Went out this morning with my 9 year old son to try to get on some hybrids at my local lake. I have a 7'10" Quantum KVD Tour rod paired up with Lews Tournament MB and 10# sniper. Anyway, I had a 6XD tied on and began slinging it around. A few casts in I reach back too far trying to bomb it out there and caught a treble hook in the seat and the bait stuck in the seat and the line popped. I got the hook out without much trouble and cut some line off and re-tied. So I made my next cast and something weird started happening. I started the retrieve and it did not feel right. I noticed the bait did not really start digging down like it should. It was not really "spiraling" like the line got wrapped around the hook or anything but I figured I would check it out when I got it back in the boat. I looked things over and the bill on the crank bait looked fine, nothing bent or broken. Threw it out again and the exact same thing. The lure probably got down 5-7 feet at best and never dug down in the water or offered much resistance, like a 6XD normally does. So now when I got it back I checked everything. The rod looks fine, the eyelets are all fine and it looks perfect. The reel felt smooth and other than the problem with the action or the bait it retrieved line like it should. I figured it was the crank so I grabbed a different one and tied it on. SAME THING! Now I am all confused. The rod appears perfect, and no settings or anything were changed on the reel and I changed the bait and that was the problem. Again, when the hook caught mid cast the line popped but all appears well. What is going on here???

Is the reel busted and youre cranking but the spool is slipping so its not pulling in line very fast? Watch the spool because if the line is coming in at the right speed then it's something with the baits.

23 minutes ago, Vilas15 said:

Is the reel busted and youre cranking but the spool is slipping so its not pulling in line very fast? Watch the spool because if the line is coming in at the right speed then it's something with the baits.

^ test with a different bait ... assuming you tested another 6XD.

I'm going to guess your line is slipping around your spool.

1 hour ago, pauldconyers said:

I figured it was the crank so I grabbed a different one and tied it on. SAME THING!

 

17 minutes ago, garroyo130 said:

^ test with a different bait ... assuming you tested another 6XD.

He did, which is why Im thinking its gotta be the reel.

I would check the reel with a topwater bait, like a buzz bait, to see if you are getting the full rotation out of the reel.  If it does not seem that you are, I would take the reel apart and check the main gear and pinion for wear both on the threads and the inside of the pinion, then check the anti-reverse bearing, and finally just turn the drive shaft with side plate and handle off to see if anything is slipping. 

 

 

If the line on the spool is 1/4" or more below being filled the IPT has been reduce greatly. If the line tie on the lure is bent slightly to one side the lure runs poorly. My guess it's both.

Tom

20 minutes ago, WRB said:

If the line on the spool is 1/4" or more below being filled the IPT has been reduce greatly. If the line tie on the lure is bent slightly to one side the lure runs poorly. My guess it's both.

Tom

I cut maybe a foot of line off when re-tying. As I said I also I put a new/different 6XD on and the problem remained. I am going to put a different reel on the rod, and use the same bait. I will try some trial and error stuff to see where the problem lies and go from there I guess.

Hooking anything behind you usually ends up in a massive backlash.

How is the lure attached to the line?

I never use FC line with crankbaits it weakens too fast.

Tom

You are correct but the backlash never happened as I felt the "resistance" before I released my thumb from the spool. I had used a palomar knot to the oval split ring that comes stock with the bait. Again, everything worked fine before this incident. Because changing the lure was the quickest and easiest solution I took that 6XD off and tied another 6XD on. Problem remained being it is not the lure. I will probably need to first put a different reel on that rod and throw a 6XD again. Problem remains it is somehow the rod. If the problem goes away I will try the original reel on a different rod with a 6XD and I will learn where the problem lies.