Wind Knots!!! Damn Yooouuu!

[batman]

I fish with a new Starlo Tournament 7'2" with a Shiman Symetra 2500 reel, I have tried Fireline and other types of braid ranging around the 6-10pound range. I have experienced a lot of wind knots for some reason.

A trip to tacklewarhouse and a change to 6 pound top to mid range (I forget the name - brand) braid was the advice, a braid that is softer more pliable etc

But 2 trip know and the wind knots continue...pisses me off!

Can I get some info on why this is happening and what to do to try minimise this happening?

Cheers

Batty

[DES]

I use a Symetre 1500 and experience the same thing occasionally. It usually occurs when using light jigheads when loose loops form on the spool due to the slack line. When I notice this happening I make a cast and wind the line back while applying tension to it.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Dan

[rastus]

I was getting them a fair bit but took some of the backing off to give more lip on the spool an it has minimized them. I tend to get them at night when I can not see what's going on with the spool

[HookedOnTackle]

what Des and Rastus said

getting a better reel will also reduce them, fireline is better at resisting them too as the stiffness inherent in the fused line makes it harder to twist onto itself. But make a habit of applying some pressure as you wind the line on from time to time and if you do this between your fingers, often you will notice the line twist and by untwisting that, i have found it reduces wind knots as well. casting into the wind is also a huge problem for me in the past.

hope this helps!

[Mack_attack]

yep my advice would be to:

-run a shorter leader

-don't have your spool too full

-make sure the line is going on under tension

and if that doesn't work try casting with a different style

[jeff f]

helps if you take the twist out of the line regularly to

remove any terminals from the end of your line and drop the end into the current

or behind a moving boat and let out about double your usual cast length

and tow it or let it hang in the current for a few minutes takes all the twist out

[Leighton]

try not to cast to hard and fast as its usually the lighter braid catching up with the leader

double uni knot for lighter leader connections

make sure you cut your tag ends right at the knot

[yoyo]

all good advice her, i have never gotten a wind knot on my fireline spooled reels, but on other reels i have gotten them from time to time and i feel that it, more often than not, comes down to a shitty knot catching on the guides.... so i re-rig and continue...

maybe have a look at the knot you are using and also the leader you are using as well..

[Bluevien]

All good advise. Had this prob too when I first started using braid. Have tried a few brands but found I don't get them using fireline crystal. I have also changed my casting style. I don't cast as hard and take wind direction into account.

And like Jeff said, run your line out every now and then. It helps take the twists out and it also unburies your braid so it comes off the reel smoother. Hope this helps.

[kiara_poltegerist]

i reckon that you're casting something too light for your rod and causing too many loose line loops to form. OR you're jigging stuff landbased and either havinng your rod at too high an angle or not laying the line properly before moving your rod upwards.

[tomca]

I only get them when fishing for bream with ultra light line and jigheads, like resinheads. The lack of line tension on the spool causes several loops of line to come off together when casting. I found the solution was to hold the rod up near the guide and put some tension on the line until I get some of the slack out of the line before the retrieve. A bit of a pain, so usually end up fishing small hardbody lures instead.

[Bommie]

add a small snap swivel to connect your lure/plastic to your leader

[fishing_hardcore]

What lb is your rod and what is the brand of braid?, PE? CRYSTAL?

I once purchased 6lb Rockfish PE and put it on a 6-12lb rod, it was too light, it did not match the rod and did not really suit the rods weight.

It was hard to get a feel for the cast and wind knots and such wreaked havoc on my fishing.

Cheers

[Feral]

I got about 6 of the mongrels this morning after respooling my reel last night, first time in years!

But It was the combo of not spooling tight enough and small lures.

Couple of good fish and some spinnerbait casts in to the wide blue yonder has sorted it for now.

[batman]

Thanks guys, very good feedback, yes I am casting light plastics when it happened. I will troll out the line when I am next on the yak and then reel it in under load.

Excellent thanks a lot...makes sense.

Batty