So after loosing yet another Spomb, I think I might of came across something.
Maybe this has been mentioned before here or elsewhere, here goes anyway: what could be the cause for your line to wrap around an eye and *kerr-rack* another Spomb hurtling into the drink unattached? You know when you're reeling in a Spomb, it's pretty lightweight, so your line ends up on the spool lightly coiled, you cast out, and the line spills off...bang, it cracks off.
I've changed my habits and am now holding the line while reeling which seems to help bed the line down and lessen the chances of rattling off to the shops to hand over another 15 quid for a new Spomb.
Maybe this has been mentioned before here or elsewhere, here goes anyway: what could be the cause for your line to wrap around an eye and *kerr-rack* another Spomb hurtling into the drink unattached? You know when you're reeling in a Spomb, it's pretty lightweight, so your line ends up on the spool lightly coiled, you cast out, and the line spills off...bang, it cracks off.
I've changed my habits and am now holding the line while reeling which seems to help bed the line down and lessen the chances of rattling off to the shops to hand over another 15 quid for a new Spomb.
In reply to Post #1
I used to get a few of crack offs but I started to reel in while the tip is under the water constantly keeping the braid wet, i can honestly say I haven't cracked off once now for about 2 years still have the same nash dot spomb for that length of time aswell. Not saying it will stop it for ever but it definitely helped a lot
I used to get a few of crack offs but I started to reel in while the tip is under the water constantly keeping the braid wet, i can honestly say I haven't cracked off once now for about 2 years still have the same nash dot spomb for that length of time aswell. Not saying it will stop it for ever but it definitely helped a lot
In reply to Post #1
Are you using braid or mono?
I gave up using braid for a couple of reasons, one of which was crack-offs, and went back to mono with a shock leader. The problem has not happened since.
I presume that the crack-offs were happening (with 50lb braid), were because there is minimal stretch in braid, (something less than 1%), and either getting a wind knot, frapping around a ring or hitting the clip hard were causing it to go beyond its breaking point.
The mono I use is 'last years' line reeled onto my Aerlex straight from the fishing reel, then topped with an Amnesia 30lb or Greased Weasel grey 40lb shock leader.
Are you using braid or mono?
I gave up using braid for a couple of reasons, one of which was crack-offs, and went back to mono with a shock leader. The problem has not happened since.
I presume that the crack-offs were happening (with 50lb braid), were because there is minimal stretch in braid, (something less than 1%), and either getting a wind knot, frapping around a ring or hitting the clip hard were causing it to go beyond its breaking point.
The mono I use is 'last years' line reeled onto my Aerlex straight from the fishing reel, then topped with an Amnesia 30lb or Greased Weasel grey 40lb shock leader.
In reply to Post #2
I did that for a long time and it definitely helps.
Pretty much every crack off I've ever had has been just after the leader knot, since swapping to heavier braid straight through I don't take any extra care over mono and have had no problems
I did that for a long time and it definitely helps.
Pretty much every crack off I've ever had has been just after the leader knot, since swapping to heavier braid straight through I don't take any extra care over mono and have had no problems
In reply to Post #1
I use cheap 30lb spectra braid with a shockleader and have never had a single crack off. I think heavier braids with height breaking strains and/or more strands comes off the reel in wider loops that can wrap around the butt ring. I think a 40mm butt ring also helps to control the witch of the loops.
I believe casting style can also have an effect.
I use cheap 30lb spectra braid with a shockleader and have never had a single crack off. I think heavier braids with height breaking strains and/or more strands comes off the reel in wider loops that can wrap around the butt ring. I think a 40mm butt ring also helps to control the witch of the loops.
I believe casting style can also have an effect.
In reply to Post #2
Thanks Rich. I'll take that on board and see how it goes. Thanks 👍
Thanks Rich. I'll take that on board and see how it goes. Thanks 👍
In reply to Post #3
I'm using braid.
Can't think of a time when I got a crack off with mono. Since using braid it's become something I've had to bare. Thing is, I do prefer braid just because it's not so prone to twist. I'm sticking with the braid and I'm going to try and work with it and find the best solution.
I'm using braid.
Can't think of a time when I got a crack off with mono. Since using braid it's become something I've had to bare. Thing is, I do prefer braid just because it's not so prone to twist. I'm sticking with the braid and I'm going to try and work with it and find the best solution.
In reply to Post #7
I have seen people crack off after they have used distance sticks,similar reason they don't put enough tension on the line/braid so so get the spill you talk about
I have seen people crack off after they have used distance sticks,similar reason they don't put enough tension on the line/braid so so get the spill you talk about
In reply to Post #7
How full is your spool with braid? I keep seeing braid loaded to the lip on spools, it should never be loaded like this, it's as bad as over loading nylon.
How full is your spool with braid? I keep seeing braid loaded to the lip on spools, it should never be loaded like this, it's as bad as over loading nylon.
In reply to Post #9
Agree 100%, spools overfilled.
Might look good but nothing but trouble.
