Why Does My Fishing Line Snap When I Cast?

Everyone once in awhile, and especially while fishing with braid, I’ve noticed that my fishing line snaps when I cast, and my lure flies off. This is extremely annoying as it often happens while I have a pricier fishing lure tied on.

As I wanted to stop this annoying circumstance, I started poking around online to determine what was causing my fishing line to snap when I cast, and how to stop it. I learned that there are a few potential culprits that could cause your fishing line to snap. (1) Your braided fishing line may be too light; (2) Your line might be digging in against itself on the spool; (3) There could be an issue with your line guides or other equipment; (4) Your knot might be weak; (5) Your line may be nicked from fish or abrasions; or (6) You might be overpowering your casts.

Let’s talk a bit about these potential issues and then how to address them.

You Might Be Using Too Light of Braid

This could be true for any kind of line but it is especially so for braid. Lighter braided fishing line is very susceptible to snapping off on a cast. One of braid’s main draws is that it is super sensitive, but this is because it doesn’t stretch at all. Accordingly, it has absolutely no shock resistance, so if it suddenly meets a point of resistance greater than its line strength, it can snap.

You might think that is a little crazy because as we all know braid is extremely powerful. I’ve dragged what seems like entire tree branches to the surface using it with little worry that it would snap. Yet if you ever try just jerking braid suddenly and with force, you’ll see that the lack of shock resistance can cause it to break fairly easily.

While braid is available in very thin diameter and light pound test, I am not a fan of using braid thinner than 20lb test on my spinning reels and 30lb test on my baitcasters. I find the thinner, lighter line is too susceptible to issues.

Your Fishing Line Might Be Digging In Against the Spool, Causing It to Snap

This issue goes hand in hand with using too light of line, and may be a prime reason your fishing line is snapping as you cast. Braid is very soft compared to monofilament or fluorocarbon lines. This is the reason why it falls limply after use and doesn’t retain a memory. While this is good in that respect, it also means that it can easily cut into itself while it is on the spool.

If this occurs, you have a situation where instead of having a hundred yards of line that can leave your spool on a cast, you might have ten. If you wind up for a powerful cast only to have ten yards to throw, you’ll hear a loud *snap* and your line can break.

This can be addressed in part by using heavier line that isn’t as thin and less likely to dig into the spool. However, your main way to combat this is to use a backing of monofilament. Attach it to your braid using the Double Uni Knot below:

Thinner braid, and especially the “slick” models advertised out there, are especially prone to digging into the spool. If you intend to use one of these products, you’ll want to use more mono backing because of this.

You can also purchase some fishing reels that come with “braid ready” spools. These have little rubber lines up and down them to act as backing and keep the braid secure. You can read about several reels that have them in this post.

Equipment Defects

Have you ever secured a hook to your rod when you were done using it by hooking it to a line guide? You may have damaged the guide. This is unfortunate, as a damaged line guide on your rod may be cause your line to snap and your lures to fly away into the abyss.

There’s an easy way to check for this. Just run a Q-Tip through your line guides. If you notice that cotton is being caught, it means you have some damage to repair. This isn’t the end of the world. First, your rod may be under warranty. Even if it isn’t, this is a good DIY repair job. Watch this video for some tips on how to do that. If you don’t have Q-Tips, you can also inspect your rod’s line guides visually, as I discussed in this post.

Although unlikely, it is also possible that your reel is defective, especially if you’re using a baitcaster. For example, your thumb bar may not be fully disengaged even though you heard a “click.” If you have this issue consider cleaning your reel and inspecting – perhaps a stray grain of sand has gotten somewhere it shouldn’t.

Your Knot May Have Failed

If you take a cast only to find that your lure snaps off, there is a chance that the problem was right at the knot. This is going to be simultaneously the weakest and most critical connection point you have. Ensure that your knot is tied on correctly and that you’re using a strong one to start with. As seen on this site, the Palomar Knot has good strength and is easy to tie.

Your Line Could Be Damaged

Your fishing line is snapping when you cast because it is damaged. This is going to happen over time (or if you do something silly, like try to bake it), which is why you should retie often throughout the day and spool on fresh line every so often, especially if you’re making many snap casts or placing a lot of stress on your line.

Your fishing line goes through a lot. It collides with weeds, rocks, sand, wood, and fish most times it hits the water. Over time this is going to cause it to weaken and be susceptible to snapping. Add the power of a cast into a mix, and it’s small wonder that occasionally your lure goes flying.

Braid starts off by looking like crisp and tidy rope. It is a uniform color, and very tightly wound. Yet look at some braid on your spool at the end of your season. What once was dark and smooth is likely light and frayed. Each little one of those frays is some fiber unraveling and breaking, and your line can only take so much before it snaps on a cast.

Your Fishing Line Could Have Gone Bad

Some types of fishing line last longer than others, and there are several factors that will affect how long it does. I recently wrote a detailed post about why old fishing line goes bad that you should check out. If your line keeps breaking when you cast, it is possible you need a fresh spool.

Overpowering Your Cast

If you don’t think any of the stuff discussed above is causing your fishing line to snap, there is a chance that you’re overpowering your cast. You want to be smooth when you cast and pick up speed in a graceful motion. If you just whip your line as fast as you can, bad things can happen. For starters, you might wrap your line around your rod tip, which would quickly break it. Take it easy – you don’t need to impress anyone!

Conclusions

There are few things as annoying as taking a cast only to have your line snap and your lure to fly away towards the heavens. It’s expensive, wasteful, and dangerous for this to happen. The six scenarios above are the most likely reason that it will occur, so to the extent that you can minimize their happening, you can cut down on this annoyance.

I hope you found this article helpful. If you did, consider joining my Facebook page so you’ll know when this blog is updated. I’ve been trying to find a good way to keep in touch with my audience and feel that Facebook is less intrusive than an email list (we all get enough emails)! I hope to meet you there soon!

Thanks,

John Paxton