spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

How do you guys manage to spool your own conventional reels and avoid the loosy-goosy wraps back in the spool. Guess I need to despool and respool with more tension? Or just leave it alone and fish with it like that?:confused:

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

Leave as is. On your next trip out stand in the back of the boat and let the line out. Then reel back in.

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

Or you can bring it over to my house with some of Pennsy's finest and I will take care of it for you ;)

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

X2 on my smaller reels, on my offshore reels 30's & 50's I have the tackle shop do it, they can apply more pressure than I can to pack it on tight.

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

What I've found that works well is take one or two pieces of lightly damp paper towel ball it up and hold it tightly and run the line through when spooling up. Wraps the line tight every time and you don't cut your fingers with braid either!

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

Wow!!! You did this? I could see doing it with mono. With even the slightest pressure. Braid will shred the balled up wet/damp paper towel, like a pitbull on a kitten. Not to mention tiny specs of towel coating the braid. Surely you meant you did this with mono, right?

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

Try it, you'll be surprised the braid doesn't shred the damp paper towel at all. And unlike a glove or other dry method, the damp towel doesn't rub the coating off the braid either.

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

Don't make the mistake of putting a weight on it or you'll have a nice fight on your hands if you do.

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

So just let the line out with nothing on the end? Not even a swivel?

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

Nothing. Just let line out by hand. Before you know it you'll be at the backing.

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

Tie a three way or swivel on the end.. works better

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

With or without swivel, put the rod in a holder---that way one hand cranks while the other guides the line and the boat holds the rod---believe me, it's a LOT easier......

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

I do this every time out on a party boat. As soon as the ship clears the harbor, start paying out the line only. Hold the rod tip down as close or parallel to the water as possible. Works very well...

Occasionally when I have my boat out on the Delaware, I pay the lines out on my saltwater rigs into the current which does the same thing while the boat is at anchor.

It also cleans the salt off the lines too.

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

Make sure you're past the last buoy before the line goes out--boat turns across the buoy, you're maybe screwed with chaffed line or worse---spooled!!!I've seen both happen:eek:;)

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

Absolutely...

Good point!

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

I came up with a method to putting line on a conventional reel so that it stays tight. If it's too loose (especially braid) the line will dig into itself when you set the hook and cause tangles. So I spool the braided line onto another rod and reel (conventional). I keep the drag on this reel loose enough to be pulled out easily, but tight enough so there's a lot of tension on the line. You need one guy to hold the rod that already has line on it, and then you bring that line through the eyes of your rod that you want line on, then tie it to your reel. So basically at this point, both rods are connected by the line. The other guy keeps the bail closed and you just reel up all the line from his reel onto yours. Since his bail is closed, there will be a lot of tension on the line. I've tried every other way and this works best (by far). Hope i explained it okay.

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

If you ever get line twist when you line curls up back on your rod or knots up on itself, paying the line out behind the boat will work it out also but don't put anything at the end of your line.

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

Also the boat method is great for stretching new mono line. Let the line out put rod in holder in stern and drag it for five or ten minutes. Great way to stretch new mono

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

Make sure you clear the inlet! The drag on the line will surprise you, I let 3/4 hundred yards of 60 lb mono and i swear it took all I had to hold on!! I had to use my stand up harness lol! It does work good though! And yes do not put anything on and hold on tight

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

Don't use water! Spray some silicone on the rag, and then spool it with the most pressure. Using another person helps too.

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

before putting the brain on soak it.put in 5 gallon bucket.when that brain is wet it lays on nice and tight.

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

my brain has always been tight, it's my reel I worry about...:D

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

to many paint chips

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

When I was a kid my dad put a pencil through the spool and I would hold the pencil with a rag putting pressure on both sides. Doing it myself I use HighHook94's method but I put the one rod in a rod holder.

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

I spool it on through my thumb and index finger. I’ve done it this way for 40 years. Seriously? You’re over thinking it.

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

Just realized I use another way to tightly spool my line...I have 2 kites, one for 80, 60 & 50# test lines, one for 40# test lines. The heavier 3 get to fly an 8' shark, the other gets a regular 4 sided tailed kite. I don't bother with the 30# test. Fully load spool under as much tension as you can. Find a big open field with no obstructions(power lines, trees) and fly your kite. Stretches the line a bit and it'll spool pretty darn tightly. I do it in 10-15 mph breeze....You, at the shore, have the beach or back meadows and that wonderful south afternoon breeze. LOL

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

I spool it the same way--thumb and index finger also for over 50+ years..never been a problem..

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

This is a real late post: Stopped using the kites. Now I use a surplus ammo box with my lead in it--about 35-40#. A cheap metal curtain rod and a milk crate; rod goes through one side of crate, line spool is next then rod through other crate side. Next a double folded hand towel on floor with line across it in middle. Fold towel over line, place ammo box over towel. Now you're ready to go. I need almost full strike on lever drags to spool line. Works on braid very nicely. To eliminate braid burying itself, a lot of consecutive rapid cross-overs work, a few yards of left-right-left loading, crosses again and repeat. Set up mono using same setup and load as usual. They both go on very tightly...

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

This is what I use to put line on. The tension is adjustable. A nut with 2 rubber washers on each side of the spool, two washers on one side with a bolt. The other side of the nut goes in a vice. This works just as good as a tackle shop! My braid is like a brick when it's done.

Re: spooling your reel to avoid loose wraps
 

put the line thru a phone book and place a weight to control tension...