Myth Busting line spinning on your spool

[flytyingguy1]

Myth Busting: The truth about line slipping on the spool etc.

 

Many mistakenly believe that Spectra® will slip on the spool unless you take Draconian measures to prevent it. Experience has clearly shown that putting on several layers of mono, Dacron or duct tape are totally unnecessary. This practice is not recommended to solve a problem that does not even exist. Braided line grips the spool much like tread on a tire grips the road better than a smooth one with an infinitely small contact area.

 

Before you start spooling, form a good knot, (such as the Berkley Trilene knot) cinch it tightly on one side of the spool leaving a long tag end to be laid across the arbor. Spool the first full layer of Spectra® onto the spool in a close side-by-side fashion under tension of 6 or more pounds over the tag end. If this is done, the line will not slip! No exceptions have been reported but try pulling on it at this point if you have any doubts. When convinced, you might tell a friend that it works.

 

Continue filling the spool under tension without any exaggerated crisscrossing. Tension about1/2 the drag pressure expected may be appropriate when spooling heavy- duty line. Exaggerated crisscrossing creates open space in the spool which may invite the subsequent layer to dig in. In any case, crisscrossing is a one-time-event because you would not attempt exaggerated crisscrossing when fighting a fish because to do so would give the fish the opportunity to shake the hook. Actually, even if you think you are laying the line tightly under tension in a close side-by-side fashion, it is likely that you can't see that you are crossing several wraps every turn because the line is so small diameter.

 

Some believe that Spectra® should be spooled on wet. This is not needed, but if it makes you happy, ok. The main concern with wet spooling is that often insufficient tension is applied. Fresh water causes no problems, but I would not use sea water which has about 3.5% salt (about a 1/3 pound per gallon). Salt causes spool erosion. You would be saturating the line with salt all the way down to the bottom of the spool to start trouble later

[godzilla]

actually tires with no treads grip road the best. Treads only improve grip on loose road or in foul weather, as they channel precipitation away from tire/roadway contact area.

[inthered]

Backing Braid - With what lb mono??

"Mono backing? Dumb! ... Tape? Not needed!

Just tie the braid directly to the spool. Leave the tag a little longer and wrap over the tag." justinstewart

 

Errata: It's not what you say; it's how you say it. Flytyingguy1, I don't believe you are fully correct in everything you said. Also, I would like to note that I once forewarned a newbie that one should not consider everything posted here as it-must-be-so, and I hope everyone views my posts in the same light. Comments made in earnest can be misleading, nevertheless. The case in point is whether or not special measures should be taken--and I emphasize should--when spooling braid. I guess I concede they are not a "must" for everyone--and I emphasize everyone--but for most of us they can be consider a good solid "should." How did this whole difference of opinion arise--some follow guidance, some are unaware of the guidance and, some are aware of the guidance but question it through their own intuitive sense and experience. Just a note (not an admonishment), but you said, in effect, that special measures aren't even recommended. However, some may have been misled; Power Pro advertises that Arbor tape is included in their "EZ Spool." (Sorry!)

[NYNistler]

actually tires with no treads grip road the best. Treads only improve grip on loose road or in foul weather, as they channel precipitation away from tire/roadway contact area.

 

 

You might be right, but I have my doubts. Tread decreases the surface area of the tire, increasing the psi of the vehicle weight on the road. More psi corresponds to more friction and more traction.

 

Again, I could be wrong, so I'm open to hearing how "tires with no treads grip road the best."

[flytyingguy1]

Getting Started: Start with the free end of a line from a rotating spool!

 

If you carelessly start spooling off line from any spool without first making sure that you don't have an under-wrap, you can create a major problem. With an unnoticed under-wrap, the line will spool off quickly for quite a number of yards, all-the-while digging into the service spool deeper and deeper, until tension becomes too great to continue, maybe even breaking the line. The first impression by the surprised observer is to believe that the spool contained many under-wraps from the factory. In subsequent actions hoping to correct the problem he has caused, he creates even more problems along with great frustration. Too late, but upon serious reflection, he should realize that if the manufacturer fixes one end of the line to a spool and begins continuously winding on line, no under wrap can possibly result. Before spooling, check that you have not created an under-wrap in the top few feet of line.

 

After removing a portion of the line from a spool, tape the end of the remaining line to the side of the spool so that an under-wrap is less likely the next time you take line from that spool.

 

Make sure that you are taking off line from a rotating spool not from the end of the spool otherwise line twist will occur.

[flytyingguy1]

Control Check : Tight enough?

 

When you finish spooling line onto your reel, it should feel solid, not soft and spongy; if it is hard, be confident that you should have no problems. If it is soft, this indicates that you did not spool the line on under enough tension to prevent the line from digging in later.

