How To Untangle Backlash On A Baitcaster (Quick & Easy Way)
- By: Tony Acevedo
- on
- Found In: Fishing Tips, Weekly Newsletter: 5-3-20
Birds nest…
Backlash…
Whatever you decide to call it, when your line gets tangled in your baitcasting reel, it’s incredibly frustrating.
It could cause you to have to cut out a bunch of line, waste a ton of precious time on the water, or even worse…
But in this video, I’m going to show you a simple tip for how to get your line untangled quickly, and without having to cut it.
You’ll also learn:
- what NOT to do when you get backlash
- how to avoid breaking your line
- what to do once you’ve untangled the line to keep it from happening again right away
See how to quickly untangle backlash in the video below.
How To Untangle Backlash [VIDEO]
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Before we get into how to untangle backlash, here’s what NOT to do: don’t pull hard on the line and make it tight.
That will just make it worse, and could even break your line if the knot is extra tight already.
Here’s how to untangle it:
- tighten down the drag
- put your thumb on the spool and apply pressure
- turn the handle slowly while applying pressure on the spool with your thumb, and run the knot underneath your thumb
- when the knot is untangled, clear the line from your reel
- apply pressure to the line above the reel by keeping it between your fingertips
- reel it back in while applying pressure to the line (this will make sure it doesn’t happen again right away)
Have any questions about untangling birds nests in your baitcaster?
Let us know down in the comments!
And if you know someone who’s always getting birds nests, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish every trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
I guess that I can now take my bait caster out of the closet.😊
Haha for sure!
I learned that trick about 30 years from Bill Dance at a tackle show and it worked great and sometimes you have to do it more than once to clear it. The other thing that helps to keep that from happening is the balance the lure on the reel with the knob on the side of your bait caster so that when the lure touches the ground the reel stops turning, most people don’t do that wither and that will cause a lot of bird nests and makes people stop using their bait caster.
Great tips Teresa! Yep it may take a few attempts and doesn’t always get it out, but it can definitely help in most cases.
Over 35 years of throwing bait casters and I’ve never seen that trick. Thanks for sharing! If I ever have one of those “professional overruns” or better yet WHEN I do, I’ll have to try that out.
Works wonders! Yes the key word is “when” haha. Just like falling out of a kayak. it’s a matter of “when”, not “if”.
I’m suprised it’s taken you this long to use a bait caster lol. I haven’t used them since my bass days. Are there any benefits to using them over spin gear?
I’m still figuring out the pros and cons as I have just started using one inshore. So far I have found that it is much quicker to re-cast and pitch a lure to a fish if sight fishing. Also casts really well if it’s dialed in properly. I’m not a fan of the backlash that can and will happen. Also not a fan of the silent drag. I need to hear that clicking!
The concept z from 13 fishing has drag and spool tension clicker. I almost bought that origin tx but found the z on eBay for just a couple bucks more. They make great reels