Is my new line twisted, have bad memory, or bad?

[cals400ex]

Hi,

 

I recently purchased some 10 lb Trilene big game and it was near non-functional.  There is a lot of memory and the line feels "rough."  I'm not sure if the line is twisted, has severe memory issues, or is just bad.  I have used KVD line conditioner on it twice and that provided next to no benefit.  I have since removed all of the line, returned it to Walmart and purchased some Trilene XL mono 10 lb.  While this line isn't quite as bad, it's very close.  I have always used Trilene XL years ago and never had this problem.  I have not purchased a new spool of line for some time, so I'm trying to figure out what the deal is.  Do I just need to use the line and see if it smooths out?  Is it twisted, or is it just bad?  The line feels this way right out of the package (prior to putting it on my reel).  The date on the package is 11/2019.  Any idea what is going on?

[Tim Kelly]

Spinning reel?

 

The lumpy feeling is just the way it's wound onto the spools at the factory. Lines advertised as "parallel wound" don't exhibit the lumpy feeling, but conventionally wound mono often does. 

 

How you wind it onto a spinning reel makes a big difference on how much twist the line has. Do it wrong and it will be horribly twisted.

[PhishLI]

Big Game is sort of rough feeling right off the spool especially when compared with something like Sufix Advance. XL is usually pretty smooth. Spinning or baitcasting reel?

[cals400ex]

It’s on a spinning reel. However, both lines had this rough feeling right out of the package. 
 

I’m not sure that I put the line on the reel the best way, but the line doesn’t feel any worse on the reel than it did right out of the package.
 

I normally run the line through the eyelets, tie it to the reel, and start reeling while holding finger pressure on the line. This is how I’ve always done it (not sure if this is the correct or incorrect what), but it’s never given me any problems previously. 

[Tim Kelly]

You mean uneven or rough as in it would snag lint if you passed it over some lint? 

[tander]

Not the best line to use on a spinning reel. The XL is the line you want, has less memory. Big Game is OK on a casting reel however.

[basser27]

1 hour ago, cals400ex said:

It’s on a spinning reel. However, both lines had this rough feeling right out of the package. 
 

I’m not sure that I put the line on the reel the best way, but the line doesn’t feel any worse on the reel than it did right out of the package.
 

I normally run the line through the eyelets, tie it to the reel, and start reeling while holding finger pressure on the line. This is how I’ve always done it (not sure if this is the correct or incorrect what), but it’s never given me any problems previously. 

Make sure when you spool mono on a spinning reel you lay the spool flat and the line comes off the spool in a counter clockwise direction. Also after spooling, take your rod and reel outside and tie your line to a tree, fence post or whatever you have available and walk off a little bit more than a casting distance worth of line and stretch the line for a few seconds and reel back on. 

[cals400ex]

1 hour ago, Tim Kelly said:

You mean uneven or rough as in it would snag lint if you passed it over some lint? 

It would not catch lint, so uneven might be a better word. 

10 minutes ago, basser27 said:

Make sure when you spool mono on a spinning reel you lay the spool flat and the line comes off the spool in a counter clockwise direction. Also after spooling, take your rod and reel outside and tie your line to a tree, fence post or whatever you have available and walk off a little bit more than a casting distance worth of line and stretch the line for a few seconds and reel back on. 

Thanks for the tip!

[Log Catcher]

When you put line on your reel the spool needs to be in a vertical position mounted on some type of rod in a vise. The line needs to be coming off the bottom of the spool. Don't over fill your reel and after making a cast close the bail by hand. Glenn has a video on here about this. In the video section go to line, hooks, and weights. I twill be the 6th video. I don't know how to bring this link up to post it here.

[WRB]

Any mono line over .010D is pushing a spinning reel under size 4000 to perform well.

If you spooled the line incorrectly onto the reel it will twist it with every turn of the rotar.

The line must come off the bottom of the spool spinning freely on a axle mandrel. Laying a spool on the floor and spooling line usually causes line twist.

If you have a boat running freshly spooled line behind the boat a few minutes about a 100' or so walking speed without anything tied on will allow the line to untwist itself. Wind the line back on while still moving forward to maintain the right line pressure.

Lots of products get returned to discount stores like Walmart and put back on the self.

Tom

[basser27]

21 minutes ago, WRB said:

Any mono line over .010D is pushing a spinning reel under size 4000 to perform well.

If you spooled the line incorrectly onto the reel it will twist it with every turn of the rotar.

The line must come off the bottom of the spool spinning freely on a axle mandrel. Laying a spool on the floor and spooling line usually causes line twist.

If you have a boat running freshly spooled line behind the boat a few minutes about a 100' or so walking speed without anything tied on will allow the line to untwist itself. Wind the line back on while still moving forward to maintain the right line pressure.

Lots of products get returned to discount stores like Walmart and put back on the self.

Tom

I’ve been spooling mono on my spinning reels off the floor for years and never had line twist issues. As I said in my previous post I always make sure the line comes off the spool counter clockwise. I’ve never spooled a spinning reel the way you do,  but have seen this recommended and I will have to try this method because there are certain line brands that have a notch in the spool and makes spooling off the floor very hard because every time the line hits the notch the spool wants to flip over.  

