Reel Issues

[jmt1980]

I've got a Quantum Smoke baitcaster that I've started having some issues with and I can't quite figure out what the problem is so I was hoping someone could help diagnose it...

Symptoms:

When I put alot of power into a cast (for a real long cast) I started having issues where the line would snap. The first few times I thought it was just frayed braid and trimmed back the line some to what felt like undamaged braid and kept fishing. It kept happening, so I initially thought it was a damaged rod guide so I moved it to another rod at the end of last season even though I could never identify a damaged rod guide. I went fishing Friday and the line snapped again. I realized that the braid was snapping at the reel and not in the guides. It's also snapping off 20-50ft of braid so it's not down near the lures where it should be the most beat up.

I'm kinda at a loss - has anyone experienced this? Am I putting to much a$$ into my cast? Any ideas?

[captmikestarrett]

Could be a the braid digging into the spool.
Do you have mono on the spool as a backing? I have seen where the direct tie to the spool will cause the entire wrap of line to slip around the center of the spool and cause a dig in the line thus locking up and breaking at the spool.
Or could be getting cut by the edge of the spool. If the line is loaded up to the edge of the spool I suspect the line is getting cut from the spool reel gap.
On some reels the end bushing gets pushed in on the side cap and spool will move left to right and the line will loop over the side of the spool.
These three scenarios have caused the same issue on customers reels on my boat.

Capt Mike

[bignose]

Bad level winding guide on the reel?

[jmt1980]

Thanks for the replies guys...

Capt Mike - I'll have to check the spool and keep an eye on that... It is braid directly to the spool (I ran out of mono to use as backing and was in a hurry). I've already re-spooled the reel so I may have to go get some mono and re-re-spool it just to verify. This option sounds the most viable cause though! Some days I'm the king of backlashes but I've never had issues with line jumping off the spool so I think I'm good on that...

Bignose - That was my first thought but I've inspected and re-inspected the winding guide and it's clean and smooth...

I did give the reel a deep clean/lube and I pulled a giant leaf chunk out of the line guide spindle and that may have played some small part... I didn't think it'd been that long since I cleaned that reel but I guess I need to step my game up.

Thanks again!

[ronaultmtd]

Smoke is an Ok casting reel...try cranking the anti-backlash controls up a notch or two..adjust spool tension...if you are using three year old braid- replace it...check your guides for any wear that could cut the braid...some cheaper less quality braid just casts lousy...never used a Smoke so hard for me to have a point of reference, but used baitcasters all my life....even the ancient ones...educated thumb is second nature for me...and casting into wind requires feathering the cast to prevent over run and a backlash...the spool accelerates in the beginning of the cast and after the initial release (in the very beginning of the cast), it has reached peak revolutions-the spool is turning faster than the lure/weight being cast is taking line out...that is when your spool tension/anti- backlash controls puts drag on the spool to prevent overruns and what you are experiencing...but thirty pound braid should not snap off as you are describing...sounds more like bad braid than backlash...are you getting big bird’s nest backlashes? Also you might consider tear down and a good cleaning of the reel to insure the anti backlash controls are clean and lubed to work correctly...

[bignose]

Another possibility: You could have some knock off, counterfeit line?
A lot of "Power Pro" and other braids sold via eBay and Amazon are cheap imitations.