# Power Pro and wind knots?



## Donald (Oct 25, 2006)

Today I had headed to the Suskie to test out a lami spinner I built but also to try out braided line. I have made up my mind to convert to power pro for the most popular reasons but had alot of wind knots when casting, I had 6 or 7 nasty's in a very short time. Im trying to learn the nature of this stuff. Does anyone have this issue with this stuff? all the gear seemed to be very well matched. Id hate to give up on the braid but I spent more time doing brain surgery then casting. Any Ideas? By the way the Suskie was high, stained all that was caught were 2 leaves and a stick. The leaves were pretty good but the stick was on he tough side.


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## terpfan (May 30, 2002)

were you casting in the field or over water??? if you are using baseball and reeling it over grass, you definately get a wind knot.


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## Donald (Oct 25, 2006)

Hey terp, I was casting in the river. I had no bad wind in my face or anything that would give me a good excuse for this problem. Im not realizing the cause or the fix of the knots.


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## terpfan (May 30, 2002)

if you overspool your reel, it can happen. also if pp is not tightly packed, problem can happen. other than that, i never had any problem.


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## Donald (Oct 25, 2006)

Well, The reel was a little "plump" now that You mention it. I put some mono backing on then used the whole spool of braid. I dint want to waste any if I could help it, I will loose a few yards and try again. I can usually get away with it using mono, but maybe the braid acts differantly. Thanks Terp !


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## ReelinRod (May 29, 2003)

Wind knots (and that's wīnd with a _long i,_ like wind your watch) are all about line tension.

You need to maintain enough tension when winding to stop tight coils from pulling loose coils off the spool on the cast.

Fishing light lures that require some rod action to work are problematic. There will always be a point when you are reeling on a slack line . . . That's what generates 90% of wind knots.


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## Donald (Oct 25, 2006)

Sgnt, I see and understand your point. good one at that! However, was casting a about a 3/4oz jig head with a big twister tail, I was fishing super high current at the Conowingo Dam, My rod was at a constant light bow so in this case Im still not sure. How about line twist? Does Power P. have a bad reaction with that? Mono has memory that will sort of "untwist" itself when its slack(to a point anyway). Thanks for helping me understand this line......


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## sand flea (Oct 24, 1999)

Slough's got it--any loose line on the reel will cause wind knots.

If you're throwing a light lure, be sure to cast as far as you can every fifth or sixth cast and reel the line back onto your reel between your fingers so it repacks on the spool.


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

*Jmo*

After each cast,you should manually close the bail,and pull line tight with other hand. This makes sure no loop is put into the line when bail is slammed shut.. It has been my experience that this is the main culprit for wind knots..


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## Guest (Mar 4, 2007)

*Mono vs Braid*

Here is how you sum up the difference between Mono and Braid...


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## SALTSHAKER (Dec 5, 2002)

*windknots*

I'm with Pauky, ya going fishing or messing with the line?? Sounds like to much work involved for what you gain... just my own preference, but I'll take the suffix....


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## nomadfl (Jan 7, 2007)

Most times wind knots can be overcome by the placement of your guides, and sizes of the guides. If you rung your rod for mono...then you will have problems with wind knots. Also with Power Pro braid on a spinning reel, you should set the rod up to what type of reel you are using. The spool angle where it's spool axis crosses the rod is where your first guide should be, and the first guide no bigger then a size 20

Here is a picture of what I mean










That reel is a Daiwa Laguna 2000, but when I went with the Laguna 3500, I had to change guide placements again.


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## nomadfl (Jan 7, 2007)

I am adding this article by the late George "Gowge" Pope on the Forida Surf Fishing Board about braid

http://www.floridasurffishing.net/f...inter_friendly&forum=116&topic_id=1&mesg_id=1


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## VICIII (Apr 8, 2005)

nomadfl said:


> I am adding this article by the late George "Gowge" Pope on the Forida Surf Fishing Board about braid
> 
> http://www.floridasurffishing.net/f...inter_friendly&forum=116&topic_id=1&mesg_id=1


Great Read... Thanks..


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## Donald (Oct 25, 2006)

*Superb Info!*

Great information and link!! Thanks to everyone, It has been a great help!! I'm currently doing a 12' surf rod with the low riders. It has turned out to be a incredibly expenisive project, I have all the componets but Im glad to have this info before I wrap and glue. It may save me alot of frustration and time..


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## Donald (Oct 25, 2006)

nomadfl said:


> Most times wind knots can be overcome by the placement of your guides, and sizes of the guides. If you rung your rod for mono...then you will have problems with wind knots. Also with Power Pro braid on a spinning reel, you should set the rod up to what type of reel you are using. The spool angle where it's spool axis crosses the rod is where your first guide should be, and the first guide no bigger then a size 20
> 
> Here is a picture of what I mean
> 
> ...


I checked the angle of the 8 1/2 Lami with a Penn 460 live liner, I did it like your pic showed. With this penn my first guide should be about 6 foot up the blank! Apearantly this reel is not a good braid choice?? Thanks for the heads up!


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## Mark Lindsey (Jun 28, 2005)

*Wind Knots*

If you engage your bail by hand instead of turning the handle to flip it, you can eliminate alot of wind knots.