You end up with coils bring lifted that wrap round eyes hence the crack offs
Even worse with thick mono
Agree 100%, spools overfilled.
Might look good but nothing but trouble.
You end up with coils bring lifted that wrap round eyes hence the crack offs
Even worse with thick mono
In reply to Post #8
You're on the money with that one, although reeling in well.after using the sticks it's happened. Right pain in the jaxy.
You're on the money with that one, although reeling in well.after using the sticks it's happened. Right pain in the jaxy.
In reply to Post #9
Under spooled, ever so slightly over spooled, same gig Vossy. Spomb have had £150 from me pretty much so far since lockdown ended 😔
Under spooled, ever so slightly over spooled, same gig Vossy. Spomb have had £150 from me pretty much so far since lockdown ended 😔
In reply to Post #12
Please don't take this the wrong way but just by reading that reply says you don't have much experiencd with braid. Over so slightly or even with spool lip, something you never do with casting braid ime.
Under spooling can get crack offs, usually because line/braid is leaving the spool faster than its being pulled off, but slack retrieve wont help. For retrieve you could trap the line above the reel on the rod rather than rely on the weight of the spomb. Ime the spomb skipping on the surface leads to uneven tension.
I had unexplained crack offs casting into a strong head wind once, it was put to me that the initial momentum of the spod was quickly tempered and it didnt translate to the speed of the braid coming off the reel. On several occasions it was preceeded with wind knots.
I've also seen mention of spool size to 1st ring size/ ring spacing adding to the issue, though I'm not buying into the ring size one, but you never know.
Edit, post a pic of your reel, your idea of under spooling may not be the same as others
Please don't take this the wrong way but just by reading that reply says you don't have much experiencd with braid. Over so slightly or even with spool lip, something you never do with casting braid ime.
Under spooling can get crack offs, usually because line/braid is leaving the spool faster than its being pulled off, but slack retrieve wont help. For retrieve you could trap the line above the reel on the rod rather than rely on the weight of the spomb. Ime the spomb skipping on the surface leads to uneven tension.
I had unexplained crack offs casting into a strong head wind once, it was put to me that the initial momentum of the spod was quickly tempered and it didnt translate to the speed of the braid coming off the reel. On several occasions it was preceeded with wind knots.
I've also seen mention of spool size to 1st ring size/ ring spacing adding to the issue, though I'm not buying into the ring size one, but you never know.
Edit, post a pic of your reel, your idea of under spooling may not be the same as others
In reply to Post #13
Oh, no offense taken.
If you read my initial post, I did mention that I've been trapping the line which has reduced the crack off's 👍
Nah, I wouldn't say I was massively experienced with braid, never really liked it. Dead handy for casting decent distances mind.
Can't post pics as I've got no account to post them from even if I wanted to.
Oh, no offense taken.
If you read my initial post, I did mention that I've been trapping the line which has reduced the crack off's 👍
Nah, I wouldn't say I was massively experienced with braid, never really liked it. Dead handy for casting decent distances mind.
Can't post pics as I've got no account to post them from even if I wanted to.
In reply to Post #14
Re the pics try imgbb, found it o.k so far as its free but I don't upload many. My braid reel hasnt seen use for a very long while (years
). I'll post a pic tomorrow if I can find it!
Re the pics try imgbb, found it o.k so far as its free but I don't upload many. My braid reel hasnt seen use for a very long while (years
). I'll post a pic tomorrow if I can find it!
In reply to Post #6
No problem mate
I use 50lb Berkeley whiplash straight through but like I said underneath I try not let the braid go out it cracks off easier then
No problem mate
I use 50lb Berkeley whiplash straight through but like I said underneath I try not let the braid go out it cracks off easier then
In reply to Post #12
Much cheaper to buy a spare spool and put a casting mono with an armacord leader on TC. If the wind gets up use the mono spool. I'd go for a spod everytime in a strong head/cross wind with mono rather than spomb and heavy braid. Try to blast it at a lower trajectory under the wind if possible with braid.
Much cheaper to buy a spare spool and put a casting mono with an armacord leader on TC. If the wind gets up use the mono spool. I'd go for a spod everytime in a strong head/cross wind with mono rather than spomb and heavy braid. Try to blast it at a lower trajectory under the wind if possible with braid.
In reply to Post #7
I don't get twist with mono, that may be because I use a Snap swivel to attach the spod, or Spomb rather than just a quick link
I don't get twist with mono, that may be because I use a Snap swivel to attach the spod, or Spomb rather than just a quick link
In reply to Post #12
That's pretty extreme mate, something is going badly wrong.
I remember a high speed video fuji showed when advertising the k series guides, the coils coming off the spool actually travel beyond the first guide before being pulled through, it's easy to see how a small amount of slack can cause a big problem.
