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Fly Line Winders

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tth

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I'm trying to figure out what is the best way to manage extra fly lines. I've seen the reel-e-good fly line and backing winder in several catalogs. Is that pretty good? What have you found that works the best?

 

Thanks.

 

TIM

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I use the reel good winder, I'm planning on getting the holder for the larger spools so I can do my spinning gear

"Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you can sell him rods, reels, and tackle for a lifetime." Author unknown
AMSA #852
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You may want to check out the Angler's Image line winding device.

It's a C-clamp , expandable-diameter line winder.

If you install loops at the front and rear of your flylines, the loops will fit easily over the "prongs" of the winder to get you started .

Then it's only a matter of un-doing the loop-to-loop connection of your backing-to-line.

I usually secure the line coils with pieces of old shoelaces.

Line coils can then simply be stored in sandwich baggies,

Nice thing about this tool is that it travels anywhere, & you need no extra spools,etc. to store the removed line. Also makes cleaning lines a snap.

" I think that if a person can't communicate, the very least he should do is to shut up. " -- Tom Lehrer
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I have the C-clamp, expandable diameter type winder as well and it works fine. The only issue that I have is keeping track of which fly line is which because after I take one off of the reel, it no longer fits into the box. So I have a stack of empty fly line boxes next to a stack of coils of fly line and it can get a little confusing. The fix is to take the spooled fly line and the empty box and put them in a freezer bag but I haven't managed to do that yet.

 

I also have the Berkely winding station which you can use to put the fly line back onto the spool that they come on. This gets the line back in the original box but it's a pain to get the line on the spool. You have to turn the spool by hand because you are kind of using the line winder in reverse. It's made to get the line from the bulk spool(factory fly line spool in this case) onto the reel. It's a little slow but it works.

 

Good luck

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Angler's Image and zip lock bags is the way to go. I have two expandable and retractable winders. One for travel and one for the shop.

 

Sometimes when I'm in a line winding frenzy I turn on Hendrix nice and loud and pretend I'm recording the gig on a reel to reel tape. wink.gif Just like Shaggy Dog Studio's in the Berkshires. Janis Jopplin and Hendrix did a ton of good stuff at that joint. Made some pretty good records too. biggrin.gif

 

Just off Route 7, north of Stockbridge. Aaaaah, dem were da days!

 

The zip lock clear plastic bags with lines inside allow you to store more lines in a draw. Just mark the pertinent facts maker, color, model, and even length and style. 105' rocket taper. ridged cold salt water , tropical tarpon taper, etc.

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Reel e good line winder does everything I need it to. I have extra spools for it with different lines and I can change pretty quickly if the need arises. with a little yankee ingenuity you can get the spool that the line comes on to fit on there too. Works for me.

may the seagulls rise and pluck your eyes.
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Reel e Good is a piece of junk. Use your drill press or el hand drill. Place a shaft (3/8" alum threaded rod-Home Depot) with washers and locknuts to sandwhich any type of line spool. Make up 1-1/2" or 2" sections of plastic pipe to any convenient length, glue on end caps (all home Depot stuff), run shaft through center (drill hole in end caps) and locknut in place. With shaft extending from both ends can rest on a vice (or any other support), or place narrow plastic pipe on one shaft end with end washers and lock nuts for a handle that won't spin. Spin line off reel to store on pipe, and use other end handle to hold while reeling back onto reel spool. I use both original fly line spools (if it will carry line plus backing) or plastic pipe sections to store lines/backing. The spool jig/chuck that comes with the electric line loader that most well equiped tackle shops have, is a great tool for spinning up reel spools. It has a hex shaft which can fit into el. hand drill and adjustable chuck to hold most fly reel spools (or make your own). I have the Reel e Good and never use it. Poorly designed and tolerances are huge even for plastic molded parts.

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My original thinking was to use the original spools that the fly line comes on to store the fly lines. I thought this would be good because I could keep them nicely organized with all the information right there already on the spools.....Are there any pitfalls in using the original spools for storage?

 

The expandable/collapsible type of line winder like the Angler's Image one also looks nice. I could see where it would be good to store the fly line in larger loose coils so there would be less line memory. This system would also allow the fly lines to dry out before being put away....Are there any other +'s and -'s to using this system?

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View PostMy original thinking was to use the original spools that the fly line comes on to store the fly lines. I thought this would be good because I could keep them nicely organized with all the information right there already on the spools.....Are there any pitfalls in using the original spools for storage?

 

The expandable/collapsible type of line winder like the Angler's Image one also looks nice. I could see where it would be good to store the fly line in larger loose coils so there would be less line memory. This system would also allow the fly lines to dry out before being put away....Are there any other +'s and -'s to using this system?

 

The big minus is space. It takes up a lot of room to use the original spools, if you only use it for home organization it's no problem but travel is different. For example, on my Loreto-San Diego trip I travelled with 9 rods, 6 reels, 2 extra spools for the reels, all with fly lines, then had 11 more fly lines with me. Besides that I had 12 spools of leader material, backing etc. It all adds up so I saved a good amount of space and weight by having the lines coiled loosely in ziplock bags (I have my carry on bag down to 41 lb which is good for international travel).

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I use a garden hose reel with a crank handle. This works great because the radious of the winds are spread out not like a regular fly reel. I have five lines on one hose reel and when you load it onto your flyreel it takes less stretching of the fly line to get your cast out.

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