So I believe I recently discovered the source of my aforementioned glide bait break off.  Today when obsessively checking for nicks every cast I noticed my 20 lb big game was peeling with mini strands curled up like string cheese and felt very rough as I ran my fingers up the line. 
 

Is this most likely caused by a damaged guide, or is it possible my Daiwa Tatula is somehow causing this where the line feeds through that metal?

 

If the guides, what are my options? Can a new insert be installed or would you recommend upgrading to avoid risking another guide failing? Are certain rods more susceptible to this issue than others? Rod is an IRod Genesis III SBJr. It wasn’t terribly expensive for the amount of rod you get, under $200 and I would happily spend more to avoid this stress and potentially losing another swimbait. Thanks!

Figure out which guide and get it replaced. If the rod has been dropped, you may have cracked an insert. I've done that on a St. Croix. If it's the tip guide, it's about a 5 minute job.

You can take a Q tip and run it over each guide. Cracked or broken guides will pull on the cotton so you can see which ones are bad.

10 hours ago, Scott F said:

You can take a Q tip and run it over each guide. Cracked or broken guides will pull on the cotton so you can see which ones are bad.

Scotty F w the pro tips 🙌🏼

Might be a silly question, but....

 

Where is the fraying of the line? If it's in various spots up the length of a cast worth of line, in my opinion , it may very likely be a bad guide.

 

I personally have never had an instance to link a frayed line to a line guide on the levelwind

 

If it's only near the lure, it could just be from abrasion around structure. Assume it isn't, but had to ask.

21 minutes ago, FrnkNsteen said:

Might be a silly question, but....

 

Where is the fraying of the line? If it's in various spots up the length of a cast worth of line, in my opinion , it may very likely be a bad guide.

 

I personally have never had an instance to link a frayed line to a line guide on the levelwind

 

If it's only near the lure, it could just be from abrasion around structure. Assume it isn't, but had to ask.

I’ll have to check my line but I believe it was up a ways, at least a foot from the lure.  Is there anything else it could be besides the guides and structure?

Does the the lake you fished last time have Zebra Mussels? Their shells are like razor blades.

FM

25 minutes ago, Fishingmickey said:

Does the the lake you fished last time have Zebra Mussels? Their shells are like razor blades.

FM

River and I don’t believe so, I am fishing glide baits and the line makes almost zero contact with cover.

3 hours ago, Fishingmickey said:

Does the the lake you fished last time have Zebra Mussels? Their shells are like razor blades.

FM

I fish a place thats infested with these, mono and fluoro get destroyed there. Sounds exactly like what hes talking about. I would have to cut off 10' of line every 20 minutes....

 

But he said he doesnt believe he has them in the river. Could be a broken guide or something with the reel like others have said. The q tip is worth a try but doesnt always work.

I have a rod that came faulty out of the box that would shred line, there would be particles on the T wing of my Daiwa reel, and pieces bunched up at the top of the rod. Tried finding which guide it was and they all came back smooth and looked new, couldnt figure out which one was causing the line to shred.

Switched rods and havent experience that again.

3 hours ago, Ohioguy25 said:

I’ll have to check my line but I believe it was up a ways, at least a foot from the lure.  Is there anything else it could be besides the guides and structure?

Could be a bad spool of line maybe, big games very cheap and changing it would be the easiest option to try after a q tip. And Is the river rock bottom with wood all over?

Same thing happened to me with a spool of Yozuri. Never did figure out what the heck was going on. 

28 minutes ago, Skunkmaster-k said:

Same thing happened to me with a spool of Yozuri. Never did figure out what the heck was going on. 

So it wasn’t your guides?

41 minutes ago, MediumMouthBass said:

I fish a place thats infested with these, mono and fluoro get destroyed there. Sounds exactly like what hes talking about. I would have to cut off 10' of line every 20 minutes....

 

But he said he doesnt believe he has them in the river. Could be a broken guide or something with the reel like others have said. The q tip is worth a try but doesnt always work.

I have a rod that came faulty out of the box that would shred line, there would be particles on the T wing of my Daiwa reel, and pieces bunched up at the top of the rod. Tried finding which guide it was and they all came back smooth and looked new, couldnt figure out which one was causing the line to shred.

Switched rods and havent experience that again.

Could be a bad spool of line maybe, big games very cheap and changing it would be the easiest option to try after a q tip. And Is the river rock bottom with wood all over?

Yes river is rock bottom and wooded but like I said I’m fishing glide baits that very seldom cause my line to make contact with cover.

Nope. Bought a new spool of line and it hasn’t happened again. 

3 minutes ago, Skunkmaster-k said:

Nope. Bought a new spool of line and it hasn’t happened again. 

Interesting. Did it happen immediately when you started the bad spool or was it later on? I have used this current one I have to spool my reel twice and haven’t had this problem until recently. Is it possible only part of the spool is defective or does this likely eliminate that as the cause?

