u/Ashamed-Pangolin7868

Hey guys,

Due to some immigration issues, last month I had to leave the US and my job, so I’ll be out of the lab for about 6 months.

My background is in cell and molecular biology, and I’ve always worked on the wet-lab side. I took a bioinformatics course in college, but I’ve never used it in practice.

I’d like to use this time to learn some useful bioinformatics skills. Any suggestions on where to start or what would be most valuable to learn?

Also open to other ideas on how to spend these 6 months to become a better scientist/technician.

I need some help diagnosing a problem with my spinning setup because today I lost 3 minnows during casting.

My setup:
Rod: Sunset Atom 2.40 m 10–40 g (hard action)
Reel: Daiwa Crossfire 3000C
Braid: Sufix 4x PE 1.0 / 0.165 mm
Leader: 0.30 mm fluorocarbon
Lures: mostly 23–25 g minnows and metal jigs
The problem:
During hard casts I sometimes hear a “snap” sound and the lure flies away. When I recover the line, usually I only find the braid and the knot is completely gone. The braid near the end sometimes also looks slightly fuzzy/thinner.

I use mainly:
Yucatán knot
Albright knot

Important detail:

The leader knot does NOT go through the rod guides during casting. And I usually test the knot by pulling it and seems to hold. I have also practice at home with just the line and sometimes the braid gives up before the knot

I don’t think the fluorocarbon itself is breaking in the middle because usually the whole leader is gone. Could the knot be slipping/failing under casting shock? Or could braid digging into the spool cause this?