Best why to lay braid on spinning reels without it twisting!

[breakthelines]

Just wanted to know if there are any technics to laying braid onto spinning spool so it doesn't twist or tangle. Using fireline.

Cheers, Jay

[PNG1M]

I loaded my Tica Dolphin up with 300m of 30lb Samurai braid the other day.

One of my kids did the winding after I pre-set the drag to a reasonable tension.
The reel was on a rod of course with the line fed through the guides. I had already wound on about 20m of 12lb mono as padding for under the braid.

In the winding on process I stood about 5 metres away and held the spool of braid sideways so the line came off the side of the spool in the same direction as it would go onto the reel.

Don't use a pencil through the middle of the spool (only do that for baitcast reels)

As my child wound the reel at a steady pace I let the line off the side of the spool and in my other hand I had a soft cloth that the line also passed through.

I squeezed quite hard on the cloth, applying pressure on the braid to maintain tension on until it had all been wound on.

Afterwards, upon inspection the line seemed very neat and snug on the reel with no evidence of twist.

Then I gave my kid a pat on the back and an ice cream..!

[Horse]

I put the braid in a bucket with a few cm of water in it with the label facing up then just wind it on. For overheads you use something as an axel through the spool and reel it straight on. Use a wet rag to keep heaps of tension on it

[kevvie]

Mate i use the old pencil thru the spool technique for theadies as well as baitcasters...all goes on the same. It makes little difference if you put a quater turn in the line anyway...not withstanding the new breed of threadies eliminate line twist

Just put it on...no science needed.

[Noelm]

there is indeed some science involved, all reels should have the line spool on an "axle" and heres why, for a baitcast/overhead, it is obvious, it goes on straight from the spool with no twist, easy, now with a threadline, if you use the same principal, when you turn the handle and wind on line, it puts a twist in the line, but when you cast, you in fact unwind the twist! get the idea, the amount of twists added, is equal to the twists undone by casting, now and Alvey is a completely differet setup, it is like an overhead, but casts like a threadline, so it will add a twist every time line comes off the spool and wound back on with no twist, so a good quality swivel is needed with an Alvey! winding with a threadline and not retieving line (drag slipping) will impart a twist big time, same as baitrunners, you let line out with the spool turning, and not putting/removing twist in the line, but wind it in with spool stationary and putting twist in, kind of like an Alvey, so to sum all that crap up, ALL line on all reel types should be wound on with an axle and the new line spool spinning letting line come off, not over the side with the spool stationary!

[kevvie]

See my non techie science-less notion was spot on...whack a pencil thru and just get the bastard on

[Noelm]

exactly, a pencil for all reels, how easy is that?

[Noelm]

I just saw another no no in a post back a ways, do not use rag or anything else on the line to create tension, it will and can damage the line (especialy mono) use pressure on the new line spool by pushing on the spool, just to prove a point (and also a neat party trick) get some 15KG mono and get someone to hold a length under tension bewteen their outstreched hands, now get a piece of rag (or a hanky if you still use one) and hold it over/around the line and squeeze it tight with your hand, give it a couple of rubs back and forth, the mono will be melted through in less than three rubs, try it on 30KG it melts in a jiffy, your mates will be surprised and you will look cool!

[breakthelines]

Do you need mono backup?

[Scott nthQld]

yeah but not much, just a few wraps on the spool. This is because braid has little to no stretch at all and will not 'bite' into the spool, to when under tension the line will slip around the spool causing all sorts of drama's. Having a few wraps of mono will let the braid bite into the mono, which inturn grips on the spool. You don't need much, just a fee wraps so you can't see the bare metal of the spool. other have more mono backing, but a few wraps is all that is required and that the way I like it done

[breakthelines]

yeah but not much, just a few wraps on the spool. This is because braid has little to no stretch at all and will not 'bite' into the spool, to when under tension the line will slip around the spool causing all sorts of drama's. Having a few wraps of mono will let the braid bite into the mono, which inturn grips on the spool. You don't need much, just a fee wraps so you can't see the bare metal of the spool. other have more mono backing, but a few wraps is all that is required and that the way I like it done

Could i use vanish as a backup?
how much braid do i put onto the spool?

cheers

[reidy]

The ye olde bucket tech. for me.The water creates enough tension for lighter lines and the line spool will always sit the right way around for loading in the bucket whilst its spinning.
Cheers
Reidy

[Scott nthQld]

Could i use vanish as a backup?
how much braid do i put onto the spool?

cheers

you could use vanish for backing, but it will be much cheaper to just use a standard mono. Make sure you get decent quality stuff though, you never know if you might need it. I like platypus Platinum personally, and use Finns braid. both are good quality at a reasonable price. Lighter classes I like fireline

How much braid is upto you. Say for example you have a reel that will take 200m of 10kg line (most reels will use mono as the standard). Grab some 10kg mono (20lb is close enough), and your 10kg braid of choice. Don't forget to take into account that braid is roughly half the diameter of mono in the same line class.

So taking that into account I would put 10-20m of mono on just to cover the spool, and fill the rest with braid (which would be about 360-380m), but thats just me. if you like you can go half and half, ie put 100m of mono and fill the rest with braid, or fill most of the reel with mono and put a small spool (about 115m) of braid on.

The deciding factor will be the intended use of the outfit, are you chasing bream and flatties, or big pelagics? Think about the type of fish you will be chasing and decide from there. The longer, harder, faster 'running' the intended targets will be I would be decreasing the amount of mono and increasing the amount of braid. If the fish were a short, quick runner, up the mono and decrease the qty of braid to save a few dollars. If it will be a multipurpose outfit split the diff and go half and half.

As for choosing a braid, for lighter classes (like 2, 4, 6lb) I like a stiffer braid like fireline to avoid wind knots etc when casting, for heavier classes go for a softer braid for ease of use and sensitivity.

[Cheech]

I have an old rod and reel that I use specifically for spooling up. I spool up this old reel, not worrying about how it comes off the plastic spool, and then put it in a rod holder and spool up my new reel directly from the old reel. That way I use the drag of the old spool to create the desired tension on the line, so get the braid on pretty tightly. I have never encountered line twist with braid. Possibly because it is always loaded on nice and tight.

[the gecko]

the braid is twisted because Fireline is flat and ribbonlike. It must be the worst braid on the market IMHO.

I use Suffix Performance braid, and it is round, so theres a lot less twist.