Loosing heavy lures to bird's nests

[MichaelAngelo]

My go-to is spinning gear, but when my bail started having issues I had to grab my Revo SX today.  It was going great with 3/8 oz to 3/4 oz lures but as soon as I got up to the 1oz. lures I started having issues.  Bird's nests mid-cast causing my line to stop dead and breaking off my lure.  Happened twice before I packed it in.  

I hear so much about baitcasters being good for heavy lures.  Can anyone explain to this newbie how to adjust my reel for casting heavy lures?  I have my spool tension dialed in so that the lure falls slowly when I free spool.  I even had this happen when I feathered my thumb through the entire cast.  

Strange I was having no issues with the lighter lures but only when I switched to 1oz. started having this issue.  

[MuskieBait]

Heavier lure, more centrifugal force on the spool...adjust your centrifugal system. Depending on the reel, the centrifugal system may be magnets or they may be centrifugal brakes that you have to open the side plate to adjust. Beside magnets, the most common are these pins that you push out from an arrangement of pins set right beside the spool. As the spool spins, the pins will fly outward due to the centrifugal force and the pins then contact a metal rim on the side plate. The friction thus slows down the spool.

Your spool tension should be adjusted so that when your lure hits the ground (falling from shoulder height), you spool should stop spinning at the exact moment the lure contact ground. However, I find that the spool tension is too high and it cuts back on distance. After I get used to casting a certain reel, I tend not to use the spool tension knob too much and I use as little centrifugal brakes as possible and simply trust my thumb.

Another thing about birdnest...you are likely whipping too much on the cast. Try a smoother cast where the lure does not generate such a high inertia from the whip. Think about casting with the beach cannon. You are casting 5oz with little to no brakes...maybe just a bit of spool tension...yet, you don't birdnest as often because the casting motion is much smoother and the weight is accelerated more progressive...instead of that whip and snap on the cast that is common with shorter rod and whippy casts.

Also, use heavier lines so you don't snap off the lure on a mis-cast. Remember that 10lb per 1oz rule...it doesn't just apply to long rod casting.

[MichaelAngelo]

Thanks Ken that's a lot of great stuff to think about. The Revo SX uses magnets and your old Cardiff uses the pins.

I'll have to practice more fluid casts. I really do find it a challenge after using spinning gear for so long.

When I'm in the kayak there're other things around me like nets and other rods, so it's difficult to cast fluidly in different directions. I'll need to talk to the kayak guys about that, seems really tough but I've seen it done.

[MRQturbo]

which gen sx is it??....i have a third gen one that i could never get it dialed in to cast..constant overruns and birds nests with any lures that had any sort of resistance in the air....seems like i got a dud.....just collects dust now....i'll stick to shimanos from now on...

[OldTimer]

In addition to too much whip - perhaps too much over the top and resultant arc height as well, come down to the side more - more arm movement, less wrist snap.

[MuskieBait]

BTW...just want to say...and I'm sure OT will agree with this...

If you can cast a Penn Jigmaster, you can cast anything in the world. The Jigmaster has no fancy centrifugal control, and the spool tension knob on the side is somewhat helpful at best of time. I think you just need to practice more with your SX and know when to allow you spool to spin and when to slow it down.

I find that personally the two key times to slow the spool down is immediately after the release and just before the lure starts to descend. You shouldn't need to feather the spool throughout the entire cast since doing so will cut your distance a lot. However, if you wait until the lure just about to hit water to stop the spool, it may be a bit too late to slow the spool down at that point. The sudden deceleration simply put too much stress on the line at that time, especially with a high arc cast. I think you simply need more dry land practice to learn when and how much to feather your SX.

Every reel is different and it'll take some time to learn. When I first use the Komodo, it was birdnest almost every other cast even with the spool tension set and the centrifugal pins adjusted. But now I can basically reduce much of that built in control and simply use my thumb on the cast...and I rarely get a birdnest unless my line doesn't pack tight enough on the retrieve.

Oh...that reminds me...are you certain that your line packs tight and neat on every retrieve? If you have line that is not pack tightly, they will unravel unpredictably on the cast contributing to the birdnest.

[gr8tfish]

Until you get proficient at casting, you should always set the cast control knob where the bait drops on free spool and stops spinning when it hits the ground with no overrun. The break system should be on the higher side. This cuts down on distance but you won't get birdsnest unless you screw up the cast that is cast into the ground. Try side casting to reduce this. When you can make slight adjustments to loosen the brake system and then the cast control to where you will need to feather the spool. If you never feather the spool, you are likely not in the balance zone were it is just loose enough to cast far and tight enough to reduce birds nests. I personally think you have to have the spool overrun to get distance but feather it to reduce the birdsnest. Feathering will control distance on over casts also so to me you should always be feathering. Trial and error will help out and so will practice. You will find out what is most comfortable to you. I use bait casters for musky or chucking heavy baits or trolling. I love the drag and cranking power of baitcasters.