Protecting Your Fingers From Braided Line

Casting braided line and even thin mono-filament can cut your finger to the bone, especially when you are constantly casting lures with hard or heavy casts.

Now you have braided line and you find out the hard way you need finger protection.  Braid can literally cut your finger to the bone if you try to cast it too hard like mono-filament. A loose drag will pull ine across your finger too. 
Even thin mono and wet fingers can get cut up, so what is the best protection?  If you know how to cast, using braid without protection is not always an issue, but if casting heavy lures or bait, then protection is a must.  Otherwise you could slice the end of your finger off.

There are several ways to protect your fingers from braid by using gloves designed for using braid to medical tape and the old trusty leather finger guard.  The joke online is to use electrical tape, it doesn’t work, and eventually gets sliced. It is also slick, and stiff which makes it difficult to hold the line.
  Hockey tape and medical tape are a favorite and cheaper to use.  Gloves work, but if you surf cast a lot that one finger will wear out quickly.  Then you are back to using tape, because you can always get another p[iece of tape, cheaper than a new glove.  The problem is most tape is not that flexible. The KT tape is very flexible.

KT tape is more expensive than medical tape or hockey tape, but the flexibility is amazing.  I can’t even tell I have tape on my casting finger.  The flexibility is perfect, you can bend your finger and not lose any circulation. 
KT tape is available in a single roll or cut up segments in a roll.  We cut that segment in half, it is all you need, about 3 to 4 wraps on your line finger.   KT Tape is available at all pharmacies, such as Rite aid or Walgreen’s, in the first aid section. It is also at Walmart.

Then is also the trusty finger guard you can get at most tackle shops near the register.  It is made from a piece of leather with a flexible material on it to slip onto your finger.  Kind of like a Chinese finger cuff, but it doesn’t stick to your finger.  It works great if you are just casting bait in the surf for setting your lines out.
  I would not try to use it if you are casting over and over again with lures.  You could do that, but you would have to tape it to your finger, there is that tape again. When you are bait casting there is ample time between casts, tape or gloves would be overkill.  This is an inexpensive way to cast without spending much money.

Fish On!
Rich King