Loosing heavy lures to bird's nests

[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.