A rat made a nest in MY BOAT!

[Slyster]

OK... brand new Fireline Crystal 6Lb on my main 'senko' reel... no more than 20 casts and bam!... already I get my first rats nest!... what a mess... takes 5 mins to untable it all.

Why? How to avoid?

I know the weightless senko wacky rig type fishing allows for a lot of loose line... that might be part of it? Or is Fireline (bradis) more apt to nest up

[Deitz Dittrich]

Spinning or baitcasting? 6 lb test or 6 lb Diam crystal?

[Slyster]

6Lb test... spinning...

[Deitz Dittrich]

ok... next question, do you close the bail manually with your non rod hand or with the reel handle?

may I ask, what reel is it.?

[Slyster]

All manual!

[Deitz Dittrich]

interesting. I have never had a problem like that when manually pulling the bail over..

Any chance that you over filled the reel?

[SledNeck]

use 14 or 20lb fireline on senko rod.

[Slyster]

Wouldn't that be overkill?... too thick and too visible?

[SledNeck]

Before my buddy switched over to fireline Id outfish him 5-1 while he was using 8lb mono.

Im actually thinking about going to 20 lb again on my senko set up. The 14 frays on rocks and seems to shear off too easy when pike take the senko. I mean, sure 14 casts further. But just moving closer to where youre gonna cast is just as easy.

I dont know about where you fish, but I dont have trouble catching bass on senkos with heavier fireline. Save money on hooks and such too...instead of breaking off on the 25 foot birch tree, you can pull it in and unhook your line.

[Neighbor_guy]

6lb test braid is very thin. I would say go heavier and leave the 6lb to the panfish guys.

[Gutz]

I've never had trouble with fireline birding up on a spinning real. I'm with the rest of these guys and say go heavier. I use 20# crystal with about a 4-6 foot 15# florocarbon leader.

[delmuts]

i use i/8 PP. instead of fireline, with no problems.

i would suspect that you may have over filled the spool too.

[Slyster]

Thanks for the tips!

How full do you fill the spool? I never quite learned that one actually.. I know if it's too low you won't get a full cast.. I filled her up to around 1/8th inch from the edge.

[Neighbor_guy]

1/8th is usualy a good rule of thumb. Try stripping off a bit, say 20 yards or so and see if that doesn't help.

[Deitz Dittrich]

as Neighbor guys says.. try taking off a few yards.. You really dont need to cast all that far anyway. Loosing a few feet of casting distance and getting less tangles may be worth it.

close the bail manually and then give the line a slight tug to make sure the line is on the roller and it shouldnt happen...

HOWEVER, if you see a loop sticking out, here is a little tip!!!!

Loosen your drag and begin to pull the line straight down.. Not out in front like a cast, but straight down, this will suck the coil from underneath and not cause a nest!

[goblueM]

i switched to 10 pound Power Pro for worming this spring... works awesome! I like it waaaay better than Fireline. You could even go with 20 pound and do pretty well

[fishcast]

I think I have had the same "bird nests" as you with spinning gear, and I always close the bail manually with my hand not by reeling. I have had it happen with both 14lb fireline and 8lb mono recently and I think I figured out in my case why.

I'm pretty sure when stringing up in both cases I forgot to put the line through all the guides and instead the line went directly from the spool of line to my reel. With all the wobbling around I think it gave it excess twists and on a couple hard casts it made a mess.

[JP Z]

Isn't 6lb test Fireline like 2lb Diameter? That is WAY light. You probably had to put mucho backing on the reel so that you could get up to that 1/8th inch from the lip.

[Berky]

JP I am trying to send you a PM but you have them disabled. So here is the next best thing. Thought that you might like it. With that nice pic of trout fishing that you have for your avatar. I just dropped this one off at the Taxidermist Friday.

[Gutz]

I usually go with a little bit more than an 1/8th of an inch below. I like to go with a little bit less line to spare me the trouble of line jumping off the reel. I'd rather make an extra cast or two than spend time fixing a rats nest.