I usually fish from shore with a spinning reel. I get a lot of bird nest in my reel. Would a baitcaster be better to use? 

It takes a lot of practice to keep from getting backlashes and birds nests when using a bait caster. 

^ Baitcasters are MUCH more prone to backlashes than spinning reels.

What kind of line do you have on your spinning reel? Usually if spinning reels are getting a nest, something is wrong with the line itself, or the way it’s spooling. 

I have braided line on my reel right now. It was spooled at Bass Pro. 

What pound test - I never put over 20# on my 2000/2500 reels, 10# on my 1000 size

I contend wind knot bird nest on spinning reel with braid is mostly 99% operator error.

Okay, that makes sense. Braid’s limpness makes it prone to wind knots coming back at you, especially if it gets some slack in it, or are using really light baits. Also if the spool is overfilled it will have some blowouts.

 

How close is it filled to the edge of the spool? 

9 minutes ago, QUAKEnSHAKE said:

I contend wind knot bird nest on spinning reel with braid is mostly 99% operator error.

I agree it is operator error. I practice and can’t seem to not get birds nest.

9 minutes ago, ElGuapo928 said:

Okay, that makes sense. Braid’s limpness makes it prone to wind knots coming back at you, especially if it gets some slack in it, or are using really light baits. Also if the spool is overfilled it will have some blowouts.

 

How close is it filled to the edge of the spool? 

I use 10# braid. It doesn’t look like it’s over filled.

How hard you trying to fling it? I just use wrist and elbow...shoulder never comes into the equation.

I may use my shoulder to much. I think your right I may be trying to fling it to hard. 

If you fish, you deal with tangles.  Every reel, every line.  It's all part of the game.

http://blog.fightmasterflyfishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/calc_coils-h290.jpg

 

17 minutes ago, QUAKEnSHAKE said:

I contend wind knot bird nest on spinning reel with braid is mostly 99% operator error.

I would have agreed with you until I spooled up a reel with daiwa J4 10lb.  The stuff will knot up in the blink of an eye and no amount of picking will get it out.  I won't buy a 4 carrier at that weight ever again.  

Another good point, 4 carrier tends to be a headache.

 

It may serve to tie something heavy on, and work on casting with just your wrist. Gradually start working the elbow in, and keep your shoulder still. 

Baitcasters have a learning curve, but in my opinion once you learn how to use them  you can cast both quicker and more accurately so it’s worth the initial frustration.

 

I would suggest tying a 1/2oz weight on your line and practice in your backyard. Once you get it casting smoothly without birds nesting, add a bucket for target practice.

 

You might get some tangles on a spinning reel if you cast and forget the bail. I rarely have issues with line twist or wind knots myself but my wife will forget to flip the bail and knot up the line so bad I have to replace it almost every trip. Also you don’t need to cast as hard as you can either. I can cast casually and get the bait 90% as far, trying to throw it harder can lead to problems, loss of accuracy and it’s only for a little extra distance at the end of the day.

In addition to other comments, be careful that you’re not reeling slack line.  Without some tension it can lay too loose on spool, and is an invitation for snarling on subsequent casts.

Baitcasting reels have never been easier to learn than now. I’d suggest buying one and spooling up with a line that has soft ( limp ) characteristics like PLine CX or Trilene XL. Spool up and practice, practice. Practice makes perfect and I think you’ll be glad you did. 

4 hours ago, F14A-B said:

Baitcasting reels have never been easier to learn than now

I have to agree 💯 with this. I have never been a baitcast user despite being heavy into fishing. I’d tried them very, very sparingly when I was a kid, but would say I’ve basically never really used one. I had almost no trouble picking one up, spooling up braid and slinging it around this year. I didn’t even really know much about tension or brake settings. Despite that, I didn’t backlash like crazy, but did have some and got a couple “respoolers”. However, it didn’t take long to feel right and atleast be reasonably competent. Me in June to me now with my bait caster is quite different. I like low-stretch mono on my casting rigs mostly. For the record, I use cheap $70 Lews reels 

 

If you’re getting wind knots with 10lb braid, you’re trying too hard to throw too light a lure(likely into wind) or have gotten significant twist into your spool which is a killer with braid

I agree with everyone's suggestions, lots of possibilities.  IMO, like BOOMSTICK said, be sure to close the bail with your hand, not with the reel handle, BEFORE the lure hits the water.  Secondly, now that your line is full of twists and you are a bank angler, definitely seek advice from this forum on how to remove those twists.  JonB2 has another strong point, casting into the wind could be a cause of your problem;  being a bank angler can make it difficult to avoid.

