Spooling A Spinning Reel

[smr_hga]

Ok i feel really stupid having to ask this but here goes... I need to spool up one of my spinning reels. I tried but the line went into a crazy birds nest as soon as i tried to cast. I tie on a slip knot and then crank the line on tightly like you're supposed to, absolutley no slack as it is reeled onto the reel. Despite my best efforts it always tangles up. What the heck am i doing wrong???

[MidwestF1sh]

 

[A-Jay]

Be sure to point your spool of line at your reel so that the line is coming off the spool (rotation wise) in the same direction that it is going onto the reel.

 

Also do not fill the reel spool all the way (meaning right up to the edge of the spool lip) - Leave at least  a 1/16 of an inch of reel spool unfilled.

 

If you fill it all the way - the line will soon spin off wildly and you'll be very sad.

 

Good Luck

 

A-Jay

[blckshirt98]

Also what kind of line are you spooling?  Fluoro is stiff and will bounce off on anything over say, 8lb test.  Mono you need to spool it correctly so it "curls"on the reel spool the same direction it was "curled" on the line spool.  If you overfil the spool it will always jump off.  If you spool with braid you should have almost none of these problems.

[WIGuide]

Like AJ said, you need to make sure that the line is coming off the spool the same way it's going onto the reel. Otherwise, you're just twisting the line as you put it on the reel. We all know twist + spinning reel = no good! All is not lost though since it's messed up. Go out in your boat, and dip you line in the water as you start idling and start stripping line off. Run it out behind the boat until you're down to the spool, reel it all up keeping the line tight and you're good to go. 

[gulfcaptain]

I'd agree, you spooled it backwards meaning the bulk spool was turned the opposite direction as the way you were trying to lay it on the reel..  Best way to spool a spinning reel.....take it to the tackle store, have them spool it on the machine.  Otherwise when you go to spool it, see what way the line lays on the spool (which way does it coil when it's slack....memory of the line coming off the spool.) you're using to fill your reel.  Should also let you know, spinning reels you need to lay the spool of line on it's side.  You can't fill the reel like you do with a casting reel.  Make sure the two are the same.  Start filling your reel, then stop about 20 turns in and see what the line does.....if it wants to come off the reel when you give the line slack, turn the spool of line over.

[gulfcaptain]

Be sure to point your spool of line at your reel so that the line is coming off the spool (rotation wise) in the same direction that it is going onto the reel.

 

Also do not fill the reel spool all the way (meaning right up to the edge of the spool lip) - Leave at least  a 1/16 of an inch of reel spool unfilled.

 

If you fill it all the way - the line will soon spin off wildly and you'll be very sad.

 

Good Luck

 

A-Jay

 

Sad?  I don't think sad is the right emotion when your line flys off the reel, tangles around the rotor, and is one big endless mess trying to go through the guides followed by a few explicit words.  Sad......no, sad is having to work when the weather is great and fishing is insanely good.....p'd is more of the emotion I was thinking....lol

[zeth]

#1) Youtube has good videos on how to spool line. There is a specific way this must be done.

#2) There is absolutely no reason to not use braid on a spinning reel and this will mitigate your problem. Then tie a leader of whatever line you want.

#3) Don't overfill.

[Fishes in trees]

You've done this to how many reels?  If you can untangle the birds nest, the line can be saved by dragging it behind your boat for a couple of minutes,   Remove all hardware and just drag it behind the boat.   Then it will behave when you re-spool it.   Are you filling it from a bulk spool or a filler spool?  That has made a difference for me from time to time.   What brand of reel is it?   Back in the 80's I had a Mitchell, one of the first ones that had the skirted spool.   That reel was a line eater and I never could get it to not eat line.

 

I had a Shimano that ate line once and it turned out that the replacement spool wasn't exactly the same as the original spool - my mistake, I shouldn't have listened to the highly trained workers in the reel section at BPS.    The next time I went to buy a spare spool I researched the numbers myself and compared the part numbers myself.

 

I hope your line eating reel is an installation issue and not a hardware issue.  Line eating reels can be frustrating.

[Fisher-O-men]

I'm always amazed at the repetitions in these posts.  Do you guys read the prior posts?

