When casting lures it’s important to manage your line during the cast, doing so will improve casting performance and avoid line problems on and off the reel.

How to Manage Your Line

The road to improved line management and casting performance all begins with the initial cast. Casting your lure out, letting it land on the water, waiting, then closing your bail arm can causes problems, namely loose line wraps, hard top wraps, and unwanted braid knots. This can however be avoided by doing a few easy steps.

Stop It

This time cast your lure out, and just before the lure lands feather the line on the spool with your finger or close the bail arm. As the line goes tight lay it on the surface on water. This simple step straightens the line, eliminates there being a belly in the line, especially in windy conditions, and ensures the first few wraps of the line onto the reel aren’t loose, but tight.

This simple added step eliminates braid knots and loose and tight line wraps tangling with each other, improves casting performance and greatly enhances casting accuracy and control.

Meet Justin Duggan
Sydney Fly Fishing Tours Daiwa Pro Angler

Justin Duggan is a professional guide who specialises in Lure and Fly fishing with his business Sydney Flyfishing Tours. Justin has travelled the world fishing and is a leading angling educator and speaker with tens of thousands of hours fishing and teaching time under his belt. Justin is comfortable with all styles of fishing but is especially fond of chasing any species using lures and flies.