When clearing a backlash, what is your procedure?

 

I will put my thumb against the right side of the spool to give it tension as I strip line off. Is there a better way?

 

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about a 1/4 spool bird's nest, those are hopeless normally. I am talking about a 12-24 loops or so. The kind you get when you first start casting into the wind before your thumb adjusts.

If it’s not too bad, put the nail of your off hand down as far as it will go between the spool and thumb bar and reel in slowly as the spool is rubbing against it. 
If it’s not too bad it will clear after a few turns or the line in the spool will loop enough for you to grab to pull it out. 
 

Go easy on the thumb pressure as you could fray thin braid or crease flouro. 
 

If you have a reel with old line that you’re not gonna use, purposely back lash it and play with to get a feel on how much pressure it will take before you try it on one you don’t want to re spool
 

It may take a few times to clear. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

Prevention is your best technique, pull off any loose line before starting retrieving the lure after each cast. Be aware of anything behind you the lure can snag during the cast.

Putting your thumb pad on the backlash line and put pressure on the spooled line then reel slowly over the backlash serval turns. Slowly pull off the reeled in line on top of the backlash until reaching the 1st loop, pull slowly until the loop comes out ( do not yank on the line) and repeat until the backlash is gone. May take 2 or 3 attempts to get out a deep backlash.

Tom

PS, I put the loose pulled off line in the water to prevent tangling the line.

 

I do my best to prevent loops. I normal go so far as to line up the line coming off the spool with the position of the guide if it's not close. I have found line management to be very helpful in reducing backlashes.

 

Yep, catching something on my back stroke is my number one issue. But I don't do that a lot as I'm constantly looking for obstructions.

1 hour ago, Bazoo said:

line up the line coming off the spool with the position of the guide

I usually try and park the line guide in the middle, that way it doesn’t have to pull extreme far side to another, if that make sense. 
As for getting them out, after I get one. I try and keep my thumb close the the spool so when I feel it about to blow up, I can stop it. Hopefully it won’t be too bad, can pull it out. 
I pinch and pull the line up and get it loose on the spool, while pulling the main line out.

I don’t know if I’m explaining it right.

Combination of picking and pulling.

Here ya go!

 

 

I hardly ever have to pick at them anymore. For that matter, I practice in the yard or fish every day and I don't get a backlash every day. I can't remember the last time I had a real bad one. It was earlier this year though from hitting a tree on my back cast. I cut some line out and got back into business.

Right hand holds the rod, left hand strips line.  Right thumb is on the spool at all times while in free spool.  Hit the button and start pulling off line gently but quickly.  When you get to a jam, figure out why it is a jam and sort that out before pulling more or harder.  If it has wrapped loops under loops then I find cranking a half turn of the spool back on and massaging the line on the spool left and right will often release it.  Sometimes if the line is under a loop you can pull on that loop and it will pull off the spool and let you keep pulling on the running line out of the reel.  I haven’t had to cut one out for a couple years now and that was a treble hooked bait that caught the boat on a big wind up cast.

 

Like Tom says, prevention is better than a cure.  After casting enough you usually get a feel for when a reel is going to start to go squirrelly.  The best bet at that point is to jump clamp down with your thumb and kill it right there.  There are plenty more casts in a day but if you blow it up so bad that you’re picking it out for 10 minutes or have to cut it out, that’s valuable time lost. 

3 minutes ago, Glenn said:

Here ya go!

 

 

This is the answer right here. 

no two backlashes are the same.   I just start to strip.  once it stops, I gently urge it thru.  if not, the fingernail trick to move things side to side.   or I pick at the high spots.  

 

it totally helps to be in the wind, gently being pushed into the treeline. the sense of urgency really helps.  

Pull up, and never apply force, or it'll dig, and you're done.

2 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

no two backlashes are the same.   I just start to strip.  once it stops, I gently urge it thru.  if not, the fingernail trick to move things side to side.   or I pick at the high spots.  

 

it totally helps to be in the wind, gently being pushed into the treeline. the sense of urgency really helps.  

I've found that fishing in heavy current to be a great motivator to both reduce the number of backlashes, and expedite their removal.

I pull with my thumb against the spool till it gets hung up, then tighten the drag down and give her a half turn with more thumb pressure . All that picking is for the birds. 

If it doesn't come out with pressure on the spool I get out my comb and pick it out.  It's the only reason I carry one.

 

 

I pull the line the opposite way, towards me. I’ve found that if I try to strip it out, all it does is cinch it down more and makes it need to be cut out. If you pull the line towards you, it unravels the knot and then you can strip it out through the reel’s line guide. 

On 6/24/2025 at 6:39 PM, WRB-2.0 said:

Putting your thumb pad on the backlash line and put pressure on the spooled line then reel slowly over the backlash serval turns. Slowly pull off the reeled in line on top of the backlash until reaching the 1st loop, pull slowly until the loop comes out ( do not yank on the line) and repeat until the backlash is gone. May take 2 or 3 attempts to get out a deep backlash.

This works well

If the pulling, and then pulling with the thumb on the spool doesn't work, I search for the deepest loop and tug upward on it, then try pulling line off again.

Tightening the drag and depressing your thumb on the spool technique works great with braid. But do NOT do this with fluorocarbon. Yes, you will get the knot out, but will fracture/damage the line and lead to break offs later. 

I only backlash when I'm trying to backlash, that is, searching for incipient backlash when setting up casting brake on bench reels.  In this case of fixed mag brake, you set the brake by the number and size of the magnets.  

 

I've said before, most on the forum complaining about line dig with threadline braid are finding deeper backlash that they missed before.  Unlike mono, braid is beyond limp, and backlash makes 180-degree loops that are invisible.  Always make sure you strip line deeper than what you can see, to find the deepest backlash loop.  

The most useful tool for picking out those 180-degree loops is a plastic toothpick.  When I'm lawn casting for reel set up, I always have a Doctor's brush pick in my pocket.