How often do you change line?

[Swamp Girl]

I was fishing last night with five outfits and finished with two still working. The three that went down were due to line failure. Two were braid and one was mono and all three had line that knotted itself. I usually replace line each winter, but I think my line is already stressed and needs to be replaced. How often do you replace your line?

[Catt]

Braid I don't 

Big Game as often as necessary, sometimes depending on the cover I'm fishing once a week.

[IcatchDinks]

If I start having major line twist issues, knots, bird nests, etc, I'll change the line. If not, I'll keep using it until I start having problems. But I've only been fishing for a few years and maybe some of the old timers will have better, time honored practices I should listen to. 

[roadwarrior]

17 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

I was fishing last night with five outfits and finished with two still working. The three that went down were due to line failure. Two were braid and one was mono and all three had line that knotted itself. I usually replace line each winter, but I think my line is already stressed and needs to be replaced. How often do you replace your line?

Oops...I will have some coming your way today.

[scaleface]

I've changed the line on my pitchin rod at least three times this year. My other reels , I dont think I changed them out yet . Just depends on the wear and tear and how low it gets from retying.

[Team9nine]

Pretty much either all braid (spinning) or all fluoro (casting) here, and I usually only change out my line every few years. Braid when the level gets low (I use backing and just 80-100 yds of braid) from retying or suffering a deep wind knot. Fluoro when the level gets low on the spool or a severe backlash that damages the line deep into the spool. Otherwise…

 

I will take the time to unwind the twist that builds up in braid over time somewhat regularly as that seems to help with preventing those deeper wind knots. Lots of times just sitting down with a good hook and some time, you can work those braid knots out before they lock in too deeply - but not always. Unfortunately they are a quick way to lose a lot of line.

[MN Fisher]

Braid? Still running braid on baitcasters I put on 2-3 years ago. Spinning reels got braid this year...so probably good for a couple years.

YZH - every 2 years...that stuff is tough

Mono and FC - every year.

 

Of course if I have major backlashes on the YZH, Mono or FC it'll get replaced...but that hasn't happened yet - just minor backlashes easily fixed.

[TnRiver46]

I catch the bottom of the river a lot so I change when it’s getting low . Nothing ever makes it a whole year 

[Mike L]

I haven’t changed my 2 braid reels in 3 yrs and probably won’t need to for another 3. 

All the rest (flouro) when it’s get’s low for whatever reason. 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[gim]

1 hour ago, ol'crickety said:

The three that went down were due to line failure. Two were braid and one was mono and all three had line that knotted itself.

Knotted itself?  What do you mean by this?  There are knots in the line that shouldn't be there?  Also, are these issues occurring with spinning reels or bait casters?  If they are occurring with a BC, the problem is likely from a backlash.  If spinning, its likely from line twisting.

 

You can usually tell when braid needs replacing when it starts to fade from its original color.  Mono and fluoro need replacing more often.  Make sure to regularly check the 10 feet or so up to the lure for knicks or signs of abrasion.

[Happybeerbuzz]

With braid, years go by.  I have reels that still have the original braid that they were first spooled with.  
 

While I use a lot of leaders on rods, I do have a few straight mono/copoly.   Those get respooled annually or when good marketing convinced me I need to try straight fluoro again.  That’s been about once a year but I think that is slowing down.  

[Skunkmaster-k]

I change my line when it gets frayed or when it gets low on the spool . Usually after my bait blows into a tree and I have a conniption fit . So once a week. 

[roadwarrior]

Braid with short leader: Change out the leader for every trip

Straight fluorocarbon:  Replace 60 yards as needed

 

                                         

[Swamp Girl]

37 minutes ago, gimruis said:

What do you mean by this? 

 

There were large or small loops that were knotted at their bases. 

[gim]

19 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

 

There were large or small loops that were knotted at their bases. 

 

Based on this I would say its a direct result of line twist with a spinning reel.  You can reduce this by making sure you manually engage the bail rather than just reeling to engage the bail.  Every time you turn the bail on a spinning reel you create some line twist though.  Its part of doing business with them.

