Contributing writer
Capt. Barry "Cuda" Nicholls
Braid, You gotta love it, until you hate it! It casts like magic, goes a mile, is super sensitive, and helps you catch fish.
But, it can tie itself in a knot in mid air and sometimes does. The thinner it is, the longer the cast, so I like to use 10 pound test braid.
If you set your drag correctly, that is plenty for our backwater fish. If you are fishing heavy structure, or really big fish, you will want to go with heavier tackle.
But…, The thinner, the braid the easier it becomes a wind knot. So how to deal with this wonderful magic line? First, pay special attention to your reel after each cast. Always close the bail manually, by hand. Look for extruding loops,
don’t open the bail to solve that problem. Loosen the drag until you can pull the line out from the side. Keep pulling line until you get down to the loop. Once you get the loop out, tighten your drag and retrieve the line back onto your reel by cranking the handle.
To check your drag, don’t pull on the line with your hand. It will cut you, like a paper cut. Painful!
When you are casting, whether you’re casting hard or soft, cast smoothly. That will prevent most wind knots.
Sometimes you’ll get a wind knot in the middle of your line, right in the middle of your cast. Frustrating!
I’ve had it make a knot on my first guide when I was casting really hard. It went Bang! And my line snapped. A good lure went flying off into oblivion.
When that happens, reel in until you can get to the wind knot, then, to undo the wind knot, begin pulling on each loop in different directions, gently!
Every time a loop moves, continue until it wants to stop. Don’t force it! Pulling too hard will only tighten the knot. Braid is round and slippery and likes to slide. That’s why you have to use extra loops in when tying your fishing knots.
That’s a benefit when you get a wind knot. You can almost always get it out. You gently pull in every direction and when it cooperates you go with that. Ultimately, if it stops cooperating, you can take a hook point, or tiny tweezers, and pull at the tight parts, until you can loosen it and get something to slide and give you traction again.
When you get it all the way to the end and there’s one stubborn little knot that just won’t undo, your remedy of last resort, is pull hard, until something gives. Sometimes the knot will pop apart and you’re done. Thank goodness!
Or, it breaks, which is not the best solution, but it was the only one left. Then you have to re-tie. Remember anytime you pull hard on braid, use gloves, or multiple wraps so you don’t get cut. That’s very unpleasant.
Stay tuned for more!
Take care
Capt. Barry Cuda
Capt. Barry "Cuda" Nicholls
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