I am throwing a Whopper Plopper on braid and making ridiculously long casts. The bad thing, about once every 2 weeks I zing the plug and it smashes down into the water after about 20 yards and I get a backlash (or really just the line dug way down into the spool) and there is simply no way to get it out. I even tried digging the line out with an automotive pick. Any ideas besides not casting the thing 40 yards or so? I need to make long casts where I am fishing. I am about to cut the line out (again) and respool.

You're gonna think I'm pulling your leg but I'm not. Pull on it really hard.

I've had quite a few backlashes with braid that I couldn't get out with the pick. In frustration, I'd grab hold of the line and rip it loose. Holding my rod in my right hand, reel disengaged, I wrap the line around my left hand and pull straight away from the spool. Works about 65% of the time. If not, get the scissors! I don't recommend using anything mechanical to increase your leverage as this could bend the spool.

I will get a backlash on braid sometimes when I'm throwing a larger bait long distances. My best advice is to use a Medium Heavy rod with a Moderate Fast tip. This gives plenty of bend in the rod so the rod will help "cast" the bait instead of using your arms to cast the bait with a stiffer rod. Seems to throw it a bit higher so you still get the distance you need but with less line speed coming off the reel which is causing your backlash. JMO

I am sort of a knot nerd and I think I know why the technique fouzman and others recommend works . . . some or most of the time.

Technically, it is because when the line piles up on the spool in a bird nest, there is no "working end" on the line where it passes through other lines and creates real knots. So, what happens is the loose coils of line form "bights" in the line. A bight is the technical term for a loop of line or rope "as distinct from the rope's ends." All sorts of knots use bights as part of the tying process.

These bights pass through each other and when the slack is taken out, you have formed a whole lot of slip knots.

So, back to the issue: what you really end up with is a lot of "slip knots" of a sort. As you pull, some usually "slip" apart and you can feel the line give way and come out for a few inches, then it locks up again, you pull again, pray, then another few turns slip apart.

The deal about messing with your tension knob and pressing down with your thumb, I think isolates the slip knot closest to the end of the mess. If you just rear back and pull really hard, it can just really tighten down the knots more internal to the mess.

I guess an analogy here would be the two bights we form tying our shoelaces. They hold fast but we can pull them apart.

But, there are two of them . . . a bird nest may have dozens.

Brad

I actually tried to pull hard and it started to cut the [censored] out of the hand. I will put on some gloves and tug on it before I cut it out.

I am throwing it on a 7'6" MH rod with plenty of tip. I think I probably put a little too much power into it on occasion.

What size braid are you using? I am assuming you are throwing the 130 size plopper. I would use 50# or 65# braid. It doesn't backlash as bad and will cast the larger lure more effectively. If you are using 30# braid it's more likely going to give you more problems. Also, you may need to do more of lob style cast. If you rare back and fling too hard is seems like the spool really accelerates instantly and creates the backlash.

I've gotten every backlash with braid out. Just have to keep pulling the overlapping line and it will eventually come.

130 size and yes.. 65 lb. Thanks for the help. I appreciate it.

Dude, this worked!!! I put on a pair of mechanics gloves and on the second hard pull it came free and is good to go. Thanks for the help.

Fouz is the man!

This also explains why reeling into the birds nest will clear it as well, it uses the reel against itself as that tension....

Actually, you don't have to mess with the tension...just crank the drag down as tight as it will go, and then reel with your thumb nail digging into the spool. This works about 90% of the time for me, on fluoro or mono, anyway...haven't tried it on braid, I can usually either pull or pick it out. And don't forget to back the drag off again after you get the bird's nest out.

Great information here.

You are throwing it too hard and the spool is spinning faster than the whopper plopper is taking out line and you get a back lash. Try casting a lot easier, you will still get plenty distance on your cast. Lob it like a Carolina rig or learn to lightly thumb the spool during your cast.

tighten the spool tension up some it'll prevent it from backlashing in the future.