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## nomadfl (Jan 7, 2007)

Donald said:


> Great information and link!! Thanks to everyone, It has been a great help!! I'm currently doing a 12' surf rod with the low riders. It has turned out to be a incredibly expenisive project, I have all the componets but Im glad to have this info before I wrap and glue. It may save me alot of frustration and time..


Donald, I have simulated "Low Riders" with less expensive guides and it works.


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## nomadfl (Jan 7, 2007)

Donald said:


> I checked the angle of the 8 1/2 Lami with a Penn 460 live liner, I did it like your pic showed. With this penn my first guide should be about 6 foot up the blank! Apearantly this reel is not a good braid choice?? Thanks for the heads up!


Donald, I am sure all the new Daiwas have the slanted spool angle


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## Sea Level (Nov 20, 2005)

*Lowriders and Braid*

Donald,

Gowge got me interested in Fuji Lowriders and braid several years ago. I have two custom ringed rods with lowriders and two factory built Conoflex rods (Barracuda Thief) that were designed to be used with the lowrider concept guides. I have used many different spinning reels on these rods all filled with 30# Power Pro and feel that the combination of a quality spinning reel loaded with braid on a quality rod using lowriders is the best combination for throwing lures. (and it is fine for fishing bait, except that I prefer conventional for bait fishing.)

You should not get "wind knots" if you ensure your line lay is correct and tight from the pick up after the previous cast. Just a glance down and a tug on the line with your off hand will do it. This habit is easy to establish. 

Smaller reels and smaller diameter braid, casting light lures is more likely to knot up.

Good luck with your braid experiment.


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## Donald (Oct 25, 2006)

Sea Level said:


> Donald,
> 
> Gowge got me interested in Fuji Lowriders and braid several years ago. I have two custom ringed rods with lowriders and two factory built Conoflex rods (Barracuda Thief) that were designed to be used with the lowrider concept guides. I have used many different spinning reels on these rods all filled with 30# Power Pro and feel that the combination of a quality spinning reel loaded with braid on a quality rod using lowriders is the best combination for throwing lures. (and it is fine for fishing bait, except that I prefer conventional for bait fishing.)
> 
> ...


 Sea level, I will try the same combo that I had issues with again just to make sure I am not the cause of all the knoting problems. I will try what you mentioned as well as the other sugestions offerd. I think that I was aware of most all the things I was supposed to do but just to make sure I will go out again and do some casting. As far as my new surf braid project I want to use all the info I can to insure I "build in" the best specs to make it braid friendly from the start (as much as possible anyway). I think the FUJI measurments are going to be my choice just due to the all the studies they have done with the low rider system. anyway thanks a bunch for your imput, I will put it to use !


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## Lip Ripper (Dec 8, 2003)

Drumdum said:


> After each cast,you should manually close the bail,and pull line tight with other hand. This makes sure no loop is put into the line when bail is slammed shut.. It has been my experience that this is the main culprit for wind knots..



thought i was the only one who did that. and i swear by it!!!!!!


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## Donald (Oct 25, 2006)

*nomadfl*



nomadfl said:


> Donald, I am sure all the new Daiwas have the slanted spool angle


I will look up one of these reels and see what they run, Geeeesssse, Just when I am totaly overstocked with tons of gear I realize I dont have a single thing that works ???? man, my other half is already wondering what kind of illness I have now I have to explain none of my 1000 reels have the right angle I need and I have to order another "special" one. Do you realize how many times I used this line? Good thing she loves me cause its cold out tonight!! lol..... Anyway, thanks for your help, I will use it!


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## nomadfl (Jan 7, 2007)

Donald, not to add to your miseries, when you use braid, and think reels....how big a reel do you actually need? How many yards of Power Pro do you want on the reel ....or how many yards of braid does the reel hold?

One thing you do not need is a 6000 series heavy spinning reel. JMO .....nomadfl opcorn:


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## fishhead (Oct 18, 2004)

I had to think about it for a minute to realize my method, as I've fished PP for so long now it's just second nature:

When the load hit's the water I manually flip the bail and hold the rod with my right hand above the reel and my left hand below the reel. With the top (right) hand I make sure the line runs between my thumb and index finger as I start walking up to the sand spike. If the line gets tight I open the bail and continue to let the line run betwen my fingers to keep tension so it doesn't spool off the reel too fast. When I get close to the spoke I flip the bail closed again and put it in the spike.

I've probably had one knot per year, but we'll see how I make out with 30lb PP this year ... dunno if it will be tougher to tame than the 50lb I've used for years.


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## Donald (Oct 25, 2006)

*success with Braid !!*

I just spooled up another one of my customs with p-pro 50lb. and took it down to the river and chucked lures & lead till my finger got raw from the braid rubbing it. I had NO WIND KNOTS! yahoooo! but I did not change a thing on my technique or anything, It just worked... My first try with my custom lami was just hellatious! With this outcome I for one am convinced the way your gear is set up matters totally. This has been a big controversy so far but for me the proof is in the pudd'n.


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## rhorm (Mar 25, 2005)

I agree with you about setup but, also I got some good advice from here when I posted about this issue. The advice was manually close the bail and make sure the line is tight before retrieve. It was the key for me. I haven't had any more wind knots since.  Actually made well over 100 casts with a gotcha today and no knots. I was using a Loomis GL2, Catalyst PT30 with 20lb PP. :fishing:


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