Did the bail close ? (make sure you cast with the roller guide on the "bottom" and not the "top" of the reel")
Cracked guide (super glue until it can be replaced)
Burr or rust on guide (use emory cloth until guide can be replaced, if necessary).
Bad knots (learn to tie better knots)
rubbing on spool (don't cast so hard, clean and polish the spool, look for and remove burrs)
Birds nests and line twist (put less line on the reel, don't cast so hard)
Shock leader knot gets caught up in first "gathering" guide (put on a guide with a "baffle" in the supports)
Using too small of a shock leader (don't cast so hard, use heavier higher "pound test" line for a shock leader).

When I snapped that plug off last year it was my fault. Braid got under the spool and I didn't notice it.

The main culprit for me has always been a cracked guide. Just the TINIEST chip will munch your braid.

Either that or I tried to reach Jamestown from Newport with a Danny plug. That would be the other common reason I snap plugs off...

old string ?

Always human error with me.....broke off a couple of jointed eels I made after catching nice fish and while unhooking, the line went around the tip and I went back down to cast without checking my line and "SNAP"! Stupid and careless......other was the occasional Penn bail closure....how many have had that happen? All conventional this season!:)

When you fall a sleep in the AM and your buds peel your line off, cut every 20 feet and spool it back on for the next nights fishing :wall:

Usually it's a teaser that grabs the rod on the backswing with the wind in your face... happened a few falls back with a Beachmaster cowboy... I almost cried...

Last fall fishing eels at Cuttyhunk had lost three fish in a row every time I set the hook the line would snap. I was blaming the line then after the 3rd fish I ran my finger around each guide and found a VERY small crack on the last one. Changed the reel to another rod and good for the rest of the night no more line snaps.

Snapping off plugs


Ok – I shouldn’t be telling you this because when someone snaps off a plug I could very well become a beneficiary by finding it. Today I’ll be a nice guy and relate a tip top problem that I figured out years ago – after unwittingly donating many plugs to the striper gods.

The Fuji tip tops that many of us use are surrounded by the metal frame of the tip top. The metal that surrounds the hardaloy ring tends to scratch and gets roughed up from abuse such as banging in the rocks, etc. Now when you cast your line at some point it may make contact, however slight, with the metal. This in itself may initiate a “snap off” if the metal is sharp. The abrasive metal ring may also weaken your line at its casting point over time. The metal may also weaken your line while fighting a fish that is close to where you’re standing. This happens because your rod at this point is somewhat vertical causing the line between you and fish to make contact with the metal. This is made worse when the fish takes some line and your rod tip is up causing your line to abrade under pressure.

If you notice after casting that your running line is “rough and abraded” at the casting point but your hardaloy ring is fine and not cracked check the metal. It does not take much of a rough surface to abrade your line.

I also can’t reiterate the importance of cutting back and re-tying every so often. This is especially important when regularly catching fish and when casting plugs like needlefish, poppers, etc, which put a tremendous strain on the running line between the rod tip and plug.

One more tip (pun intended), always use tip tops that have an extra large ring. They abrade line much less than tip tops with standard size rings.

Doing this will help you save plugs.

DZ

how about this:

get to beach just in time to see fish going crazy. quickly tie one on and let loose...

POW! oh yeah, i need to open the bail first, and why the hell is my drag crank down so tight?!?!?

or with my convench's...

i think the fish might be right by that sandbar/rip line/or other fishy looking place, just outside my normal casting distance.

i think if i put a little more into the cast i can reach there, ok here goes....buzz....reel starts to fluff a little, fluffs a little more, uh oh...

birds's nest, and POP!

mine are almost always human error.

Snapping off plugs


SNIPPED... One more tip (pun intended), always use tip tops that have an extra large ring. They abrade line much less than tip tops with standard size rings.

Doing this will help you save plugs.

DZ

I alway downsize my tip-top. Keeps the swivel out of it. I am NOTORIOUS for casting the swivel through the guide, busting out the ceramic insert.

I alway downsize my tip-top. Keeps the swivel out of it. I am NOTORIOUS for casting the swivel through the guide, busting out the ceramic insert.

I have done this SOOO many times. I want to try using a round bead after my swivel that WON't be able to fit through the tip eye.

The old "swivel through the tip". I hear ya, but generally I feel that swivel when it hits the tip. Plus I "know" when its getting close. Gotta have the "feel".

for me. im usually in a hurry to cast again and the bail flips.

always take care of your tip and guides. make sure that they arent cracked. i cracked it four times or so and lost a few plugs.

of pulling on my line......when in doubt....
especially, when your in low light conditions...
i'll grab my line in front of my reel and making
sure the lure rides effortlessly up and down
....and isn't tip fouled->Before i cast.