It is all about slack, whether that's loose coils on the spool from skipping a spomb across the surface, gripping the line to the rod rather than the spool lip, or not stopping the rod at the right time so the tip bounce pulls the braid off faster than it can pull through(same deal if the rod is overloaded and the tip over-recovers)
As I mentioned before, I always cracked off immediately after the leader, I felt the knot was partly to blame, either catching the layer below on the spool or during the overlap at the butt ring as mentioned previously. I found 20lb whiplash horrendous for it, 30lb was a bit better, but using 58lb j braid for the past year straight through has been great, probably costs a bit of distance but that hasn't bothered me, its just so easy to manage
That's pretty extreme mate, something is going badly wrong.
I remember a high speed video fuji showed when advertising the k series guides, the coils coming off the spool actually travel beyond the first guide before being pulled through, it's easy to see how a small amount of slack can cause a big problem.
It is all about slack, whether that's loose coils on the spool from skipping a spomb across the surface, gripping the line to the rod rather than the spool lip, or not stopping the rod at the right time so the tip bounce pulls the braid off faster than it can pull through(same deal if the rod is overloaded and the tip over-recovers)
As I mentioned before, I always cracked off immediately after the leader, I felt the knot was partly to blame, either catching the layer below on the spool or during the overlap at the butt ring as mentioned previously. I found 20lb whiplash horrendous for it, 30lb was a bit better, but using 58lb j braid for the past year straight through has been great, probably costs a bit of distance but that hasn't bothered me, its just so easy to manage
In reply to Post #19
As soon as you step up to higher performance the margin for error is smaller. Fast rods and fine lines need good technique, people would probably cast further and more comfortably with something that compresses more progressively with various loads and line that creates enough drag by its diameter off the spool to negate poor timing
It's all well and good TE can cast furthest with fine lines and big ‘resistance free' guides, the difference is he can create the lead/spod/spomb speed to continually pull the line from the spool rather than it dumping its guts into the first guide at about 40 yards.
As soon as you step up to higher performance the margin for error is smaller. Fast rods and fine lines need good technique, people would probably cast further and more comfortably with something that compresses more progressively with various loads and line that creates enough drag by its diameter off the spool to negate poor timingIt's all well and good TE can cast furthest with fine lines and big ‘resistance free' guides, the difference is he can create the lead/spod/spomb speed to continually pull the line from the spool rather than it dumping its guts into the first guide at about 40 yards.
In reply to Post #19
Interesting what you posted there. I was getting some horrendous crack offs with a marker but not the spod. The difference was that I was using a thicker and heavier leader (not stronger) on the marker to aid the anti tangle properties. What I found was happening was that the much lighter braid was trying to overtake the heavier braid and causing disasters. Changing to a lighter but still very strong braided leader significantly changed the outcome.
Interesting what you posted there. I was getting some horrendous crack offs with a marker but not the spod. The difference was that I was using a thicker and heavier leader (not stronger) on the marker to aid the anti tangle properties. What I found was happening was that the much lighter braid was trying to overtake the heavier braid and causing disasters. Changing to a lighter but still very strong braided leader significantly changed the outcome.
In reply to Post #21
I definitely feel there is a balance that has to be struck between the braid and leader. I may be wrong but I think the thicker material will come off in larger coils due to the stiffness, then the smaller coils of more supple braid cause a bit of congestion at the butt eye and the knot gets trapped.
I tried tapered mono leaders for a while with both 20lb and 30lb whiplash, that didn't work very well either
I was also getting more frap ups with the 13ft xt spods with 50mm butt's than with my greys spod with 40mm butt, I think, and as noj said previously, the higher performance rods are much more critical of your technique. on The water I bought the fox rods for, I was usually fishing at ranges at or over the limits of my ability tbh which wouldn't help matters. It'd probably take me three weeks of practicing every day to hit those distances now
I definitely feel there is a balance that has to be struck between the braid and leader. I may be wrong but I think the thicker material will come off in larger coils due to the stiffness, then the smaller coils of more supple braid cause a bit of congestion at the butt eye and the knot gets trapped.
I tried tapered mono leaders for a while with both 20lb and 30lb whiplash, that didn't work very well either
I was also getting more frap ups with the 13ft xt spods with 50mm butt's than with my greys spod with 40mm butt, I think, and as noj said previously, the higher performance rods are much more critical of your technique. on The water I bought the fox rods for, I was usually fishing at ranges at or over the limits of my ability tbh which wouldn't help matters. It'd probably take me three weeks of practicing every day to hit those distances now
In reply to Post #22
Some of it's caused by the rods tip “wobbling” on recovery causing the line to speed up and slow down. Smoother casting style helps, “off the ground” methods work well if going for real range as it's a gradual build up of load on the rod.....
Don't overfill spools, keep line tight (or at least consistent) on retrieve and don't snatch at the cast.
Some of it's caused by the rods tip “wobbling” on recovery causing the line to speed up and slow down. Smoother casting style helps, “off the ground” methods work well if going for real range as it's a gradual build up of load on the rod.....
Don't overfill spools, keep line tight (or at least consistent) on retrieve and don't snatch at the cast.
In reply to Post #1
I have heard that thin dia braids (for long distances) when used for short distances can cause crackoffs?
I have heard that thin dia braids (for long distances) when used for short distances can cause crackoffs?
Reading ALL pages