*edit

Previous statement redacted...I'll try not to be the new Peter B!

 

This is what happened to Chicagoland fishing. Serve's no one.

 

I've used both, but I like mono better.

 

Windknots happen from the line missing a wrap on the spool during a retrieve. This happens from mainly 2 reasons:
-A glitch in your mechanics that usually happens between the end of your cast & the beginning of your retrieve. Make it a habit to manually close your bail(dont simply turn the handle to snap the bail shut), and pull the line tight on the spool before starting your retrieve. Then, use a finger to maintain a little tension for the first couple revolutions to insure, you dont miss a wrap on the beginning of your retrieve. We are talking about 1-1.5 seconds of focus here is all. In no time, youll do this without even thinking about it or aware that your doing it.
.

Thanks for the tips. I'll try them. I never overfill my spool with braid and always manually close my bail but I don't tighten the line at the beginning of a retrieve.

 

For anyone giving up on braid due to windknots:

Windknots happen from the line missing a wrap on the spool during a retrieve. This happens from mainly 2 reasons:
-A glitch in your mechanics that usually happens between the end of your cast & the beginning of your retrieve. Make it a habit to manually close your bail(dont simply turn the handle to snap the bail shut), and pull the line tight on the spool before starting your retrieve. Then, use a finger to maintain a little tension for the first couple revolutions to insure you dont miss a wrap on the beginning of your retrieve. We are talking about 1-1.5 seconds of focus here is all. In no time, youll do this without even thinking about it or aware that your doing it.
Or
Your spool is overfilled. When filling a spool with braid theres no need to fill the spool to max capacity, in fact, its counterproductive. I usually aim for 2/3 to 3/4 full(max capacity by sight, & not by the capacity ratings given by the reel mfr, those ratings are completely useless). This sounds like it would impact casting distance, but, all other factors being equal, an underfilled spool of braid will still significantly outcast a max filled spool of mono/fluoro.

The spool on the left is more resembling of how Id spool up mono(its actually a touch overfilled intentionally for a specific purpose, but not relevant to this thread). The spool on the right is more like a spool should be filled with braid.

If you take all of the above into consideration, windknots will become a thing of the past, whether you put a leader on, or knot!

*fwiw, I cant be sure, but id wager the line on both spools is 10yrs old & very used. Aside from looking like hell and every bit of 10yr old line, they are issue-free & I have no hesitation using them for kings & smallies in the very near future. The left spool is 10lb fireline spooled up for shore casting kings & browns, the right is 15lb tuff line for general purpose usage. Had I been using mono, or not using leaders, im quite sure the line on these spools would have been replaced at least 10 times at a minimum & probably more over that duration & amount of use they have seen.

I use 10lb and 15lb Suffix 832 on my spinners and all season long I've been doing this, both the manual bail close and the little line pull and I haven't had 1 wind knot yet. You're correct that it becomes muscle memory after a very short time. I do fill up my spools more than what you suggested and haven't had any problems...I personally have noticed that I can cast much farther with a near full spool than when it's 3/4 full but that may just be the brand of line. Thanks for the tip earlier this spring

 

I'll try them. I never overfill my spool with braid and always manually close my bail but I don't tighten the line at the beginning of a retrieve.

Hope it helps. :thumbup:
But just in case I wasnt clear, Im suggesting you actually underfill the reel instead of what would normally seem sufficently but not necessarily overfilled. Took me a few years to get used to looking at a spool filled this way, but with braid its not as critical for casting performance & is beneficial for line management.

 

Ya know...This year I've been using straight braid on all of my setups. It's mostly out of laziness, my uni knot sucks and the fg knot is great, its just tedious to tie. The braid on two of my setups changes color every 10 meters...yellow, red, blue, purple, green. I've caught fish with each of these colors going straight to the lure. The only time I haven't done straight braid was jerkbait fishing early in the season with a steel leader.

Would I be catching even more fish with a leader...probably, but who knows? I'm losing wayyyyy less lures this way too. So chalk me up in the keeping braid column.

 

[]
I do fill up my spools more than what you suggested and haven't had any problems...I personally have noticed that I can cast much farther with a near full spool than when it's 3/4 full but that may just be the brand of line.

