First time I recall this every happening.

I want to cast, don't recall anything out of the ordinary.  40# braid, new reel, buzz bait.

I cast and the line snaps at the reel, and the bait goes flying.

 

I am assuming the line must have fluffed up and caught just right on something which snapped it?  Is this a "control backlash else you may get a break-off" type of thing, or is there something I'm missing (other than my lure :(   )?

 

Any previous backlashes on that line? 

check your guide rings for cracks. the braid could've been slowly frayed away until the final cast that it snapped. could be braid quality too? 40# is no jokes though, to just snap like that if there's nothing wrong with it. any sharp edges on the line guide that could be fraying the line too? 

Just now, Junger said:

Any previous backlashes on that line? 

Yes, probably.

I periodically get a mid-cast fluff up, and sometimes it jerks to a halt.  May be weakening the line eh?

1 minute ago, FishingGeekTX said:

Yes, probably.

I periodically get a mid-cast fluff up, and sometimes it jerks to a halt.  May be weakening the line eh?

Yep, it probably weakened a spot in the line and, voila, that was your cast off.

56 minutes ago, FishingGeekTX said:

Yes, probably.

I periodically get a mid-cast fluff up, and sometimes it jerks to a halt.  May be weakening the line eh?

You can bet it does. Any real birds nest will cumulatively weaken any line over time. 

 

I know all of us kink the line when undoing nests. But there is a difference. What you are describing sounds to me like line dig as a first guess. Normally doesn’t happen much with 40# braid and up but apparently it’s happening to you. A buzz baits poor aerodynamics don’t help especially if it gets caught in the wind with line dig. Heavier baits can usually bust through line dig. 

 

 

7 hours ago, FishingGeekTX said:

First time I recall this every happening.

I want to cast, don't recall anything out of the ordinary.  40# braid, new reel, buzz bait.

I cast and the line snaps at the reel, and the bait goes flying.

 

I am assuming the line must have fluffed up and caught just right on something which snapped it?  Is this a "control backlash else you may get a break-off" type of thing, or is there something I'm missing (other than my lure   )?

 

I have done this many times with a whopper plopper. It happens when I try to beat my PB in distance calculated by how many turns of the crank I get. Sometimes I get bored when I am not catching and this is fun to me. It hasn't happened since I started using a Palomar knot. I am not sure if it was happening at the knot because I was never able to retrieve any of the $15 lures, but I assume so because it stopped happening once I learned to tie a proper knot.

I've been using braid since the early 1990s. I've never had it break on a cast. Also never seen braid weakened from a backlash.its also the easiest to unbacklash. 

Has this happened more than once?

Line might have been dug in.