Winding Line

[Brian K. Shaffer]

Skeeter's got it nailed down right - it is the golden rule as far as I am concerned. I do the similar with fly line.. I learned it from a 1970's book and have stuck to it since.'

I will stand and let the leader go first with the current - then strip off all the flyline back to the leader knot on the spool. When you proceed to wind it back up - make sure not to allow any backing twisting and go slow and steady and really help the line lay flat as you reel.

This is the best way I have to found working with FLY LINE.

I am sure someone will step in with a so-called better way.. but hogwash!

screaming reels - Brian

[Al Agnew]

I missed this thread back when everybody was talking about it, so thought I'd put in a few thoughts now that I read it...

Nobody ever has much of a problem with putting line on baitcasting reels...as long as you have the line spool turning on a pencil or something with the line coming off the top of the spool and onto your reel, everything is fine. The problem is always with putting line on spinning reels. Why? Because spinning reels INHERENTLY twist line. Doesn't matter how you do it, you WILL be putting some twist in your line. Doing it the right way means LESS twist, not no twist.

Worst way...laying the spool flat but with the wrong side up. Next worst way...putting the spool on a pencil so it revolves. Best way...laying the spool flat with the right side up. So how do you figure which is the right side up? Not by just guessing and flipping it if the line starts to twist. Hold your reel up in front of your face with the rod pointing straight away from you. Turn the handle. See which way the line pickup is rotating. Most, but not all, reels, the line pickup rotates counterclockwise. Now, lay the spool on the ground so that the line comes off of it THE SAME WAY it is going onto the reel. That means that you will get the least amount of twist. But you'll still get SOME twist. Why? Because the reel spool is a much different diameter than the line spool. The bigger the difference, the more twist. The line is coming off the line spool with a twist for every coil that comes off, but as it goes on to the reel spool, that twist is being partially removed. If the line is coming off the line spool in the opposite direction from how it's going onto the reel spool, each coil coming off the line spool adds twist, and each coil going onto the reel spool adds MORE twist. Why does bringing line off a rotating spool give you more twist? Because it's coming off the spool with NO twist, but is getting a twist with every coil going onto the reel spool.

So...do it the best way, and THEN lay about two cast lengths out on the lawn and reel it back in under tension with nothing on the end of it. Or lay it out behind a moving boat. Or lay it out while standing at the top of a long riffle and let the current take out the residual twist.

You'll still get twist in the normal course of fishing. Rotating lures, reeling against a slipping drag, etc. The twist and the line memory both conspire to cause those nasty loops in the line when you close the bail at the end of a cast, which result in horrific tangles when you try to make the next cast. You can minimize them by closing the bail by hand or by pulling on the line by hand before starting to reel, or perhaps by just lifting up on the rod sharply before starting to reel...but geez, you can't always fish effectively if you have to do all that stuff.

Another option, and the one I use, is to not fish with monofilament on spinning reels. I use braided line (Power Pro) on my spinning reels. I go very light, 2 pound diameter 10 pound test Power Pro. This braided line twists just as much as mono, BUT it has no memory, and it's limp enough that the twist very seldom results in a loop in the line when the bail is closed. It almost COMPLETELY eliminates all the problems caused by line twist and line memory. Braid has its own drawbacks, but compared to monofilament it is almost trouble free on spinning reels.

[RSBreth]

I wasn't going to say what Al A just posted becuase it was maybe off topic, but it's true.

Use braid on your spinning reels.

If you don't like how visible the braid is, use a 8'-10' mono or fluorocarbon leader tied with back to back uni knots. Some guys use a blood knot but the uni works for me.

[WebFreeman]

I tried SpiderWire braid once and have trouble w/ it. I could keep it from spinning on the spool and it seems like knots were difficult. What's the secret?

Also, I've been think of making the switch to flourocarbon. It seems pretty mixed on the board between mono and flouro. What are the disadvantages of flouro?

[Wayne SW/MO]

To solve the problem of braid spinning on the spool, wrap the line across the spool one time. Take a piece of electrical tape about square, and put it across the line, using your fingernail to make sure it contacts the spool between the line wraps. When you wind over the tape, take some time and make sure the first few wraps are tight. I've always done this and never had a slip.

For knots I use the Palomar.

I haven't had much luck with Fluoro's on spinning gear because it seems stiff and prone to retain to much memory.

Like all lines, Fluorocarbon should fill a need. If you need a line that is abrasion resistant, has little stretch compared to mono and sinks rapidly, it can't be beat. If you need a thin line that is abrasion resistant but has some stretch, then something like P-Line CX works well. The list goes on.

[WebFreeman]

So what niche does braid fill? The spider wire I used was low-vis green, but it seemed really high vis in the clear water.

[Al Agnew]

Braid has two main advantages for use on spinning reels. The first is as I said before...it all but eliminates problems associated with line twist and memory. The other is that because it does not stretch, it is very sensitive. You can feel the bottom and feel subtle takes MUCH better with braid. A third thing that is often an advantage is that because it doesn't stretch, you can set hooks much more effectively with light action rods.

Braids also have disadvantages. They ARE more visible. Whether this is really important is debatable, but it's one reason why I use the 2/10 Power Pro rather than a heavier braid. It really is about the same diameter as 2 pound test mono, but it is opaque, so it is still a bit more visible. Braids also tend to fray when abraded, making them even more visible, even though it doesn't seem to weaken them much. They are also much more affected by wind than mono, and aren't real pleasant to fish on windy days when you're trying to fish something slow and deep. Their limpness makes them a bit more susceptible to wrapping around your rod tip when you get some slack line. And they flatten out when you tie a knot on a hook eye, and the thin diameter braids will actually slip through the gap in the eye of some hooks. I remedy this problem by tying a double palomar knot. And, you gotta have something sharp to cut them, because you can't break them and you can't bite them.

Thing is, even with all their disadvantages, I won't use anything else on spinning tackle, because I HATE the problems associated with line twist. I just live with the disadvantages.

I never liked Spiderwire. Don't like fused lines like Fireline. Power Pro is the best braided line I've found so far.