[MusicCityAngler]

" Back in the 80's I had a Mitchell, one of the first ones that had the skirted spool.   That reel was a line eater and I never could get it to not eat line."

 

On the older Mitchell 300s, the spool rotated the opposite way than the modern ones - clockwise instead of counter-clockwise.  I had some spooled at the tackle store, and they always put the line on backwards. 

[gulfcaptain]

" Back in the 80's I had a Mitchell, one of the first ones that had the skirted spool.   That reel was a line eater and I never could get it to not eat line."

 

On the older Mitchell 300s, the spool rotated the opposite way than the modern ones - clockwise instead of counter-clockwise.  I had some spooled at the tackle store, and they always put the line on backwards. 

 

And that is why you should always bring the whole reel into the store, not just the spool especially if it doesn't have any line on it as so the tackle salesperson can see what they are dealing with.....I stripped off brand new line off of one of those reels that were spooled backwards when I worked at a tackle store once or twice.  And yes, I was guilty of doing one of those fills, and after seeing the reel and which way it rotated I could spool it properly but an empty spool, no reel, and not knowing it went on the wrong way.....but it wasn't twisted.....lol  just backwards.  And respooled free of charge.

[BaitMonkey1984]

Be sure to point your spool of line at your reel so that the line is coming off the spool (rotation wise) in the same direction that it is going onto the reel.

 

Also do not fill the reel spool all the way (meaning right up to the edge of the spool lip) - Leave at least  a 1/16 of an inch of reel spool unfilled.

 

If you fill it all the way - the line will soon spin off wildly and you'll be very sad.

 

Good Luck

 

A-Jay

Once again AJ hits the nail on the head.  Either spooled the line in the wrong direction and/or overfilled the spool.

[WRB]

The simple method is lay the filler spool flat label up. Run the line through the guides with the reel on the rod.

Hold the rod and start spooling on line using very "light" pressure on the line with your other hand in back of the first large line guide.

Watch how the line is acting between the spool and rod tip, no twists or lops should occur. IF you see twist or loops stop spooling on the line and flip the filler spool over and continue, there shouldn't be any twist or loops forming.

If you use a pencile for a shaft so the spool is turning while you spool on line, the line for spinning reels should come off the bottom of the spool, not the top. Baitcasting reels the line comes off the top of the filler spool, not the bottom.

Don't over fill as suggested, about 1/16-1/8" below the spool rim.

If you have a boat you can fix twisted line by letting it out 75 yards behind the slowly moving boat for about 1/4 mile and wind the line back onto the reel...twist are gone!

Tom

[Raul]

The simple method is lay the filler spool flat label up. Run the line through the guides with the reel on the rod.

Hold the rod and start spooling on line using very "light" pressure on the line with your other hand in back of the first large line guide.

Watch how the line is acting between the spool and rod tip, no twists or lops should occur. IF you see twist or loops stop spooling on the line and flip the filler spool over and continue, there shouldn't be any twist or loops forming.

If you use a pencile for a shaft so the spool is turning while you spool on line, the line for spinning reels should come off the bottom of the spool, not the top. Baitcasting reels the line comes off the top of the filler spool, not the bottom.

Don't over fill as suggested, about 1/16-1/8" below the spool rim.

If you have a boat you can fix twisted line by letting it out 75 yards behind the slowly moving boat for about 1/4 mile and wind the line back onto the reel...twist are gone!

Tom

 

That´s what I do, label facing up.

[smr_hga]

Thanks everyone. I figured it out now, the spool was in the wrong direction. Now i can go fishing

[Columbia Craw]

If you have line twist and don't want to drag the line behind the boat or don't have a boat...... connect a quality bearing swivel to a post, tree or other. Tie the line to the swivel and use your rod. Open the bail and walk off 10 to 20 yards beyond a max casting distance.  Slowly reel yourself back to the swivel, watching the to see the swivel is spinning.  Maintain some tension. This should remove the existing twist or at least 90 percent.  It works pretty well.

[curtis9]

I use the swivel tied to a tree method everytime after I spool a new reel. It's the best way to ensure no twist in the line.