[bp_fowler]

With fluoro it seems like it gets damaged pretty easily.  At least the way I fish (and snag) it does.  So I end up replacing it a lot.  I started putting mono backing on my bait caster and braid on my spinning reel to help defer some of the cost.

 

I’ve also had a knot like you described on spinning setup and I had to cut it.  After that and having to retie my leader I lost maybe 12-18 inches.  This was with braid that was only about month old. So it could be something that happens as a result of line twist regardless of how old the braid is.

[Swamp Girl]

21 minutes ago, gimruis said:

You can reduce this by making sure you manually engage the bail rather than just reeling to engage the bail

 

I did not know this. Thank you, gimruis. 

[Kirtley Howe]

I use mono or florocarbon....only one rod has braid and that is my seldom used catfish rod. I replace the line on my reels 3-4 times each season (except the braid), and sometimes more. I fish the Susquehanna River a lot, and it is full of rocks and wood snags, so I lose a lot of line that way. Plus, the water is very silty, and I believe that the silt is very abrasive to the line. Line is relatively cheap, and I see no reason to take a chance on losing a good fish because of worn/abraded line. I also always put new line on the reels at the start of the season. Mono or floro that has been sitting on a reel unused for a few months over the winter tends to get a lot of memory and has coils like all get out. Line conditioner helps prevent that, but I prefer to just change the line out.

[T-Billy]

7 hours ago, gimruis said:

You can reduce this by making sure you manually engage the bail rather than just reeling to engage the bail. 

Yep. Makes a BIG difference in reducing twist and wind knots. Also, if it's a big ol tangle of a wind knot, it's toast, just cut it off. With braid, if it's just a loop that's tight at the base, grab the line on either side of the loop and pull hard. It'll often come out, and the line is still good to go.

I only replace braid when it gets too low on the spool. Fading is part of the deal with most braids. It's still good to go. In my local waters it's actually less visible once it fades to a light green. Not that the fish care.

[Woody B]

I hated spinning reels most of my life because of wind knots.  Last year a friend told me to close the bail manually instead of engaging it with the reel.  I still use bait casting reels 90% of the time or more, but I can tolerate spinning equipment now.   I change my mono every 3 to 4 weeks.  I've got one reel with braid.  It's 10 months old.  

[MN Fisher]

I had to train myself to close the bail manually after years of my Mitchell 320 and Pflueger 640. Those older reels had bail engagement systems that forced you to turn the handle to disengage the 'lock' to let the bail close.

[Big Hands]

39 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

With braid, if it's just a loop that's tight at the base, grab the line on either side of the loop and pull hard. It'll often come out, and the line is still good to go.

 

Often is the key word here, and if I get to the point where I feel that's my best option and the knot doesn't come out. . . . it ain't coming after the hard pull. Definitely a Hail Mary move for me.

[gim]

1 hour ago, T-Billy said:

Makes a BIG difference in reducing twist and wind knots. Also, if it's a big ol tangle of a wind knot, it's toast, just cut it off. With braid, if it's just a loop that's tight at the base, grab the line on either side of the loop and pull hard. It'll often come out, and the line is still good to go.

The OP also said she was having this problem with mono too. I’m not quite sure what the problem is there, as I’ve never seen this specific issue with mono.

[WRB]

Loops  happen with all types of line if you use the reel to flip over the bail on a spinning reel. Bait casters loop can occur if the spool is over filled and is loose on the spool.

Line twist is a biggest problem with loop knots and loops created by the bail causes more twisting.

I always keep light tension feeling the line while retrieving lures to keep the line snug in the spool, plus it’s a good strike detection technique.

If you have enough open water on the trip back cut off the lure and let about 100’ of line drag behind your canoe while paddles a few hundred yards, this will untwist the line.

I change mono, Copoly of FC line when it gets more the 1/8” to 3/16” below the spool rim. I cut off any abraded or nicked line and re tie often. Like Kent suggested I use a 75 yard top shot on backing so changing line isn’t too costly. I like fresh line!

Tom

[12poundbass]

Braid I change as needed which is hardly ever. I did just take some 3-4 year old braid off a few reels and that was only because I wanted to try Smackdown braid which I’m liking so far. 
 

Fluorocarbon I change out every couple years.