# "wind knot" diagnosis with spinning reel combos



## 93stratosfishnski (Aug 25, 2011)

i have 3 different level of pfleuger reels and st crox rods with power pro on them and i experience annoying wind knots with all of them
my 3 combos are
jig- pfleuger supreme with 7 ft ml st croix avid 10/2 power pro
sticks/cranks- pfleuger president 2012 with 7ft ml st croix triumph 10/2 pp
vibes/traps- pfleuger president 2011 with 6 ft med st croix premier 20/6 pp

did i get stupid buying these pfleuger reels cause i liked the first one i bought?
any other things you guys think would be causing this?
thanks guys,
Derek


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## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

Sorry, never had one so no first hand experience, but this seems like an informative article.

http://surfishmexico.pbworks.com/w/page/19215713/All about wind knots


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## 93stratosfishnski (Aug 25, 2011)

thanks Ben, I didnt like the thought of replacing multiple reels this winter..


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## Mr. A (Apr 23, 2012)

I had similar issues before. What fixed the problem was making sure that I lined the reels with the line traveling off the spool and onto the reel in the same direction. Kinda like the old "reel to reel" audio players.

I also use a ball bering swivel whenever I use a bait that spinns in the water. Line twist was killing me.

Wind Knot- noun, defined as the process by which the line is cast out therefore giving "murphy" ample chance of wrecking what may have been a personal best and leaving you with a large birdnest knot that 100 tiny gremlins would be proud of!

A

My wife says I have a fishing habbit....


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## grub_man (Feb 28, 2005)

By windknot do you mean that nasty mess that occurs from casting a loop off of line off the spool, or the line wrapping around a guide or tip top and cinching itself down?

As far as the first (casting a loop off of the spool), there are a couple of causes for the situation. First is line twist. Since you are using braid, it doesn't twist and coil nearly as much as mono/fluoro, so that is a smaller issue for you. In any case, make sure that your line rollers are turning freely. Sometimes if you over-tighten the screw that goes through them, they will bind. The other cause is from a loop forming as the bail closes, and is most likely the source of your problem. Close the bail by hand and give the line a short tug after every cast, and this will go a long way to solving the problem. I know it seems like a pain to close the bail by hand. If you learn to feather your cast using your reel handle hand, your hand is right there and it becomes second nature quite quickly.

For the latter (line wrapping around guides). Try to avoid high wind blowing across your rod. As the wind blows the line past the guide occasionally it will pass by and loop around causing a knot on the guide. The other solution is to replace your guides with Fuji K series guides or Kigan Z series guides. Both have designs that alleviate this problem.

Joe


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## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

we've already talked about this so this is mainly for others but as a rule of thumb the cheaper the reel the more prone it is to "wind-knots". This is especially true when using any/all line rated under 4lb test! As a rule of thumb the more you spend on a reel the better it will handle the small-diameter braided lines....ask me how I know.


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## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

MassillonBuckeye said:


> Sorry, never had one so no first hand experience, but this seems like an informative article.
> 
> http://surfishmexico.pbworks.com/w/page/19215713/All about wind knots


Interesting, very interesting.

Read that article then follow my tutorial on "sanding spools", then see if you still have an issue 

http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/community/showthread.php?t=209176


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

''Close the bail by hand and give the line a short tug after every cast, and this will go a long way to solving the problem. I know it seems like a pain to close the bail by hand. If you learn to feather your cast using your reel handle hand, your hand is right there and it becomes second nature quite quickly.''

I bet dollars to donuts this will fix ur problem,Ive started doing this and alomost never get a windknot...


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## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

Makes sense considering I almost always close the bail by hand and have never had this issue. Seems to be a similar theme in all the vids and articles I could find as well. Some went as far as removing the bail closing apparatus so you Have to close manually.


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## acklac7 (May 31, 2004)

Saugeyefisher said:


> ''Close the bail by hand and give the line a short tug after every cast, and this will go a long way to solving the problem. I know it seems like a pain to close the bail by hand. If you learn to feather your cast using your reel handle hand, *your hand is right there and it becomes second nature quite quickly*.''
> 
> I bet dollars to donuts this will fix ur problem,Ive started doing this and alomost never get a windknot...


I've used my hand to close the bail for so long that I forgot you can close it simply by reeling LOL.


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

Yea sam here. Feels weird to me now. The thing I just started doing last yr was either lifting my rod tip a fuzz after a cast or just pulling off a loop or two of line with my finger right before closeing the bail. This has almost completly iliminated the line from crossing over the spool and causeing the wind knot(like in one of the first pictures in the link ben gave)


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

Are you still getting wind knots. Youve fished 2 times since this????????


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## catmando (Aug 21, 2006)

don't cast so hard and close the bail with your hands. 

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


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## 93stratosfishnski (Aug 25, 2011)

i always close my bail with my hand but have been tightening up my line before my retrieve and its already seemed to help some


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## Jmsteele187 (Dec 22, 2011)

Closing the bail by hand will certainly help, but I think the big thing here is lifting the rod a little after you close the bail, and before you start your retrieve. Both of your pflueger reels are pretty nice. I have both a president and a cheaper trion reel. They both have performed great. But, when I first picked up my pres, earlier this year, I had a similar issue. After remembering to lift my rod tip after my cast, the issue was resolved.


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## debard (Nov 9, 2011)

93stratosfishnski said:


> did i get stupid buying these pfleuger reels


Buying a Pflueger reel is never stupid


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

debard said:


> Buying a Pflueger reel is never stupid


I wont buy another president again thats for sure. Now Ive never used any of the more expensice ones....


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## debard (Nov 9, 2011)

Saugeyefisher said:


> I wont buy another president again thats for sure. Now Ive never used any of the more expensice ones....


My President baitcasters have never failed me, and I have 6 of them, but I've never used the spinning reels. Honestly, from playing with them in stores a bit, they do feel cheap to me compared to Pflueger's other reels.

Supreme and Supreme XT is where its at when it comes to spinning


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## OnTheFly (Jul 30, 2010)

The patriarch spinning reel is pretty wicked. Going to pick up another one here soon.


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## Jmsteele187 (Dec 22, 2011)

Saugeyefisher said:


> I wont buy another president again thats for sure. Now Ive never used any of the more expensice ones....


I have a pres spinning reel and have never had any real issues with it. It's always performed very well. The rod that came with the reel on the other hand, is a whole other story.


Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

Tons of info in this thread! I've had this happen, always with mono, due to line twist. There's nothing worse when the fish are biting, you're casting your brains out and, FLOOP! !&%!#^^*&*[email protected]$%@!!!!! And I've had the line hang up on the spool shoulders as well. I can see the Dremel tool getting a workout fairly soon! Thanks for this post!


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