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How do you spool your reels


slothparade

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Hi everyone, recently I've been respooling my reels. Recently my go to have been a braid backing and then a mono topshot (not sure what you call it on a spin reel' it's about 30-50m worth of mono. Was this a good idea or should I spool it with the mono as backing? 

Also how do others like to spool their reels 

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I don't often spool bigger reels, but with 2000 and 2500 size reels I will just (I know it's quite dodgy but I have 200m+ line on the spool) sticky tape the line onto the spool, which you definitely shouldn't do if you are try to catch bigger fish yet I still do it. I make sure the curl of the spool of line curls the same way onto the spool of it will curl up when it comes of the spool which it really annoying.

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Just a note on spooling reels, all reels should be spooled using the new line spool on an "axle" and pulled off by the spool spinning, never spool a reel with the line coming off the side, regardless of which way it's coming off! I have posted this before, it's really quite simple, an overhead reel it's obvious, the reel spool is rotating, pulling line directly off the new spool, also rotating on an axle. Now most will be thinking about a spinning/threadline/eggbeater reel and think you should be pulling line off from the side of the new spool, but it isn't so, why you ask? On a spin reel, the reel spool is stationary, and the bail arm rotates around it, in doing this, it imparts one "twist" every revolution, right? OK now if you put the line on, off the side, it is on the reel completely (well almost) untwisted, the minute you cast out, that untwisted line then becomes twisted, one twist for every loop cast out, you are now fishing with a twisted line......now, if you spool it up, using an "axle" setup, as you wind the handle, each revolution imparts a twist, BUT, the minute you cast, the line untwists as it leaves the spool, you are now fishing with untwisted line, get it? Reels like bait runners, that let line out by allowing the spool to turn, create havoc with line twist, just as winding the handle with a loose drag does. Alvey reels are a major drama, you wind line on by revolving the spool, but cast out, off the side from a fixed spool, every cast creates more and more twist, a good swivel is needed when using an Alvey.

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2 hours ago, Isaac Ct said:

I don't often spool bigger reels, but with 2000 and 2500 size reels I will just (I know it's quite dodgy but I have 200m+ line on the spool) sticky tape the line onto the spool, which you definitely shouldn't do if you are try to catch bigger fish yet I still do it. I make sure the curl of the spool of line curls the same way onto the spool of it will curl up when it comes of the spool which it really annoying.

I though if you have a braid ready spool, you dont need the tape? I built a little tensioning thing, which allows me to get the spool very tight and it means I can spool the braid on really tight. thanks for the tip though. I do the same things on some reels that are big enough to put some mono backing, I do. 

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Now back to the topic, I also see little sense in spooling with some braid first, it's not necessarily wrong, but just has no advantage and includes a knot that can break or get caught when casting.

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1 minute ago, slothparade said:

I though if you have a braid ready spool, you dont need the tape? I built a little tensioning thing, which allows me to get the spool very tight and it means I can spool the braid on really tight. thanks for the tip though. I do the same things on some reels that are big enough to put some mono backing, I do. 

I think he is saying he tapes the end of the line to the spool rather than tying a knot.

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1 hour ago, frankS said:

I can see no point in using braid as backing , why have it on the spool if it is not going to be used.

Frank

Would you recomend swapping it around? its only about 30-50m of mono so maybe it should be swapped? thanks. I do get where your coming from, but when stray lining for snapper on a reef, I though having a mono topshot would be helpful in surviving the reef instead of loosing expensive braid. 

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5 minutes ago, noelm said:

Just a note on spooling reels, all reels should be spooled using the new line spool on an "axle" and pulled off by the spool spinning, never spool a reel with the line coming off the side, regardless of which way it's coming off! I have posted this before, it's really quite simple, an overhead reel it's obvious, the reel spool is rotating, pulling line directly off the new spool, also rotating on an axle. Now most will be thinking about a spinning/threadline/eggbeater reel and think you should be pulling line off from the side of the new spool, but it isn't so, why you ask? On a spin reel, the reel spool is stationary, and the bail arm rotates around it, in doing this, it imparts one "twist" every revolution, right? OK now if you put the line on, off the side, it is on the reel completely (well almost) untwisted, the minute you cast out, that untwisted line then becomes twisted, one twist for every loop cast out, you are now fishing with a twisted line......now, if you spool it up, using an "axle" setup, as you wind the handle, each revolution imparts a twist, BUT, the minute you cast, the line untwists as it leaves the spool, you are now fishing with untwisted line, get it? Reels like bait runners, that let line out by allowing the spool to turn, create havoc with line twist, just as winding the handle with a loose drag does. Alvey reels are a major drama, you wind line on by revolving the spool, but cast out, off the side from a fixed spool, every cast creates more and more twist, a good swivel is needed when using an Alvey.

Thanks for the detailed reply. sorry for the stupid question but what is the axel? 

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4 minutes ago, noelm said:

Now back to the topic, I also see little sense in spooling with some braid first, it's not necessarily wrong, but just has no advantage and includes a knot that can break or get caught when casting.

would it be worth respooling (so the mono is the backing) then putting a leader on? are you able to use hollow core braid on spinning reels? so it remove any knots and its easy to top up with extra line. Also another probably stupid question, but I have respooled my tr200g with braid backing then to mono topshot, so i have a decent amount of heavy line, instead of running strait braid which will get cut up on the reef as i found out the hard way. 

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I tie an arbor knot for the line to spool knot, pretty easy knot to tie. A little bit of tendon on the line help in preventing knots along with not over spooling.

I made a stainless reel spooling contraption which is basically a right angle sticking out of a heavy iron bark wooden base, place your spool on the threaded rod and lightly clamp it with a large washer and nut. You can also use a screwdriver and hold it lightly to the ground with you’re feet.