2 hours ago, FrnkNsteen said:

Might be a silly question, but....

 

Where is the fraying of the line? If it's in various spots up the length of a cast worth of line, in my opinion , it may very likely be a bad guide.

 

I personally have never had an instance to link a frayed line to a line guide on the levelwind

 

If it's only near the lure, it could just be from abrasion around structure. Assume it isn't, but had to ask.

I've had Gar cause that.

Perhaps switch to Sufix Siege? 

 

Its just as strong only it casts 1000x better. you can even using it on spinning gear (not 20 though lol)

28 minutes ago, Hulkster said:

Perhaps switch to Sufix Siege? 

 

Its just as strong only it casts 1000x better. you can even using it on spinning gear (not 20 though lol)

Is it 100% as strong?

It’s not the line it’s rod guides fraying the line 

Tom

1 hour ago, Ohioguy25 said:

Is it 100% as strong?

I think so yes. I have straightned hooks on a #2 Mepps with 6 pound tied with a palomar knot. 

 

20 will never break unless its nicked. 

3 hours ago, Ohioguy25 said:

Interesting. Did it happen immediately when you started the bad spool or was it later on? I have used this current one I have to spool my reel twice and haven’t had this problem until recently. Is it possible only part of the spool is defective or does this likely eliminate that as the cause?

It was immediate. 

Put the reel on anther rod.

Tom

Check the guides as noted. A chipped insert will strip mono like gift wrap ribbon. 

1 hour ago, casts_by_fly said:

Check the guides as noted. A chipped insert will strip mono like gift wrap ribbon. 

What is the likely cause of a chipped guide? Could I avoid or at least minimize the likelihood of this happening again by upgrading to a higher end rod like a Dobyns Champ?

2 hours ago, WRB said:

Put the reel on anther rod.

Tom

You wouldn’t repair it?

Differently fix the guide

34 minutes ago, WRB said:

Differently

 

23 hours ago, Drew03cmc said:

Figure out which guide and get it replaced. If the rod has been dropped, you may have cracked an insert. I've done that on a St. Croix. If it's the tip guide, it's about a 5 minute job.

 

22 hours ago, Scott F said:

You can take a Q tip and run it over each guide. Cracked or broken guides will pull on the cotton so you can see which ones are bad.

 

11 hours ago, FrnkNsteen said:

Might be a silly question, but....

 

Where is the fraying of the line? If it's in various spots up the length of a cast worth of line, in my opinion , it may very likely be a bad guide.

 

I personally have never had an instance to link a frayed line to a line guide on the levelwind

 

If it's only near the lure, it could just be from abrasion around structure. Assume it isn't, but had to ask.

 

11 hours ago, Fishingmickey said:

Does the the lake you fished last time have Zebra Mussels? Their shells are like razor blades.

FM

 

10 hours ago, MediumMouthBass said:

I fish a place thats infested with these, mono and fluoro get destroyed there. Sounds exactly like what hes talking about. I would have to cut off 10' of line every 20 minutes....

 

But he said he doesnt believe he has them in the river. Could be a broken guide or something with the reel like others have said. The q tip is worth a try but doesnt always work.

I have a rod that came faulty out of the box that would shred line, there would be particles on the T wing of my Daiwa reel, and pieces bunched up at the top of the rod. Tried finding which guide it was and they all came back smooth and looked new, couldnt figure out which one was causing the line to shred.

Switched rods and havent experience that again.

Could be a bad spool of line maybe, big games very cheap and changing it would be the easiest option to try after a q tip. And Is the river rock bottom with wood all over?

 

10 hours ago, Skunkmaster-k said:

Same thing happened to me with a spool of Yozuri. Never did figure out what the heck was going on. 

 

9 hours ago, Skunkmaster-k said:

Nope. Bought a new spool of line and it hasn’t happened again. 

 

8 hours ago, Tackleholic said:

I've had Gar cause that.

 

8 hours ago, Hulkster said:

Perhaps switch to Sufix Siege? 

 

Its just as strong only it casts 1000x better. you can even using it on spinning gear (not 20 though lol)

 

6 hours ago, WRB said:

It’s not the line it’s rod guides fraying the line 

Tom

 

1 hour ago, casts_by_fly said:

Check the guides as noted. A chipped insert will strip mono like gift wrap ribbon. 

Ok think we’ve found the culprit. Does this look to you like the guide has been dislodged somehow, and is likely the source of my problem? Is it worth repairing, or would a higher quality rod help me avoid this in the future? Wondering if I did it by jamming/scraping  the rod tip or reeling a bait up to the top guide too hard/hooking it.

 

Full resolution

34 minutes ago, WRB said:

Differently fix the guide

 

35 minutes ago, WRB said:

Differently fix the guide

What exactly does this mean 

Replace the top glide 

Tom