Line twist?

[firefightn15]

So you spool up your baitcaster with your line of choice (anything but braid) and after a half season, full season, whatever, you strip it for replacement.  Why does the closest line to the spool feel like it's twisted?  Is it?

[roadwarrior]

The line has been compacted and developed

maximum memory, it doesn't actually have

any twist.

8-)

[firefightn15]

The line has been compacted and developed

maximum memory, it doesn't actually have

any twist.

8-)

Kent, are you saying that this portion is actually flat?

[Team9nine]

The line has been compacted and developed

maximum memory, it doesn't actually have

any twist.

X2 - think of it more like the line being coiled, similar to a telephone cord. Its taken a "set".

[firefightn15]

Thanks, I think I get the picture now. 8-)

[Goose52]

Here's a photo of an extreme case of this - 250 yards of 20lb test mono that was on a reel for 25 years     I could probably have cut it into sections and sold them as Slinkys  ;D

[firefightn15]

I guess I understand the memory retention but the first 50yds not being subject to the twisting that the usable line might be is what gets me.  Put a short 3" stretch between your fingers and run it back and forth, it has the feel of a twist.  I assume this is because it has become flat and this is the compaction that Kent is talking about, right?

[J Francho]

It does feel "flattened," and I actually think it is.

Up here we use centrepin reels for trout fishing Great Lakes Tribs. These look like big fly reels but they aren't. They work like a baitcast spool in freespool all the time. Basically a big arbor on a set of bearings.

We generally fish with mono, and I've heard stories of guys loading their reels entirely with mono, using tight wraps, and actually crushing the metal posts that the line wraps around! For this reason, we generally use fly line backer, and spool enough mono to deal with a good run from a hot chromer.

This says to me that there is a great deal of pressure on the bottom wraps of line on the spool. I've never hear of anyone crushing a baitcaster spool, but I bet the line is getting flattened a bit.

Since I don't fish with the backing line, It no concern to me, but you aren't alone in this observation.

One thing to note, even the top wraps of line can get "coiling" due to memory, and you can either pull of a casts worth, and stretch it out by tying to a fence or tree, or simply fishing it tends to work that coiling out.

One last thing - you CAN get twist in a baitcaster. Foul running baits, spoons, and inline spinners are the biggest culprits here. Teh solution is the same. use a quality swivel to avoid this, and troll out your line to remove twis should it occur.

[21farms]

i know what you're talking about. i think last couple of feet of line around the arbor are especially kinked because of the unevenness of the knot and the holes in the spool on modern reels.

[J Francho]

i know what you're talking about. i think last couple of feet of line around the arbor are especially kinked because of the unevenness of the knot and the holes in the spool on modern reels.

Nope...happens with "non modern" spools too.

[HoggBoss]

Picture a stack of pipes laying on the ground. When stacked, each pipe wants to sit in-between the two pipes directly below it. Now smash them together. They won't twist or go flat.. it'd be more like a triangular cross-section. Scale it down real small, and run your fingers along it and it might feel twisted, but the line is just no longer round. = IMHO.

So you spool up your baitcaster with your line of choice (anything but braid) and after a half season, full season, whatever, you strip it for replacement.

Ok, noob question, and I don't mean to hijack, but I just have to ask.. How often do you guys swap-out your lines? I have to assume you're running leaders otherwise your spool would eventually run low from retying, and you'd have to re-spool.

This upcoming season will be my first in about 15 years, (Bassin's changed a LOT in that time! lol.. I'm playin' catch-up) but before I gave up bassin' for the game of golf, I used to swap-out my entire spool about once every two weeks! :-/

Also, how long will line last on a spool. I have always been under the impression that there is a shelf life on mono. I just not long ago threw away a bunch of old spools that had lots of line on them. ugh..  Assuming you are tying on leaders, how long do you make them?  Lol..  maybe it'd be best if someone just wrote a line management primer?  sorry.  :-[

[21farms]

i know what you're talking about. i think last couple of feet of line around the arbor are especially kinked because of the unevenness of the knot and the holes in the spool on modern reels.

Nope...happens with "non modern" spools too.

sure it does...but i've noticed it gets worse the bigger the holes in the spool are.

[firefightn15]

I thought I responded once to this J but it must be stuck in cyber space.  Thanks for touching on this for me. 8-)

HoggBoss, fwiw I only respool once or twice a season.  But then again, most here hit the water much more than I do.