Most anglers probably already know how vital fishing line is when engaging in their favorite sport. Since your fishing line is the first item that connects you to the fish you are trying to catch, having an imperfection in your fishing line can make the difference between landing your fish and winding up with a disappointing day.
Why does fishing line keep breaking? Fishing line usually breaks because new anglers don’t understand how to maintain their lines properly, or because of neglect. If you don’t take proper care of your line, it can break because you:
- Missed an eyelet
- Strapped your lures too tight
- Created a “bird’s nest” on your reel
- Are tying knots too quickly
- Not retying often enough
- Not changing enough
- Storing the line in light
To help you understand how you can avoid breaking your fishing line, we’ll cover how you can avoid line breaks, and then we’ll cover the seven ways fishing lines break so that you can keep an eye out and prevent them in the future. Below we’ll start by telling you how to avoid line breaks.
Why Fishing Line Keeps Breaking
Anglers that know how to take care of their fishing lines still often break them. Why is this? Because anglers get busy and caught up in the action. So, it’s not always laziness, but oversights because of the busy work that can cause line breaks.
But, if you get caught up in action and wind up rushing around to catch a fish, you may not be constantly thinking about the condition of your line. However, not considering your line because you are rushing can do a lot of damage, causing you to lose the fish if you aren’t careful.
When you have a fish on your line, it can be very disappointing to experience a line break. However, if you do, don’t give up. If your fishing line keeps breaking, it’s an easy issue to address. We’ll cover a few steps you can use below to help you look after your fishing line and use a balanced set-up. That way, you’ll be able to lessen the issue of breaking your fishing line.
Check Your Line for Damage
One thing you can do is form a habit of not checking your line out carefully before every fishing trip you take. Remember, natural light damages the nylon in your fishing line as time passes. So, it’s a good idea to keep your fishing line inside where it’s dark, and the temperature isn’t too warm. By storing your line correctly, you’ll be able to make it last substantially longer.
To check your line for damage, you’ll need to feel the line over a few yards, and look for things like kinks or rough patches. If you wind up discovering any rough spots on your line, think about cutting your line above the issue, and then throwing out the rest of the line responsibly after you return home.
Or, you can cut the end of your line after every fishing outing. That way, you probably won’t wind up finding many flaws in your line, but you’ll still need to check your line before you fish each time.
Check Your Knots
Knowing how to tie knots correctly is an essential part of fishing. However, you’ll need to keep in mind that each time you tie a knot into nylon, that nylon will get weaker. So, another reason why the fishing line often breaks has to do with the line breaking on the knot. To avoid this issue, you’ll need to know a thing or two about the types of knots you should be using.
On a nylon fishing line, the worst type of knot you can use is the overhand knot since it damages the fishing line, so it’s best to avoid this knot at all costs, even when you are making loops. The best way to tell the types of knots you should be making on your line is to read up on your fishing line manufacturer. Most manufacturers of fishing lines will recommend to you the types of knots you should use for their particular lines.
If you use the monofilament line, then you know that this type of line takes in water and saturates after being in the water for a couple of hours. After your monofilament line becomes saturated, it feels softer, but your line is also about 15% weaker. On the other hand, fluorocarbon isn’t affected by water, so that type of line won’t weaken no matter how long it’s been in the water.
Check Your Balance
Most experienced anglers know that balance is vital when it comes to fishing. You need to make sure your line, reel, and the rod has everything attached, and that your line is balanced. To do this correctly, you’ll need to make sure you purchase a rod that will work for the type of fishing you plan on doing. Start by searching around on manufacturer’s websites to figure out the kind of line strengths you’ll need for your rod and the type of fishing you’ll plan to do.
One guideline you can use is to utilize about five times the rod’s test curve in pounds, and then use that to find the best line in pounds. Most rods nowadays can work with a line strength ranging anywhere from two times to up to eight times the test curve on the rod. After you’ve done your research and you know what your rod can withstand, you’ll be able to find an excellent reel to get the job done.
Now, you’ll need to set the draft of your reels clutch. One way you can do this is by using a spring balance to figure out how much force will be required for the clutch to slip. Many anglers like a clutch slip at the reel that measures about 25% of the line strength. Or, you can hook your rod onto something to pull the rod at the right angles if you wish. After the rod is bent about 90 degrees, you should be able to get the clutch right on it.
Another thing you’ll need to check when you are trying to avoid fishing line breaks is the tackle you are using. If you are using the right type of tackle, you will experience far fewer line breaks. Depending on the type of species you are fishing for, you’re going to need to vary things up a bit. For example, if you are fishing for catfish or carp with a 15lb line on your rod, you should consider putting the reels clutch to 5lb. If you’re fishing for something like roach or perch, a 2lb line will work with a clutch or around 8 oz.
Whenever you are opting to go for a larger fish, you’ll need to use stronger, better tackle and change your approach. So, each time you shop for a different type of fish, you’re going to need a new rod and reel as well as tackle. At this stage, you should talk to the owner of your angling shop about the best types of rods and reels for the particular kind of fish you are trying to catch.
Check Your Clutch
I have a particular approach I like to use it with my clutch each time I fish, and no matter what type of fish I am trying to catch. I typically keep my clutch set on low. That way, if I wind up with a larger fish than what I was aiming for, I let the fish run itself down to exhaustion, and then I reel it in.
