If I don't close the bail with the handle as I control the length of the cast I also do what you shared which is close my bail manually with my hand and I have developed the habit of pulling out the slack as I do. It amazes me at times how much slack can get in your line at the end of your cast.

Overfilling can cause loops too as the line gets off the spool and when you cast it will snarl up. Pretty simple to avoid by just not overfilling.

Another factor on loops is how tight your line is as you retrieve your lure. If you are throwing say a crank bait your line tends to be retrieved and stays tight on the spool. I rarely almost never have loops when fishing this way. But if you are retrieving a lure on a slack line -- think un-weighted worm -- the line is not coming in tight on the spool making loops much more likely. Perfect time for the manual-bail-close and pull out the slack method...

kc