I agree 100% a fuller spool WILL cast significantly further than an underfilled 1 with any brand of line. My only question is the value of the extra distance. 1 of the major benefits of braid, IMO, is that an underfilled spool of braid, in most cases, for most people, has the ability to put a bait out way past the range that it can be effectively fished, anyway, & significantly further than a full spool of mono could, at least in my thinking. Kinda like what value is a car that does 0-100mph in 5 seconds if you use it to commute to work everyday on the kennedy during rush hour? In the case of the original poster (catchafew), throwing smallish, lighter baits or topwaters upstream into a stout current, the more exposed lip you have on the spool, the less potential to miss a wrap when the line is flying back at you & going slack from the current. Or in Bassin teds case fishing out of a boat & casting to structure, targets, not sure why you'd need or value the ability to cast 50yds.
Thats all I was saying.
Btw, thanks for your previous compliment.
I know 1 day I will figure out where our paths have crossed before. Everytime I see 1 of your pics, I say "where have I seen this guy before?". Was it E.S. sports? Emily park? 26th&California? 1 day the few brain cells that survived my youth will collaborate & I'll figure it out.

 

fg knot is great, its just tedious to tie.

I see what you did there...

Would I be catching even more fish with a leader...probably, but who knows?

Im not so sure it would make much difference, really, but I also wouldnt discount the notion in the future, either.

 

the ability to put a bait out way past the range that it can be effectively fished

I can attest to this. Sometime I bomb out the frog and right when it hits the water I get a strike. Way too much line out to get any leverage.

Knowing Heddon, you met him at 26th and Cal :lol:

 

I have never had a problem fishing with mono, braid just gives me more confidence, especially in my knots. I have used the flouroclear and have had a few breakoffs which are most likely attributed to user error rather than product. That alone steers me away from it though.

 

For anyone giving up on braid due to windknots:

Windknots happen from the line missing a wrap on the spool during a retrieve. This happens from mainly 2 reasons:
-A glitch in your mechanics that usually happens between the end of your cast & the beginning of your retrieve. Make it a habit to manually close your bail(dont simply turn the handle to snap the bail shut), and pull the line tight on the spool before starting your retrieve. Then, use a finger to maintain a little tension for the first couple revolutions to insure you dont miss a wrap on the beginning of your retrieve. We are talking about 1-1.5 seconds of focus here is all. In no time, youll do this without even thinking about it or aware that your doing it.
Or
Your spool is overfilled. When filling a spool with braid theres no need to fill the spool to max capacity, in fact, its counterproductive. I usually aim for 2/3 to 3/4 full(max capacity by sight, & not by the capacity ratings given by the reel mfr, those ratings are completely useless). This sounds like it would impact casting distance, but, all other factors being equal, an underfilled spool of braid will still significantly outcast a max filled spool of mono/fluoro.

The spool on the left is more resembling of how Id spool up mono(its actually a touch overfilled intentionally for a specific purpose, but not relevant to this thread). The spool on the right is more like a spool should be filled with braid.

If you take all of the above into consideration, windknots will become a thing of the past, whether you put a leader on, or knot!

*fwiw, I cant be sure, but id wager the line on both spools is 10yrs old & very used. Aside from looking like hell and every bit of 10yr old line, they are issue-free & I have no hesitation using them for kings & smallies in the very near future. The left spool is 10lb fireline spooled up for shore casting kings & browns, the right is 15lb tuff line for general purpose usage. Had I been using mono, or not using leaders, im quite sure the line on these spools would have been replaced at least 10 times at a minimum & probably more over that duration & amount of use they have seen.

Thanks! I always close my bail manually, but I don't always keep tensions for the first few turns, especially when throwing small lures in creeks. I didn't realize that's what causes wind knots. I think I'll spool up some braid after I do my reel cleaning for the year. Do you recommend a certain brand? I usually used PP superslick on my spinning reels.

 

I use both. I like both for all the reasons listed above.

I just spooled an ultra light setup with 2 or 4 lb braid, can't remember, and so far I like it.

Wind knots are not an issue for me and I do close my bail manually.

I like Trilene XL for mono and Suffix 832 for braid.

This past winter I did notice a difference in straight braid and braid /leader combo. Braid/leader resulted in more fish.

~JOE~

Edit: I just checked and spooled with 6lb Suffix 832 and line diameter= 2lb.

