Braid Problem..

hey,
so I've moved from the sea for the time being and gone back to Pike fishing, mainly dead baits, but have an awful problem with the braid im using..
its Ultracast Invisi.braid 18.1 kg and .17mm diameter. i have it set up with a mono backing then some insulating tape with the braid over that
(using insulation tape as the braid is so thin it might dig into the mono)
the problem i'm having is constant knots, every 4 or 5 casts,after getting the knots out sometimes i get crack offs:( i'm using a ledger rig mostly,sometimes a float setup and rarely a spinner..but either way it knots up and its usually about 10 to 20 feet up the mainline, i'm pretty much going to give up on this line as i've never had this problem with any other line,braid or mono
just wondering if anyone has had this problem, or anyone know whats causing it?
thanks

Please Please stop using the braid If as you say your getting snapoff's on ANY CASTS AT ALL Just think how much damage you are doing to the pike that comes a long and picks up the dead bait with the trace still attached. Chance's are the pike will starve with its throat stitched up with the trebles . Have seen it way to many times Now you don't say what knots you are using but the Palomar is good. http://www.animatedknots.com/palomar/in ... dknots.com
From what your saying it sounds like the braid is getting wind knots and they may be catching on a ring as you cast. Is there a whole bunch off line wrapped a round the spool or a rod ring? If so try under filling the reel spool by 3/4mm. If just snapping off the line could have a some damage or try upping the diameter. I'm using 25kg braid and no problems at all over clean ground and if rocks/mussels are about would stick with a good mono of 18/20lb.

no need for braid when pike fishing , I've alwaysed used mono and if Im working a drift float i just grease the line so it floats . If I'm static fishing i either use a sliding float for bite detection or alarms . When you hook into a pike there's no doubt about it. Only use braid for spinning or trolling

wind knots methinks

As you mention it might be the type of braid you are using. I would try underfilling the spool slightly as suggested. I use power pro 30lb for pike fishing, and have never had a problem.

Kev

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tFe8TFAe_oE

and put a few swivels up your line, dead baits probally twisting your line in the water braid does not like to be twisted.

cheers lads,
I'm familiar with using braid on my spinning tackle and rarely get wind knots(touch wood), it just seems to be this line and this reel, i didn't think i had it so filled up but maybe that is the cause, i have the same line on another setup mainly for a float and it is less under filled alright and doesn't give much problems(i think)
also I'm not too keen on losing tackle or leaving dead baits out with hooks in them, I've gone in after expensive lures before:)
i mainly use a uni-knot or grinner,sometimes a Palomar for single hooks, to give an example the last day i was out i got a wind knot and unraveled it, 2 casts later it bunched on the first ring and cracked off (i was able to rig a lure and get the float and dead bait back).
I've only been using braid for a year but favor it for bite detection and playing a fish...
thanks again for the input:)

just out of interest what reels are3 you using? I use braid for spinning and coarse but recently killed my spinning reel so 'borrowed' one from my son and put my braid on it. Had nothing but trouble with wind knots since I swapped reels.

i've a Wychwood rage 50 & 60 on the two deadbaiting rods and Hiro vrad with 25lbs braid for spinning coarse or saltwater, decent reels i've enjoyed using and no problems with before.
i took some line off the possibly overfilled reel and the line even looks less bunched up now,hopefully that'll fix it

i did suffer with this problem when i first started using braid i was using very thin spiderwire ,i now use 20 or 30 lb on fixed and multies and havnt had any prob ,i did fill a reel with 8 lb mono during the summer and had terrible prob with wind knots and twisting i put it down to the brand of mono + diameter of the line ,i use 20lb briad on a fixed spool for bait fishing in the surf and have never had a prob ,normally power pro or spiderwire code red.