The beginning of a bad wind knot often times starts with a loop that gets buried under your line on the retrieve. In the past we have discussed the easiest way to eliminate that is by closing the bail by hand and giving a slight pull on the line to insure it is sitting on the roller. You can watch the video on How to Prevent Wind Knots here.
But what happens when you find a big loop or when your line gets tangled at the reel because it caught a loop and has pulled that loop out causing a mess? If you try to gently pull the braid off your reel it will continue to twist around the loop and the mess just keeps getting worse.
Here's a trick that our friend, Paul Van Reenen from Unfair Lures showed me on a trip last year. Simply loosen the drag all the way, open the bail, and instead of pulling your line off the end of the spool, pull it to the side! You will do this until you reach the loop and it will unwind itself with no tangles at all. Then just tighten your drag back down and you're back to fishing!
Treasure Coast Tackle