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24 minutes ago, slothparade said:

Thanks for the detailed reply. sorry for the stupid question but what is the axel? 

What I mean is something stuck through the new line spool, a screwdriver or something, so the spool can spin on it, like an "axle" on a bike wheel.

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1 hour ago, slothparade said:

I though if you have a braid ready spool, you dont need the tape? I built a little tensioning thing, which allows me to get the spool very tight and it means I can spool the braid on really tight. thanks for the tip though. I do the same things on some reels that are big enough to put some mono backing, I do. 

I don't put any backing and run mono all the way through,that contraption you made sounds good.

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Spooling line with another person makes life easy, they can hold the spool a bit of a distance away, and put some tension on by using their hands either side of the spool, don't wind too fast, because friction will burn their hands! Never pull line through a cloth or similar when spooling, always use something that tensions the new spool. One thing I always do, and I have no idea why I am paranoid about it, I never thread the new line through the tip, always a few guides down, the thinking is, new, dry line is being dragged over the same spot on the tip (probably at right angles) for hundreds of metres of line, under tension, I just reason it might wear a groove in the tip! Probably not so important these days with better guide materials?

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Just for fun, get someone to hold a length of mono (about 10kg or so) under tight tension between their hands, get a piece of rag/cloth/hanky and pinch the line with the cloth between your fingers and give it a fast rub, back and forth, in about 3 seconds, the line is melted through, so just imagine what could happen with a dry line, touching a hot gunnel rubber on a boat, under tension fighting it!

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I always use mono backing on my reels. On my smaller reels (1000 to 2500) ill buy 150 meters or yards of braid. You will rarely use 60 percent of it, and its much more cost effective. 

There is also a handy app called line calc which you can use to get a good idea of how much mono backing you will need to spool your reel with before adding the remaining braid you have. 

Mono helps the line grip the spool, I use an FG knot to link the mono to the braid. (Its thin enough that it doesnt create humps on the spool)

Another good practice is to "flip" your braid once the outside is faided and starts to lose its waxy coating. You will get double the lifespan out of it by doing this. 

Edited by GoldenHourFishing
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I only use Mono, so I don't have to worry about braid problems.

I use a Ecooda line spooler.

Never have problems with line twist.

I use two small Crane swivels on my Alvey reel,no line twist.

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3 hours ago, noelm said:

What I mean is something stuck through the new line spool, a screwdriver or something, so the spool can spin on it, like an "axle" on a bike wheel.

Ahh alright thanks for clarifying, makes a lot more sense as I can picture it i

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1 hour ago, Rebel said:

I only use Mono, so I don't have to worry about braid problems.

I use a Ecooda line spooler.

Never have problems with line twist.

I use two small Crane swivels on my Alvey reel,no line twist.

The cheap aldi packs 😂 not much beats those little packs for restocking gear. 

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2 hours ago, noelm said:

Just for fun, get someone to hold a length of mono (about 10kg or so) under tight tension between their hands, get a piece of rag/cloth/hanky and pinch the line with the cloth between your fingers and give it a fast rub, back and forth, in about 3 seconds, the line is melted through, so just imagine what could happen with a dry line, touching a hot gunnel rubber on a boat, under tension fighting it!

Yeah it's actually supposing how easy it can be to melt mono. But I was using a joining some stuff and using mono as a sewing thread and use a heat gun can't rember why but didn't melt the mono.

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8 hours ago, noelm said:

Just a note on spooling reels, all reels should be spooled using the new line spool on an "axle" and pulled off by the spool spinning, never spool a reel with the line coming off the side, regardless of which way it's coming off! I have posted this before, it's really quite simple, an overhead reel it's obvious, the reel spool is rotating, pulling line directly off the new spool, also rotating on an axle. Now most will be thinking about a spinning/threadline/eggbeater reel and think you should be pulling line off from the side of the new spool, but it isn't so, why you ask? On a spin reel, the reel spool is stationary, and the bail arm rotates around it, in doing this, it imparts one "twist" every revolution, right? OK now if you put the line on, off the side, it is on the reel completely (well almost) untwisted, the minute you cast out, that untwisted line then becomes twisted, one twist for every loop cast out, you are now fishing with a twisted line......now, if you spool it up, using an "axle" setup, as you wind the handle, each revolution imparts a twist, BUT, the minute you cast, the line untwists as it leaves the spool, you are now fishing with untwisted line, get it? Reels like bait runners, that let line out by allowing the spool to turn, create havoc with line twist, just as winding the handle with a loose drag does. Alvey reels are a major drama, you wind line on by revolving the spool, but cast out, off the side from a fixed spool, every cast creates more and more twist, a good swivel is needed when using an Alvey.

Your doing it wrong!!! 

  Do it my way and get your son to hold the new spool vertical with his thumb over one hole on the spool and his thumb over the other side of the spools hole.Tell him to  squeeze with moderate pressure and DON'T LET GO while you wind.

  As you wind really,really fast the new spool onto the reel and you watch his face turning different colours it's amusing to watch how literally they take you telling them Not to let go!🤣😂

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Braid is very smooth and slippery.  To prevent the end tied to the spool from slipping,  it is common to tie a few metres of mono on the end as this grips the spool better.  If there isn't enough braid to fill the spool you can use more mono as a spacer to fill the spool more.  It is then common to have a few metres of mono as a leader to add a bit of stretch to prevent tearing hooks out.

Just to complicate matters, gamefishers do the opposite for a different reason.   They don't use braid to fight marlin as they need the stretch of mono to keep tension on a jumping marlin.  But using braid doubles the capacity of spool for long running fish like blue marlin and yellowfin allowing smaller reels to be used.  The solution is to use braid backing, topshot with about 100 metres of lineclass mono.  IGFA rules were changed to allow this.  Ron 

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