Question - Reel and Line combo

[NSFishingHalifax]

Hi all,

Relatively new to fishing and have a question for you. I have been having trouble with my line becoming twisted, as it seems it is constantly "jumping" off the reel when I'm casting, leaving it to become a tangled mess.

I have been doing some reading online about line and reel combos, but have not been able to come to a general conclusion. I have been thinking about going to a braided line as I read it is less prone to tangles as it has little to zero memory.

Here are the specs of my reel and current line:

Spinning Reel: lb(kg) - yrds (m) 6(2.7) - 210(190) 8(3.6) - 170 (155)
DIA (mm) - m 0.25 - 190 0.28 - 155

Line: Monofilament - DIA 0.30mm - 10lbs test - Sufix Pro Select

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[millsboy79]

I posted something like this a while ago. Here are the cliff notes I learned from that.

High quality swivels

Be sure not to reel while your drag is engaged

Braided line with fluorocarbon leaders

As for specific braided line brands most people on the forum will recommend power pro 8.

Best of luck

[cranky]

Maybe ill give you some obvious stuff you may be doing wrong.
When you open the bail to cast you must pinch the line with your finger to the rod till you swing to cast and as soon as the lure either hits the water or just before, you reach down and close the bail by hand. Dont close it by cranking on the reel handle. Its easier on the bail and quicker to close by hand. Leaving that bail open any longer than needed to cast can get you tangles big time as im sure you are finding out.

Also make sure your reverse switch is in the reverse locked out position. You can get tangles from reel going backwards too. I have one reel where its very easy to hit the lock switch as im casting and if im not paying attention, well birds nest happens. Maybe you got the above parts mastered and its something else but i thought i would give you the obvious as you said your a newbie. Hope it helps.

[ETOWNCANUCK]

Take your reel to the Fishing hole and have them spool up your line.

A buddy keeps insisting on doing it himself and he gets a rats nest of line once a year.

I have them spool my reels all the time and I have yet to have that similar issue.

[Big Red 250]

Possibly too much line on your reel. I'd be cutting off 15-20 feet of line. Cheap fix if it does the trick.

[AdverseCity]

I'd be willing to bet the line has been spooled on wrong. If it's a spinning reel the line spool should be laying stationary with the label facing up while spooling, never allow the spool to spin while spooling a spinning reel. If it's a level wind reel then the line spool should be spinning as line comes off it onto the reel. I myself only learned this about 5-6 years ago and has been spooling half my reels wrong for 20+ years.

http://m.wikihow.com/Spool-New-Fishing-Line-Onto-a-Reel

[CMichaud]

Just sounds like old mono to me and possibly too much on the reel.

How long has the line been on there for?

[millsboy79]

Just sounds like old mono to me and possibly too much on the reel.

How long has the line been on there for?
Sounds like it came with it so who knows how long it was on there before he even bought it. Think it should be switched out for some braid and go from there.

[newscientist]

Suffered this problem last year and the reason was bad spooling. Here are the fixes that worked great for me
1. Spool the line correctly in the shop (you can do it right at home but let's just do it at the shop for now)
2. When retrieving, always keep tension on the line. Retrieving slack line will make line wraps to jump on the next cast. This is especially important for braided line. Using a heavier lure will help keep the line tension.
3. Tighten your drag a bit. Retrieving with the drag loose introduces twist
4. Using lighter line with lower memory. Sufix Elite 8lb is great for most uses.
5. Using swivel at the end of the line
6. Get rid of the twist every now and then by letting the free line to drag behind the boat or in the river current then retrieve it twist free
As for braided line, they are less prone to twist but they are very sensitive to retrieving slack. They give me more trouble than my 8lb mono
Good luck

[millsboy79]

2. When retrieving, always keep tension on the line. Retrieving slack line will make line wraps to jump on the next cast. This is especially important for braided line. Using a heavier lure will help keep the line tension.



Seems great in theory but when can we use the light lures? People buy braided line to be able to cast light lures further. And trying to cast them further can ultimately lead to more slack line depending on their skill level and the wind that day.

[newscientist]

Seems great in theory but when can we use the light lures? People buy braided line to be able to cast light lures further. And trying to cast them further can ultimately lead to more slack line depending on their skill level and the wind that day.

Completely agree. I am still working in figuring out this but I think fluorocarbon line could be the solution for better sensitivity but with some memory. I have not used it yet but that's why I am considering a fluorocarbon setup for worms. Another fix might be to make a baitcasting setup for those lure. Such setup will eliminate line twist almost completely but again it normally requires a relatively heavier lure

[cranky]

Seems great in theory but when can we use the light lures? People buy braided line to be able to cast light lures further. And trying to cast them further can ultimately lead to more slack line depending on their skill level and the wind that day.

Try ultra lite rod and reel. I cast 3/32 up to 1/8 lures well over a hundred feet with 4 lb mono. on a 500 or 1000 reel on 2-6 lb ultra lite rod. Just make sure to have bail closed before lure splashes down helps. Ive caught larger fish than expected and got them in and released quite fast with out managing to play them out too much. Right rod and reel for lite lures works well.