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Why do I keep tangling my reel


Ali MacDonald

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New line can be quite springy, i have never tried the line you are using so i can't say thats at fault for sure. Try taking the spool of line off the reel and leaving it in water overnight/24hrs to soften it up a bit, it can work wonders.

There's no such thing as a bad days fishing..
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Hi Ali. I agree with the general conceusus that backwinding is the source of your problems.

 

Backwinding if your reel has a decent clutch is absolutely not needed with one exception I'll mention in a minute. Quite a few experienced UK anglers do backwind but they have either been fishing a long while (clutches were not good a few years ago) or learned from a backwinding fan.

 

I grew up lure fishing from a boat and moved from fly rod to fixed spool pretty much as soon as they became generally available in the 1950s. I did occasionally backwind but only to place the bail in the proper position if I'd wound in too far. Once that was done, the anti-reverse went back on. It made sense as having a hard take while you are winding a lure in and if you've been doing it all day and aren't paying as close attention as you should is a good way to bruise a finger and lose a fish.

 

I suspect I got the habit of relying on the clutch from fishing that style but I have to say that I do not need or enjoy backwinding and I do pretty well with the fish. In fact, I use mostly multiplier reels these days and they don't allow backwinding as an option. Works fine.

 

You need to get some experience and then you can try the backwinding thing to see if you like it or you can simply use the really great clutches you find on modern reels.

 

If possible, you will benefit greatly from a few trips to the water with an experienced angler so you can observe their technique and have them suggest improvements to you.

" My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!" - Harry Truman, 33rd US President

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I would suggest not back winding at all. put the auto reverse switch in the position that only allows you to wind in.

 

Good advice from Mat, assuming that the reel has a silent anti-reverse, as almost all modern reels do. Otherwise, I may have to kill you. :lol: (Nothing more annoying than the sound of someone using a reel with a noisy anti-reverse)

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Ali ,hi is your spool seated properly on your reel as this can cause tangles as it doesn't oscillate properly (move's up & down enough,and your reel size is 2500 which is quite small and the spools inner diameter maybe a little small for coping with 6lb line ! which due to line memory is springing up and creating loose coils around the spool that as you wind becomes a tangled mess,also it sounds as if you maybe winding against the clutch/drag and you end up with loose line tangling around the bailroller/arm & spool.where do you live roughly/what county as someone might be able to have a quick look for you and be able to help sort it out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(ps ..in your profile it doesn't give a general location (county !) for you.)

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Chavender
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Backwinding if your reel has a decent clutch is absolutely not needed with one exception I'll mention in a minute. .....

 

;)

I can think of another ... you have a loaded feeder and baited hook hanging from the rod tip ready to cast, but there's a slight tangle up there, or the bait has fallen off....

If you open the bail arm and let it drop, to get at the tangle, the shock will probably empty the feeder at your feet.

Flip the anti-reverse and let it unwind downwards gently into your hands

Bleeding heart liberal pinko, with bacon on top.

 

 

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Thanks for all the replies - this is a great website to learn. I will look more closely at all the replies, but the general opinion is that I should stick to the anti-reverse and use the clutch/rear drag system to give more line when needed. I will also soak the line on the spool in water overnight to see if that helps.

 

I live in Stowmarket in Suffolk so if anyone local wants to give me a shout to help then send a message. Thanks

 

Ali

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Not sure if you asking, so that you can explain it to me, or whether you are asking for yourself *blush*

 

I know that twisting it one way makes it harder to pull the line out before it "clicks" and the other makes it easier.

 

The skill I guess is judging how tough to set it. I had it set to high initially and was stretching the line as I pulled some out to load the rod.

 

Its why I lost 4 Drennan feeders on my first day out :-)

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Ali - one excellent piece of advice that may have gotten lost in the midst of all the post here was about winding/cranking when you can't get line back in (say, if you have a fish taking line against the clutch).

 

That is the quickest way to really put some really horrible twist in your line and should be avoided at all costs. If your clutch is set correctly and you get a fish on large enough to take line, please remember that you DO NOT want to wind while that is happening. When the fish quits running, then you can wind in some.

" My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!" - Harry Truman, 33rd US President

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