I've been getting an uncanny amount of wind knots in my braided line this season on my baitcasting setups. Any ideas why that could be? I never seemed to have problems with them before, ended up having to cut a few sections of line off last night because of it.

Different brand or thickness of braid to last year? Different type of lures being used? 

Never had problem with windknots with braid on a casting set up, and I have some set ups with 20lb braid. I think you can assume that the cause is either 1) twists in the initial spooling of the braid, 2) twists from your lure spinning in the air while casting.

 

Are you fishing from a boat or the shore? If from boat, you can let the line out while trolling and get it nice and wet, then reel it back onto the spool with tension from your fingers or through a wet rag. You can do the same thing from the bank, but you'll need to walk it out.

Im fishing from the bank so I'll just cast out and do the same thing. Worth a shot. In terms of the tackle itself, everything is the same as before. It's the same line from last season, both 40 and 50lb PP on two separate combos. I also was not fishing with a different type of bait. Im beginning to think that it could be my spool tensioner being too low on the cast. Maybe too much line is coming loose off the spool during the cast and causing the line to slap more on the guides on the way out.

24 minutes ago, bhoff said:

Im fishing from the bank so I'll just cast out and do the same thing. Worth a shot.

If you're going to cast it out, use a lighter weight lure. When you're reeling the line back under finger tension, you're trying to push the twists back out to the end of the line, and if there's something heavy there, the line will resist it.

@Junger Ah gotcha. When I get off work that's the first thing I'll do.

Sounds like over twisted line.

 

When it comes off the spool its so twisted up its causing the line to coils.

   Take the line off the spool, preferable by walking it out. Then reverse the line. That way you're working with "new" line. Clean your guides, too. If that works, it was the line. If it doesn't,  IDK.    jj

You talking backlashes or are they windknots commonly seen with spinning gear? Are you using a leader? If so the knot might be hitting the guides(esp micro) and causing wind knots. Line twist with braid on a baitcaster usually isn’t a big issue. 

4 hours ago, bhoff said:

Im fishing from the bank so I'll just cast out and do the same thing. Worth a shot. In terms of the tackle itself, everything is the same as before. It's the same line from last season, both 40 and 50lb PP on two separate combos. I also was not fishing with a different type of bait. Im beginning to think that it could be my spool tensioner being too low on the cast. Maybe too much line is coming loose off the spool during the cast and causing the line to slap more on the guides on the way out.

Sounds like overruns. Start with much thinner braid than 40 & 50 lb PP. Line that thick gets harder to cast the lighter your lure. Try thinner, lighter line. And IMO, especially with braid, the spool tension knob is the most important adjustment. “Eliminate side play” is overrated. It’s better, IMO, to eliminate overruns than to worry about side to side play. 

Yea I think that it might be caused from too loose of a spool tension or too little braking. I'm not birdnesting i.e. there is no overrun at the end of the cast. However, during the cast too much line may be coming off the spool at once. I'm not using micro guides either nor am I using a leader. The rods I'm casting on are Dobyns Champions. I didn't get a chance to walk out my line and reel it back in last night so I'm still hoping that will be of use.

Birdnest is a backlash or overrun. All the same. Doesn’t matter if it happens at the beginnng, middle or the end of the cast. Results are the same. Tighten your spool tension &/or adjust your brakes/magnets and try casting softer until you get better. Sounds like mechanical/operator error moreso than line twist issues

I deal with a lot of braid twist because of a certain lure I use. The line will get so twisted you can see it. When it gets like that, trying to push the twist out with your fingers is not going to work. What @jimmyjoe suggested is going to be the best solution for getting rid of the twist, but it can take a while to spool it off and back on.

 

Another way is to let your line hang from a high place, like a bridge or balcony, without letting it touch the ground. You want to have something on the end of the line with some weight to it, an ounce or so, and you want to be able to look at it from a distance and be able to tell if it's spinning, and which direction it's spinning. The twist is worst closer to the lure, so sometimes you only have to untwist the first 10 yards or so.

 

You can also do the same thing at home by letting your line hang from the ceiling, only untwisting 8' at a time. I'm not going to take the time to type out the complicated instructions for that. Very time consuming, but you can go off and do other stuff while you're waiting for it to unwind.

9 hours ago, bhoff said:

Yea I think that it might be caused from too loose of a spool tension or too little braking. I'm not birdnesting i.e. there is no overrun at the end of the cast. However, during the cast too much line may be coming off the spool at once. I'm not using micro guides either nor am I using a leader. The rods I'm casting on are Dobyns Champions. I didn't get a chance to walk out my line and reel it back in last night so I'm still hoping that will be of use.

That is usually a sign of line laid onto the spool loosely. The spool will look like it will overrun but never does. 

 

If if this is what is meant by a wind knot then it’s not a show stopping issue. The culprit is as I mentioned and this is common when dealing moreso with lighter or less aerodynamic lures that are cast a long way. 

 

The other possibility is line dig is occurring but is it not severe or deeply buried enough to cause a birds nest or stop the spool from continuing to spin. 

 

Part of the game game when dealing with braid @ 30# test or less. 

Line wears out!

The suggestion to reverse the line; old on the bottom of the spool new on top is simple and effective.

Untwisting braid without a boat isn't easy.

Using braid line conditioner helps see The Propessor line conditioner for braid.

Finns WindTamer braid is designed to prevent the problems you are having.

Tom