 

The large service spools are not generally spooled on very tightly as they come off the braiding machines. To do so might affect the nature and quality of the braid. Therefore, care should be taken when loading a reel, so that you apply some of the tension between the service spool and the reel-not just to the service spool alone; this technique reduces the chance that line will dig into the service spool. Tension on the spool may be applied by pressing a gloved hand onto the line on the spool rather than onto the plastic spool side plate. The knitted gloves serve another useful purpose by removing any excess color-coating as the line is guided onto the reel.

 

We emphasize spooling because carelessly spooled line is the major cause of line-breakage when the line gets wedged down in the spool. The loud cry of the careless comes out "My line broke" instead of quietly muttering to himself "Oops, what did I do?"

 

Obviously you can put the line on tighter when first filling the reel than during normal fishing conditions. It is this solid base that is most important.

[FoliFish]

You might be right, but I have my doubts. Tread decreases the surface area of the tire, increasing the psi of the vehicle weight on the road. More psi corresponds to more friction and more traction.

 

Again, I could be wrong, so I'm open to hearing how "tires with no treads grip road the best."

 

 

I don't believe I've ever seen treads on any race tire (NASCAR, INDY, etc). My understanding is that bald is better (for traction anyway).

[3Beard]

I must respectfully disagree.. Braid spinning on spools is NO myth.. I have witnessed it first hand countless times in my years working in tackle shops and manning linewinding machines.. The problem has nothing to do with the texture or "tread" effect of the line.. it is due to the lack of stretch.. The elasticity of mono allows it to grip the spool when applied with a bit of pressure just like a rubberband wrapped around a finger.. No matter how much pressure you try to apply to braid.. (and I have melted spool rims when winding on machines), you will never get that kind of grip.. The trick of wrapping a long tag at the base may work.. for a while anyway, but a few wraps on mono first is a sure thing .. and costs virtually nothing in cost or lost capacity. Even tightly wrapped braid can soften up on the spool, especially when fishing lighter lures, or into a wind, and I've seen line start to spin a year after it was installed.. That will never happen with a mono base.. I'm not a fan of taping either, as I've seen the adhesive on some tapes fail after repeated wettings/drying causing that to slip, and also some can rot or deform over time creating a lumpy spool of line... Also in very few instances does one need the 100's of yards of braid it takes to fill most reels to capacity.. Most anglers never see the bottom 3rd on their spool.. but even if you do need lots of line, a few turns of mono will take up little space, insure the line never slips, and is hardly a Draconian measure.. and lets not forget that Jerry makes $$ on every inch of line he sells.. even the last few useless turns at the bottom..

[j0k3r]

You might be right, but I have my doubts. Tread decreases the surface area of the tire, increasing the psi of the vehicle weight on the road. More psi corresponds to more friction and more traction.

 

 

Again, I could be wrong, so I'm open to hearing how "tires with no treads grip road the best."

 

The goal is more surface area. More surface area = more friction on a smooth surface = more control. Wonder why F1 and NASCAR vehicles have insanely wide and completely tread-less tires, called "slicks"? Don't believe me? Put your whole hand down on a table and apply pressure, now try moving it one way. Now just put one or two fingers down, apply similar pressure, and see how much easier it is to move around. On a smooth surface such as asphalt you ideally want maximum surface area for maximum friction, of course without violating the vehicle's suspension geometry.

 

 

Treads exist, as stated previously, to channel liquids away from the tire, thereby improving friction. Slick tires in rain are as good as useless and suicidal unless you are a professional driver. The Department of Transportation requires all street-legal tires to have a minimum tread for this purpose.

[the_tin_squid]

Myth? This isn't a bigfoot sighting guys, it's a real actual thing.

 

I would bet that half the braid users on this site have seen braid slip on a bare spool at some point.

[inthered]

Guys--Please! Take it to the track! You're spinning your wheels on a fishing site.

[toaster816]

I have to disagree with this as well. Fireline on my Z and Greenie spools slips without a tape or mono backing on the spool. I spool all my reels with as much tension as possible, (my pops usually holding the spool of Fireline on a dowel while adding pressure as I reel it on). The line does not compress or feel spongy/soft after the line is applied, it is hard and does not move. Even with a proper knot tying the line to the reels spool, it is going to slip. I experienced this the first time I put Fireline on my old Penn's with no backing. Since I have gone with a layer of athletic tape I have not experienced a slip.

[j0k3r]

^^ Did you even read my post? LOL

 

Sorry for the off topic. Personally I have spooled braided reels with the tape power pro provides as a backing.. no problems.

[MVDCGTO]

^^ Did you even read my post? LOL

 

If you were referring to my post that I deleted then no I didnt. I posted then looked up and laughed because I said the exact same thing that you did so I deleted it. Great minds huh? lol

[J]

You might be right, but I have my doubts. Tread decreases the surface area of the tire, increasing the psi of the vehicle weight on the road. More psi corresponds to more friction and more traction.

 

Again, I could be wrong, so I'm open to hearing how "tires with no treads grip road the best."

 

NASCAR should hire you as a consultant.... I wonder why some genius hasn't already informed them of this increase of PSI