Thread: Question: Tangled Line

I spool my line on, then I take a walk pulling the line off reel, then pinching line between finger and thumb reel it back on. Do this a couple of times and it gets a lot of the twist out. The best way is get to the lake, while you are idling out, strip the bare line off the reels and let it trail behind the boat for a few minutes. It will absorb a little water and spin any twists out. Then reel back under tension and all that will go away. And remember on spinning reels don't crank under pressure with drag slipping that creates twist.

Originally Posted by Osnola

I respool my UL spinning reels and they work fine....after fishing with them for a little bit, the line gets knotted up and comes off in a "big ball"...I cut it off and if I keep the spool only about 1/2 filled, it seems to work ok. What am I doing wrong? I use pretty good line, Trilene, Stren, PLine, etc...

Bigger spool = better line management

A lot of UL reels have very tiny spools which can lead to problems. Filling the spool only half way makes it worse.

What reels are you using? The better the reel, the fewer line problems you will have.

The bigger question is ... what pound test are you using on the UL reels ?? Sometimes the spools are so small that even 4lb test line will give you problems.

One other thing that may be a factor ... throwing light weight baits. When you're reeling them back in there's not a whole lot of tension on the line as it's being wrapped around the reel spool. The line goes on loose, then after awhile it gets caught in itself when leaving the spool during the cast .... and, birdsnest !! Spinning reels with the "fast cast trigger" are also good at leaving a loose section of line on the spool, as the trigger has to be centered before the anti-reverse kicks in. Reels with "instant anti-reverse" are less likely to cause that problem.

Then there's the fact that many baits (esp jigs) have a tendency to spin when being cast, especially when using a wrist snap overhead casting motion. In those cases, you can try and make a more smooth casting motion, rather than the "cracking the whip" motion of the wrist snap cast.

I not only walk off empty line and reel it back on under finger/thumb pressure (as Cray suggests), but before doing that I tie the line off and walk off about 50-75ft and then pull the line taught & hold it for a few seconds ... repeating that for 2-3 times ... THEN cut it loose and reel it back on under pressure. This helps stretch the line, relaxing it and the coils that set in from being around the line spool and/or the reel spool. I've also done the "drag it behind the boat at idle speed" technique, which also works.

If you can remember to ... pulling up on the rod after closing the bail and before you start reeling will put tension on the line coming off the reel spool, and that can help keep the loose loops from forming under the line being put back on the reel (as you're reeling in your bait). That won't necessarily "stop" the birdnests, but it will delay them.

Try to stretch & untwist your line BEFORE you go fishing ... then keep watch on your line DURING the time you're fishing. When you start seeing your line looking like a corkscrew, or your jig spins after you take it out of the water (after awhile of casting) ... take the time to untwist the line again !! You'll get more fishing time, with less problems or line cutting, for the few minutes needed to get that line back straight and spooled on tight.

Give reel magic oil a try .spray your line every 5-6 trips works good for me

Agree on all the above.I also walk off my line,and tie a large barrel swivel on the end,then I tie the barrel swivel to something ( a tree,car bumper,porch rail,you get the picture .) I then keep a bit of tension on the line as I reel,walking toward the tie off.I use small reels and 4 lb test on nearly all my setups,this has worked very well for me.
One more bit of info,if you decide to try the barrel swivel technique,and you are already lured up,tie off your barrel swivel,and simply hook you lure into the barrels swivel,strip and re spool.

I use Shimano spinning reels (trigger release) with 8# Stren.....they come with 2 spools....one shallow, one deep......I use the deep spools....the only time I have the problem you describe is when I put too much line on the spool.....take some line off, problem solved.....a half filled spool never works good for me...line has difficulty coming off leaving you with a short cast....I also use the same reels with 50# braid for bass fishing.....

All spools have a powder on them, when you tie your line on the spool and flip it closed take a couple of sheets of damp paper towel and spool the line on with it going through the damp paper towel, this not only takes off the powder but it also helps stretch the line some.

Absolutely agree not to overfill the spool and I also attach the line to something and walk away from it and then reel the line back on again. It helps stretch it out a bit more.

You may also wish to soak the freshly lined spool in hot water, (faucet hot) after walking it out and reeling as it will help "remove" some of the "memory" in the mono.