I always have trouble with monofilament lines springing off the reel. Seems no matter how I unspool it from the spool it came on I get the same result. I’ve tried different brands and some are worse than others but it still seems to be an issue. Is there a trick to spool it on and which brands are recommended?
Lots of things can cause this. Too heavy of a line weight put on a narrow spool of a small framed reel will make looping a nightmare. Old or cheap, “bargain” lines are prone to looping. Braid can lose its tension on a reel and result in loops of it falling off the front of the spool when its not under a load, such as a lure. Fluorocarbon and monofilament lines can be real stiff, depending on weight, line formulation and maker. Just the cold can make line loops fall off a spool easily.
If you are using fluorocarbon or mono ice line you can try this trick when loading your reels with new line. Tie the tag end of the line on the factory spool to your reel and lay the spool flat on the floor. Make a few turns and stop. Look at the line at the spool on the floor. Does it make a loop or twist around itself? If it does, you need to put the line on from the other side of the spool. Mark the labeling in such a way that you’ll know which side to spool from and just hand re-wind the line from the reel and snip it off and tape the tag end back on the spool.
Next, heat a large bowl of water in the microwave until it is HOT. Not boiling, but hot to touch. Put the spool of line in the water with the bowl on the floor and give it 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes get the tag end of the line free while the spool stays in the water with the “right” side up. String the line thru the guides and fill your reel using finger tension.
The warm water will help the line take a “set” to your reel’s spool. Keep in mind though that what you have tied on to fish with can also affect the lay of your line. Some lures are designed to be jigged fast and maybe hard. This can mess with the line and cause looping to occur. Closing the bail by hand instead of turning the handle can help prevent looping too.
When I have run into this problem it was almost always I had too much line on the reel. I just peeled a few yards off and it went away.
Like was said though, crummy line in higher pound test could cause this as well.
I usually try and spool it off the top, keeping tension on the spool and a nice little finger squeeze right in front of the spool in front of the reel. I also Never reel it through the tip of the rod. In my experience the larger guides closer to the reel will help eliminate the line twist. My ice fishing rods are generally 28″- 32″ so depending on the amount of guides I may only go up 1 or 2 from the reel
I’ve been able to fix this problem by taking a few yards off the spool (as mentioned) or by letting all the line out behind the boat and reeling it back in to get it wound tight with no line twist.
I’ve been able to fix this problem by taking a few yards off the spool (as mentioned) or by letting all the line out behind the boat and reeling it back in to get it wound tight with no line twist.
Yup, my dad taught me that trick and I’ve used it many times when out jigging and my line starts to ‘twist’ and ‘jump’.(sometimes even with a swivel being employed)
Oh, almost forgot, just the line out behind the boat. Let the weight of the line itself ‘pull’ from the reel.
Don’t put so much tension on line when spooling. Imagine the tension a 1/16oz spoon puts on getting reeled up, it ain’t much.
Try only replacing 75 ft. Of line. I leave the old line on for backing. Tie the new line to the old line with a uni knot. Lay the spool label up and only run the line through the big guide closet to the reel. Keep that guide above he spool and don’t over fill the spool. Pull off about 50 ft. Of the new line by hand ( this part drives my wife nuts) while walking around the house. Then run the line through a phone book and reel it back on the rod. Make sure your drag is set right so your not reeling against the drag and twisting the line. Close the bail by hand. Change that 75 ft. Of line after 4 trips and you should be fine.
While ice fishing you can snip the rig off the line, open the baile and walk maybe 75 feet of line off the reel, then while gently pinching the line reel it back on the spool. Leaving the line free allows it to spin the loops out as you re-spool it. Its the same thought behind letting the line out behind a boat. Ice fishing, especially jigging, is a bear for twisting lines and it doesn’t matter how expensive the line is. Light braids are probably the most less prone to twisting while jigging.
All great ideas but the main culprit is to much line one the spool JMO.
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Lots of things can cause this. Too heavy of a line weight put on a narrow spool of a small framed reel will make looping a nightmare. Old or cheap, “bargain” lines are prone to looping. Braid can lose its tension on a reel and result in loops of it falling off the front of the spool when its not under a load, such as a lure. Fluorocarbon and monofilament lines can be real stiff, depending on weight, line formulation and maker. Just the cold can make line loops fall off a spool easily.
If you are using fluorocarbon or mono ice line you can try this trick when loading your reels with new line. Tie the tag end of the line on the factory spool to your reel and lay the spool flat on the floor. Make a few turns and stop. Look at the line at the spool on the floor. Does it make a loop or twist around itself? If it does, you need to put the line on from the other side of the spool. Mark the labeling in such a way that you’ll know which side to spool from and just hand re-wind the line from the reel and snip it off and tape the tag end back on the spool.
Next, heat a large bowl of water in the microwave until it is HOT. Not boiling, but hot to touch. Put the spool of line in the water with the bowl on the floor and give it 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes get the tag end of the line free while the spool stays in the water with the “right” side up. String the line thru the guides and fill your reel using finger tension.
The warm water will help the line take a “set” to your reel’s spool. Keep in mind though that what you have tied on to fish with can also affect the lay of your line. Some lures are designed to be jigged fast and maybe hard. This can mess with the line and cause looping to occur. Closing the bail by hand instead of turning the handle can help prevent looping too.
I tried the hot water trick with some Trilene ice line and it works quite well. Thanks for the advice!
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