When To Respool

[TBO]

I have been reading a lot trying to gain more knowledge about my bait caster and my technique.  i just got a new abu garcia vengeance 6'6 MF.  this rod upgrade has helped me tremendously in casting.  the longer handle lets me cast way easier than the short one hand rod i had from bass pro.    i learned that when using braid on a bait caster to put it on as tight as possible to where you cant stick your finger nail between the line on the spool.  my question is. after fishing my line isn't that tight anymore from casting, so how often do you people re-spool the same line to keep it tight?    im pretty new to bait casters so any advice is greatly appreciated. also want to hear what methods and care everyone does 

 

 thanks for all the help and advice

[roadwarrior]

Cast out and hold the line firmly between your thumb and index finger during the retrieve.

That's tight enough!

 

 

 

[Catch and Grease]

Yeah I'm a little OCD about my line being neat and straight on my spool so sometimes I'll cast my lure out then strip of a few more yards of line and get it back on there tight and neat lol

[cottny27]

Me too on the line OCD.  That KVD line cond helps a lot with that.

[BassinLou]

Depending on what techniques you are using would I be concerned with how tight the braid is spooled back on to the spool. Heavier applications, the line will re-spool itself just fine when retrieved. Lighter applications, however the line will re-spool itself loosely. If your fishing the latter application you will have to be more conscious about what line is doing more often than usual and correct as needed. If your fishing heavier applications just fish, and periodically check how your line is doing. Besides... when you catch a nice bass,  all that tight line or loose line business goes out the window anyways.  

[TBO]

do you mean it depends on the weight of the lures i am throwing with it?? i generaly use my BC for swim baits or heavy baits like a arbogast buzz plug. but the other day i tied on a weedless hook and was using it to throw a 5" boot tail it casted fine IMO. but seemed to be loose line on the reel. i have smaller hands so palming the reel with line between my fingers while holding on to the rod was very uncomfortable for me, i felt like if i had a good bight it could easily yank the rod out of my hands. any pictures floating around that shows how to hold the BC, maybe i am just not holding it right?

[BassinLou]

do you mean it depends on the weight of the lures i am throwing with it??  i generaly use my BC for swim baits or heavy baits like a arbogast buzz plug.  but the other day i tied on a weedless hook and was using it to throw a 5" boot tail  it casted fine IMO.  but seemed to be loose line on the reel.  i have smaller hands so palming the reel with line between my fingers while holding on to the rod was very uncomfortable for me, i felt like if i had a good bight it could easily yank the rod out of my hands.    any pictures floating around that shows how to hold the BC,  maybe i am just not holding it right?   

I palm my reels, but then again i either have big hands or i like small reels one or the other.... lol!! The swim baits and arbogast have more than enough weight to just chuck and reel without a problem. Throwing the 5" boot tail, should be ok, just periodically check the line. Winding with the line between your fingers all the time sounds like a pita. Focus on your holding your reel right so that your ready when the big one hits. 

[kikstand454]

If you're that concerned about it, when you get home from a day of fishing, walk your spool of line out in your yard, clip it to the fence or a tree, and reel your self up. That will put it back tight.

That braid will last for at LEAST two years if you don't cut too much off when you fish. In general, you probably shoulda/ coulda put a backing layer of mono down and then a topshot of braid over that- then you wouldn't have "looseness" issues.

Just something to think about next time. "Next time" being when you get about halfway through THIS spool of braid- pull it all out across your yard, spool about 30yds of cheap 10# mono into your spool, then tie the OTHERSIDE of the braid to this mono and reel it up- essentially "flipping" the braid and now you have brand new line.