If I feel the fish is going to create some danger, I can still control it by increasing the drag on the line from the clutch using one of my hands and spooling. I have noticed since using this tactic, and I lose fewer hook pulls.
Top 7 Ways Fishing Line Breaks
Now that you know what to look for and how you can avoid breaking your fishing line, we’ll cover the top seven ways fishing line breaks so that you can prevent these issues in the future. Below we’ll address the most common reasons why your fishing line breaks when you are out on the water.
#1: Missed Eyelet
Even though this sounds like an elementary mistake to avoid, it’s one of the most common ones because of micro guides. Micro guides help, but what we often find is tiny spaces between the frame and the eyelet you are using. Plus, the eyelet itself is quite small, so it isn’t the easiest thing to work with initially.
So, if you use a micro guide, you’d be surprised about how easy it is to misplace your line and have it between the frame and the eyelet rather than placing the line through the eyelet. If you wind up scraping the sharp edges of those frames against your line, your line will wind up getting damaged more easily. And not surprisingly, that will lead to more line breaks.
#2: Lures are Too Tight
Many expert anglers enjoy using hook hangers on their rods because it makes it easy to hang and store your rod with baits still on the line. While hook hangers do provide new ways to store fishing rods, they also put rods at a disadvantage. Rods stored using hanger hooks often get significant kinks in their fishing lines. So, why, exactly, is that a problem?
Most likely, the lure on the rod is attached to the reel as tightly as it possibly can be, which is more than likely too tight. If the lure is too tight, the top eyelet will wind up being pinched and grooving your line when you store it. That means the longer you store your rod, the worse that kink in the line will become, and the weaker your line will be.
How do you resolve this issue? All you need to do is avoid tightening down the lure so much. Also, since most anglers use Rod Gloves nowadays, they don’t need to tighten everything down as tightly when storing their rods. So, consider getting some Rod Gloves to help you save your lure correctly.
#3 Crazy Bird’s Nests
Every angler, at some point or another, has had to deal with a crazy bird’s nest in their line. While it’s not a significant issue, if you wind up picking at it and trying to untangle it, you’ll push the line into points and crease them, which can create several weak spots on the line. You’ll also have problems getting the line on track since bird’s nests make it more challenging to use the line guide. So, you’ll have backlash issues.
Most reels can handle different types of backlashes, but over the years, we’ve found the best tool to control a backlash is your thumb. Allowing the reel to handle the line most of the time is what usually causes the occasional backlash. If you experience that from time to time, take some time to train your thumb so you can detect changes in the wind when casting.
#4 Tying Knots Too Quickly
Another common issue we see when a fishing line breaks is an angler that is tying knots too quickly. Tying knots too rapidly and not paying attention to everything you should be doing is one of the primary causes of fishing lines breaking. When in the heat of the moment, we often get in a hurry to use a new lure. When hurrying, we might skip a few steps, like wetting the knot. If you don’t moisten the knot, it will create too much friction when up against the line, and that can break the line.
So, pay attention to your knots when you are tying, and don’t rush them, even when you are in the heat of the moment fishing. While we understand that this can be hard and difficult to accomplish at first, with time, you’ll get used to it. It’s also a good idea to twist and overlap your knots when you tie them. Try tying your knots in ways that help avoid friction, and you’ll break your line far less often.
#5 Not Retying When Appropriate
Another thing many anglers forget to do when they are caught up in the heat of the moment and busy fishing is retying when appropriate. For some reason, many of us get so focused we want to keep casting over and over again, and we start forgetting to check our line. If you aren’t checking your line as you are casting, you might wind up into a significant problem when the big fish are trying to bite.
Larger fish tend to dive a lot deeper after taking a lure in their mouths, and that means your line can rub on more of their teeth over a more extended period. If your line breaks after you’ve hooked the fish, you’ve just lost your fish. So, you can see why it is essential to check your line and retie it when you need to.
You can quickly check your line by pinching it between your fingers. Feel it up and down the line and look for stress spots in the line. If you find them, recut the line and get rid of the stress spots, and then dispose appropriately of your extra line.
#6 Not Changing When Appropriate
You can probably see how anglers are forgetting to change their lines when appropriate, which is another heat of the moment issue. While it certainly can be, when you get busy and caught up with your fish, keep in mind that you will need to change your line from time to time. The fishing line has a shelf life. And, the cheaper the fishing line you purchase, the more often you’ll need to buy it.
If you prefer to purchase more advanced lines like a braid, then you won’t need to change your line out as often as you would if you are buying fluorocarbon and monofilament line. Also, the climate you live in, and the temperature outside can affect how long your fishing line lasts. Sunlight can cause a fishing line to degrade. So, after some time, it will become necessary to change your line.
#7 Storing the Line in Light
We mentioned above how sunlight and heat can slowly degrade your fishing line. Even light from lamps inside of your house can cause harm to your fishing line. So, when you store your fishing line in your home, you want to keep it in a cold, dark place.
Final Thoughts
Now that you understand how to check your fishing line so that you can avoid line breaks and the top seven reasons why fishing line can break, you should be able to care for your fishing line appropriately. Since your fishing line is the one thing connecting you to your fish, you’ll want to maintain it correctly to enjoy your most successful fishing experiences. If you notice your line isn’t behaving appropriately, then it may be time for a change. Now that you know that, it’s time to get out there and get some fishing accomplished!