Thank you, Everyone has been very helpful. I’ll practice more and I’ll pay more attention to closing the bail. I’ll definitely check out how to remove birds nest on this forum.

For years I avoided spinning reels because of line twist, using baitcasters only. Then one day I decided to try braid on a spinning reel and BINGO...pay dirt. At first I was getting a few wind knots but quickly realized I had too much line on the spool. As someone mentioned above, just a flick of the wrist is all that's needed to get a long cast with more accuracy. I'm more accurate with a sidearm or 2 o'clock cast than I am straight overhand. Also, with a baitcaster one day, I was having terrible issues with backlashes only to realize I had overfilled it as well.

17 hours ago, bassmedic46 said:

I usually fish from shore with a spinning reel. I get a lot of bird nest in my reel. Would a baitcaster be better to use? 

I'll assume your spool is filled properly, meaning not overfilled, but how about a picture for the group to see?

 

As it has been mentioned here over and over again on this board, if you have a boat let out about 100' of line without anything tied on and just drive. This will untwist the line which is what's causing your wind knot issue. Doesn't help the shore fishers though.

 

If you don't own or have access to a boat, do this:

 

Cut off your lure, flip the bail up, and walk off about 100' of line. Go back to your rod, flip down the bail, then do this:

 

Starting at the rod's tip top guide, pinch the line between your thumbnail and the last digit of your pointer finger. Now start walking toward the end of your line while keeping light pressure. The braid will begin to untwist as you proceed, especially at about the 50' to 40' mark. Once you're done just reel your line in and tie on a lure. 

 

When I'm shore fishing, I do this at the end of every third trip especially if I'm throwing super light baits where slack line is a reality only made worse by the slightest breeze. On top of always closing your bail by hand, if you see a big bow in your line, pinch the line while reeling in. It'll help.

 

And as others here have advised, learning to use a bait caster will only make things better in the end. Even if it doesn't replace your spinning rods, you'll be able to fish much heavier line which will allow you to fish heavy veg way more effectively.

Daiwa SV reel. Get it setup right and you have to work to make it backlash. I could care less what type brakes a reel uses when you started bait casting on an Ambassador 5,000 you can cast any reel, but Daiwa SV is at another level.

On 8/26/2025 at 9:45 PM, bassmedic46 said:

I usually fish from shore with a spinning reel. I get a lot of bird nest in my reel. Would a baitcaster be better to use? 

You must be doing something wrong or using the wrong line....

 

I fish from shore a ton...more than in my boat (I think) and I've never had a bird nest.

 

Fellow shore fisherman with baitcasters I see getting bird nests frequently.

When fishing, regardless of reel type, you have to be on your game with line management.

 

For spinning, always close the bail by hand, but also, make sure the line is in the roller and pulled taut. If you don't have it taut when you begin to reel, it can leave a loose loop on the reel, and will cause problems.

 

Any time you are reeling and you have slack line, place your rod hand further up the rod and pinch the line with your pointer finger and thumb so that the line is taut when reeling.

 

If you have a minor loop in your spool and it's shallow, only a few turns down, open your bail and stip line until you clear it, then wind line on with tension.

 

If it's noticed at the end of reeling in your line, and is deeper, cast out the line as much as you can, then strip line as necessary to get to the loop.

 

Occasionally, depending on what you're fishing and how, you might need to make a long cast to clear the line and reel it back in with tension to give yourself a reset.

 

I put the same effort into line management with a baitcaster, but of course, with its own idiosyncrasies. Once it becomes habit you don't think about it, and it saves you a huge amount of frustration.