 

Unlike Rambler, I and others fail to see the humor.

HEDDON - are you saying I have a bad sense of humor? Hey, no one's told me that since my daughter was 13.

For the record, I dig "acerbic" wit even if it comes at my expense. And if someone comes across as a dick or as condescending that's on them - no skin off my ass. But after a 40 year career in sales I have a remarkably thick skin. You can't call on dickhead, condescending IT managers who know everything or deal with consultants who think they talk to god without one.

Now, everyone get back to fishing.

 

I just spooled an ultra light setup with 2 or 4 lb braid, can't remember, and so far I like it.

i see people talking about these ultra light braids. Where do you find them, the lowest I always see is 8 lb. Unless you are referring to the equivalent in mono diameter (which is usually exaggerated by people and the line companies)....

 

My buddy uses 6 lb braid. I think he gets it at Cabelas.

 

i see people talking about these ultra light braids. Where do you find them, the lowest I always see is 8 lb. Unless you are referring to the equivalent in mono diameter (which is usually exaggerated by people and the line companies)....

Have never had a tough time finding 4 & 6lb fireline. I think 4lb is rated as 1lb diameter. They give it 4lb rating, but like most braids/superlines, im certain it probably breaks at 2x the actual rating. BPS usually has it. Have used it a ton & cant say enough good about it. Can really launch a 1/32oz lure on it quite a distance in comparison to mono, & fish it a lot deeper, too.

 

Never left mono, disliked Floro from it's inception ( to stiff imho)

I like Trilene XL for mono

( 2x) all I use now.

 

Never left mono, disliked Floro from it's inception ( to stiff imho)

It also depends on what type of fluoro you get. I just spooled up some 14 lb Gamma Edge for the first time and it's like a thick cord. It feels closer to 17 or 20 lb line.

 

We discussed wind knots in this thread. Since switching to the FG knot this year I have had 1 wind knot so far. That is way less than in the past. If I was smallmouth fishing with spinning all day, I probably had a half dozen or more in a day. The only thing I have changed is going to the thinner FG knot over the double albright.

 

We discussed wind knots in this thread. Since switching to the FG knot this year I have had 1 wind knot so far. That is way less than in the past. If I was smallmouth fishing with spinning all day, I probably had a half dozen or more in a day. The only thing I have changed is going to the thinner FG knot over the double albright.

Gotta admit - I don't know what a wind knot is.

 

I've been getting wind knots like crazy on that ultra heavy setup I use for my sonar. Luckily, with 120 lb braid, theyre super simple to get out. Don't think there's any stopping it really. Super thick line on a cheap rod and reel.

 

We discussed wind knots in this thread. Since switching to the FG knot this year I have had 1 wind knot so far. That is way less than in the past. If I was smallmouth fishing with spinning all day, I probably had a half dozen or more in a day. The only thing I have changed is going to the thinner FG knot over the double albright.

Gotta admit - I don't know what a wind knot is.

I have only gotten them with spinning gear. It is when the braid/fluoro knot gets tangled with the first guide during a cast. It's a pain and weakens the knot.

 

We discussed wind knots in this thread. Since switching to the FG knot this year I have had 1 wind knot so far. That is way less than in the past. If I was smallmouth fishing with spinning all day, I probably had a half dozen or more in a day. The only thing I have changed is going to the thinner FG knot over the double albright.

Gotta admit - I don't know what a wind knot is.

I have only gotten them with spinning gear. It is when the braid/fluoro knot gets tangled with the first guide during a cast. It's a pain and weakens the knot.

Always thought a wind knot was when using spinning gear and light line, the wind takes too much line off the spool,(causing excess slack) so when you reel in that slack, it creates a knot/loop in the spool. Then when you go to cast again, that loop catches the line on its way out, and basically causes a similar effect as a backlash in a baitcaster, causing a nasty tangle.

Never had issues with my knots getting caught in guides, and I have some micro guide rods. Are you talking about a knot to tie on leaders?

I use the blood knot for all my leaders mono/floro to braid. Narrowest knot I've seen for leaders, and I've never had a knot failure with it. I have these tied on micro guide rods with a 6 foot floro leader and it passes right through the guides without a hiccup, ever. It's a tiny little narrow thing.

 

Guys on another site said it was a wind knot when I asked them for advice. I assumed they were right.