[WRB]

Depending how the reel rotar turns has an affect on line twist. Laying a flat style large diameter filler spool label down works ok for most reels if you watch for coils forming indicating line twist. If you see coils forming flip the spool over was thr norm for years.

Big Game spools are larger capacity smaller diameter spools wound tighter then the larger diameter flat 200 yard filler spoolSunline don't work well laying on the floor.

I wouldn't use Big Game or Trilene XT over 8 lb test on a bass size fresh water spinning reel. 

If you want a good inexpensive mono for a spinning reel consider Sunline Super Natural 10 lb.

Tom

[basser27]

8 minutes ago, WRB said:

Depending how the reel rotar turns has an affect on line twist. Laying a flat style large diameter filler spool label down works ok for most reels if you watch for coils forming indicating line twist. If you see coils forming flip the spool over was thr norm for years.

Big Game spools are larger capacity smaller diameter spools wound tighter then the larger diameter flat 200 yard filler spoolSunline don't work well laying on the floor.

I wouldn't use Big Game or Trilene XT over 8 lb test on a bass size fresh water spinning reel. 

If you want a good inexpensive mono for a spinning reel consider Sunline Super Natural 10 lb.

Tom

I fish trilene xl 300 yard filler spool off the floor to spool my 2500 spinning reels. I Wouldn’t use big game or xt on spinning unless I was using a 4000 sized reel

[WRB]

14 minutes ago, basser27 said:

I fish trilene xl 300 yard filler spool off the floor to spool my 2500 spinning reels. I Wouldn’t use big game or xt on spinning unless I was using a 4000 sized reel

Very popular line, .011D for 10 lb, Super Natural 10 lb for comparrison is .010 D, less memory with higher abrasion resistance then XL and less expensive.

The OP is using 10 lb XT, .012 D with higher memory.

Tom

[5/0]

51 minutes ago, WRB said:

The line must come off the bottom of the spool spinning freely on a axle mandrel.

You mean spooling a spinning reel in the same way as a bait caster but with the line coming off the filler spool from the bottom and not the top? I ask because I had someone tell me they did this and it reduced line twist.

[WRB]

2 minutes ago, 5/0 said:

You mean spooling a spinning reel in the same way as a bait caster but with the line coming off the filler spool from the bottom and not the top? I ask because I had someone tell me they did this and it reduced line twist.

Yes, off the top for baitcasting reels and off the bottom for spinning reels.

Tom

[MickD]

Seems funny that with all the talk I hear on this forum about "bad batches" of line, I've never had one, and I'm old enough to have bought one heck of a lot of line.  I think line problems, other than problems with trying to make an inappropriate line work, are problems with loading the line onto the reel, or cracked guides, or twisting it, but it's not about a bad batch of line.  IMHO

 

[5/0]

3 minutes ago, WRB said:

Yes, off the top for baitcasting reels and off the bottom for spinning reels.

Tom

I can see the logic. He also told me to run the line through all the guides, not just the first one. And to keep moderate pressure on the line when spooling.

How about running warm to hot water over the spooled line for a couple minutes after loading?

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

I won’t use 10# and up mono on anything smaller than a 4000 size reel and prefer 6 or under on 2500’s, 8# if it’s supple. 

[WRB]

Mounting the reel on the rod and running the line through all the guides helps to manage the line tension going onto the reel. Generally you hold the line between your finger up close to the first large guide to apply very light pressure, do not apply more the very light pressure because more pressure can cause line twist.

I would aviod hot water with mono line.

Tom

[WRB]

11 minutes ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

I won’t use 10# and up mono on anything smaller than a 4000 size reel and prefer 6 or under on 2500’s, 8# if it’s supple. 

I use line diameter of .010 because lb test varies so greatly between line. Yo-Zuri 6 lb test is .010 vs Sunline SuperNatural 10 lb is .010. Fixed small spool with a bail wrapping line around it, what could go wrong...

Tom

 

[dodgeguy]

1 hour ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

I won’t use 10# and up mono on anything smaller than a 4000 size reel and prefer 6 or under on 2500’s, 8# if it’s supple. 

listen to this.its great advice.

[Fishes in trees]

Big game line is poop.  Trilene XL ain't much better.   Skimping on line quality has always struck me as silly and short sighted.  Buy good line.

[basser27]

24 minutes ago, Fishes in trees said:

Big game line is poop.  Trilene XL ain't much better.   Skimping on line quality has always struck me as silly and short sighted.  Buy good line.

I wouldn’t call it poop. I’m sure there are better lines out there with less memory and better handling but ive tried many different mono lines over the years and I always come back to these two. What mono do you fish?

[PhishLI]

27 minutes ago, Fishes in trees said:

Big game line is poop.

Hahahaha. It is, sort of. But I run 12,15,and 20 on some of my baitcasters, and it's fine. I'm not doing slack line techniques much, that's true, but it's been fine for moving baits and it's very strong.

4 minutes ago, basser27 said:

What mono do you fish?

If Sufix Advance was as inexpensive per foot as Big Game I'd never look back, but it's not.