do with it.
We cast and reel in. We cast and reel in again and again. Now the line that was spooled up perfectly is tight in some spots and loose in others and problem bound. We make one more fatefull cast and the fuse is lit. We turn the handle and the bail flips. We beging reeling and we have one very loose loop that sticks up of the spool. Just like a hang nail it will grab everything including loops of line that are reeled in over the loose loop. Now we cast again and each coil of line catches and tugs on the loose loop. Finally one more cast and as the loops roll off the spoll they catch the loose loop and pull it off the spool many loops ahead of when it should have come off. Unless we are looking for it we don't always see it. We end up with our line going out through the tip and then a section where a few extra feet of line from that loose loop that came off early is wrapped around our line. May not be saying it the best way but it's difficult to describe. Now as we reel in and even worse if we have something like a lure, weight or fish on to put pressure on the loose section of line gets pulled tight and forms the so called wind knot. Nothing to do with the wind. It all started with one simple loose loop of line that just never sat on the spool the correct way.
Best way to almost eliminate this problem is simple. Every and I mean every time you make a cast do one thing before you touch the handle o your reel. Flip the bail over by hand and give your line one good tug. That will usually eliminate the loose loop that forms from just flipping the bail and reeling. If you do notice somewhere past your rod tip after a cast that there is a thin long tangle of line don't just reel it in. That will pull it tight and orm the knot. Slowly try to pull your line in by hand and then carefully unwrap the loose line then reel it in. All tangles and knots formed when casting are caused by the dreaded loose loop on your spool.
If you can every once in a while let almost all of your line out off your spinning reel. Then in one continuous motion reel it all back in. This will keep your line in the best shape for many days of trouble free fishing. Don't curse the wind when you get the knot. It's the loose loop that is the problem.:thumbsup:
