I broke-off during a cast today. This is the second time it's happened. I'd appreciate some help so this doesn't continue.

The details: Throwing a 5/8 bladed jig on a MH fast action casting rod. Line is 30lb braid to 15lb Seagur Premier flouro leader (about 3 feet).

I tried making a far cast. Line snapped mid air just above the knot on the lure. I think what happened is similar to what happens at the very

tip of a whip when you crack it. I don't believe it was a bad knot which was my standard 6 turn uni. I take great care with my knots tying them

slowly and checking for strength before cutting the tag end.

What do you think happened, and how to prevent this in the future? Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Be extra careful while tightening nylon and fluoro knots not to "burn" the line just above the knot. Don't spare the saliva.

You sure it was mid cast? If it were mid cast I’d say you backlashed. Otherwise I’d say your knot was too big and you caught a guide and it snapped your line.

@Flushdraw I cannot say for sure what happened.

Even if I referenced anything, it would clearly be a guess.

Perhaps an educated guess, but a guess nonetheless.

I can say with quite a bit of confidence what could reduce and possibly even eliminate

mystery casting-related break-offs; ditch the leader.

Better yet, switch your main line to straight Seaguar InvizX Fluorocarbon.

I use 15 lb on every MH casting rig I have.

I really like it.

Finally, if you're up for it, PM me your mailing address

and I'll send you a 200-yard spool of InvisX to test out.

Boom.

A-Jay

@A-Jay ’s problem is clearly too many nice reels.

You almost certainly kinked/burned the line tying the knot. Braid + anything wrong in the leader leaves no cushion and the leader loses. I would also ditch the leader and either go straight bright or straight fluoro.

3 minutes ago, VolFan said:

@A-Jay ’s problem is clearly too many nice reels.

What language is that?

I think the bait monkey disabled my Google Translate again.

A-Jay

37 minutes ago, OkobojiEagle said:

Be extra careful while tightening nylon and fluoro knots not to "burn" the line just above the knot. Don't spare the saliva.

I always do that. I also tested this knot with a fair bit of strength.

29 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

You sure it was mid cast? If it were mid cast I’d say you backlashed. Otherwise I’d say your knot was too big and you caught a guide and it snapped your line.

I didn't think of that. I guess it's possible. When my line broke, I got one of the worst backlashes I've ever had. I had to remove the spool and was planning on just cutting the line. I was amazed I got it out. This was also my new Grass Puzzle Grass Piece Flex...$21! You ever see a man tear-up while fishing? 😅

27 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

@Flushdraw I cannot say for sure what happened.

Even if I referenced anything, it would clearly be a guess.

Perhaps an educated guess, but a guess nonetheless.

I can say with quite a bit of confidence what could reduce and possibly even eliminate

mystery casting-related break-offs; ditch the leader.

Better yet, switch your main line to straight Seaguar InvizX Fluorocarbon.

I use 15 lb on every MH casting rig I have.

I really like it.

Finally, if you're up for it, PM me your mailing address

and I'll send you a 200-yard spool of InvisX to test out.

Boom.

A-Jay

I use a leader on braid for two reasons. First, to have a solid break off point if I get snagged. Second, I lock down my drag so I want just a little stretch. It seems to work for me well. My hook to land ratio is great.

That said, I've been curious about going straight flouro. That's a very nice offer and very kind of you!

It happens.

Leaders definitely have resulted in a few four letter words on the boat back when I used to try to make them work.

I’d suggest committing to straight braid or a straight fluorocarbon or monofilament line that you prefer.

It has happened to me with Alabama rigs and glide baits and lipless crankbaits - all of which really load your rod on the cast.

It hasn’t happened since I stopped trying to use braid ->leader.

A 5/8 oz jig is a pretty heavy bait and I throw those on a minimum of 15 lb big game and generally prefer 20 lb.

If it is not the line itself as mentioned above, I am wondering if maybe there could be a cracked tip guide, or another guide?

A chipped or piece cracked off a guide can cause similar results cutting through line during a cast.

It could be on the side of the guide the line is pressured against in backswing of cast, and not noticeable for normal loading with a fish. Just mentioning another possibility to check all guides thoroughly.

Something else to consider:

Some rods usually older or budget friendly are not equipped to handle braid.

The problem lies within the guides.

Over time a grove develops especially on the tip and the cuts under stress.

I'll admit it only happened to me when fighting a fish.

Inspect your top quide for this grove.

I have had that happen once or twice. It has to do with the knot you are using. If not lubricated or tied properly , also with micro guides the knot is too big, guides could have a flaw in them weaking the line. This season I am going to try Loon Knot Sense https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Loon_Outdoors_UV_Knot_Sense_Glue/descpage-LOON.html?from=gshop&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=1691752779&gbraid=0AAAAADkexy4twmB6Et_anTPKk6fjOXCK_&gclid=Cj0KCQiA7-rMBhCFARIsAKnLKtAG7y7vx0gorxx_iRqVNfa2avq2D6U8wcZytjfDSPaOJbKHqHL_WbcaAvVUEALw_wcB

I would say check your guides. There could be a nick. If your braid is frayed it will cause this to happen as well. I’ve used braid brands that I have had issues with and many I haven’t.

So what y'all didn't see in my latest catch pics...this happened to me twice in consecutive days leading to an impossible backlash on brand new braid. Twice. Except mine broke juuuust below the leader knot. I use a Palomar at the lure so that usually doesnt break.

I had the same spool of braid on that reel for over a year without ever doing this. as soon as I started throwing lighter lures for the early spring bite, twice in two days.

Usually this combo (falcon 8' medium, lews tournament pro) throws big walking baits around an ounce. But with the bass chasing a minimax I decided to throw a 3/8 on. Naturally this cost some distance and led to me putting more force into the cast. The rod doesn't load as well, and the line has a tendency to hit places on the rod it otherwise wouldn't. Too many instances of this can snap a leader. The other thing that can happen is your leader knot getting caught in the space where the guides attach to the rod. Both will snap it. It hasn't happened since I sat and thought about it, and started casting softer.

Conclusion: braid to leader does not like casting with real force. Whatever the loading of your rod gets is what you get. Trying to sling it hard will end in heartbreak

I did it with a Norman deep 22 . First cast . Never bought another one. Didnt even see it splash down, it might be in orbit.

I've sent a couple lures into orbit too because the line broke mid cast. You think "whoa, that's a long cast" and it splashes down nearly out of sight.

Then you realize what happened

I don’t like Uni-knots on fluorocarbon - seems to burn the line worse than anything else.

I’ve gone pretty much exclusively to San Diego jam knots, and keep a bottle of Reel Snot on the deck to lubricate my knots. I haven’t had a failure on the cast for several years now.

I've lost many a lure while casting. 95% of those sent to Atlantis were the result of my own laziness and not retying when I knew I should have. 4% were poor knot tying, failing to check my line consistently, or worn guides. The last 1% was

Let's not forget the time that I was casting a frog with heavy braid and a 7'6 rod and, while hurling huge yardage bombs, I saw a splash about 10 feet in front of my boat. That was the side cover from my Revo SX. As always, I'm left with the finger pointing back at myself.

My best advice is, if you say to yourself quietly in your head, "Maybe I need to...." then you do need to. Sit down and retie/check/lubricate/adjust. If the fish are gone when you are done then they were never there.

Getting that extra two feet of distance in a cast rarely impresses the bass, but makes the Bait Monkey smile. Don't feel bad. I always swing for the fences when I don't need to, and have sent baits to another zip code while standing there staring at a grade A 10 out of 10 class backlash. Too bad about the Bass Puzzle, they are expensive and hard to come by, but if you only cast lures you don't want to lose, you will only catch fish you don't want to catch. Nothing wrong with your equipment. It's fishing, S-- happens.

Switching to straight Floro may help. I fish many setups with Floro, and only a few with braid to leader. One thing to consider if you do get an impressive backlash with Floro, change the line or you may launch another lure in to space or worse, get your heart broken. Remove minor backlashes with extreme care and all will be fine. For those that never backlash, I despise you.

I think maybe I’m lucky. I’ve cast as many rods out of my hands into the water as I have broken lures on the cast (1 each). The only one I’ve broken off was an original Hart throb spinnerbait in a pond 30 years ago. Still no idea what happened on that one. The rod I cast into the water was a lot clearer. Heavy A rig, braid dug into the spool about 20 yards in, freezing hands and a wet reel. I made a good launch of a cast and that A-rig was sailing! Ripped it right out of my hands. Fortunately the rod floated up enough for me to grab it . Unfortunately the Arig was locked to the bottom and I was in a kayak in 20 mph winds. Took a good minute to sort that out (untangle backlash, line in the motor, rig unsnagged, etc.).

@Flushdraw - I’m also in the camp of no leaders on baitcasters. If I want braid, i fish straight braid. The amount of stretch in a 5’ piece of mono/fluoro is insignificant relative to what you can flex a rod. Pick the rod that gives you the flex for braid use. Also, I’m in the straight mono/fluoro camp for moving baits like this.

Fluoro is a mystery to me. Sometimes, it just breaks and I don't recall what had happened. Of course there are always nicks, kinks etc. It's just part of fishing with it, even the expensive ones. I sometimes wonder why I still fish it but most of know why. Also, braid to leader on casting has never been something that works consistently for me as others have said. I fish very clear lakes here in WI and go straight 30 lb braid for jackhammers. Fish don't seem to mind when I'm fishing it through grass which is almost always.

6 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

Leaders definitely have resulted in a few four letter words on the boat back when I used to try to make them work.

I’d suggest committing to straight braid or a straight fluorocarbon or monofilament line that you prefer.

It has happened to me with Alabama rigs and glide baits and lipless crankbaits - all of which really load your rod on the cast.

It hasn’t happened since I stopped trying to use braid ->leader.

A 5/8 oz jig is a pretty heavy bait and I throw those on a minimum of 15 lb big game and generally prefer 20 lb.

I think there's some misunderstanding in my original thread. My braid to flouro leader knot didn't break. My line broke right at the connection to the lure. If I was running straight flouro, I would have had the same result.

I just ordered some flouro leader in 20lb and am going to start tying a different connection knot. Thinking of the San Diego jam knot.

5 hours ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

If it is not the line itself as mentioned above, I am wondering if maybe there could be a cracked tip guide, or another guide?

A chipped or piece cracked off a guide can cause similar results cutting through line during a cast.

It could be on the side of the guide the line is pressured against in backswing of cast, and not noticeable for normal loading with a fish. Just mentioning another possibility to check all guides thoroughly.

A good idea. I just dragged that rod out into the sun and inspected the guides. I also inspected the rod and the sides of the guides. Everything looks fine.

So it’s not the same as straight fluoro. With braid to leader all of the stress is put on that length of fluoro (however long your leader is). The braid doesn’t stretch so if there’s a little malfunction there’s only the length of your leader for cushion. With all fluoro or mono it is spread more equally.

7 minutes ago, VolFan said:

So it’s not the same as straight fluoro. With braid to leader all of the stress is put on that length of fluoro (however long your leader is). The braid doesn’t stretch so if there’s a little malfunction there’s only the length of your leader for cushion. With all fluoro or mono it is spread more equally.

Wow. That makes perfect sense. I've been fishing for about four years and still learning the basics it seems.

Late fall. I was yo-yoing a small Berkley Thinfisher from shore. I had an 8' spinning setup and was at the heavy end of the rod rating. I went to really whip it out there and bumped the bail closed with a gloved hand.

It sounded like a whip crack. I launched that Thinfisher into outer space. 😆

1 hour ago, Flushdraw said:

Thinking of the San Diego jam knot.

Try the Fish n fool too.