August 31, 2016

Untwist Fishing Line In Spinning And Casting Reels

Knowing how to untwist fishing line is important to the performance of your fishing reels. Follow these simple steps to minimize twisted fishing line.

How to Remove Twist from Fishing Line

Every cast counts during a fishing trip. Sometimes it can be that one cast that will make the difference between catching a tournament-winning redfish or mounting a wall hanger of a speckled trout.

All is lost if that cast fails.

An experienced inshore angler knows there are many factors that can cause poor casting performance and twisted fishing line is one of them, so making a point to regularly untwist fishing line is key to continued fishing success.

Why is twisted fishing line so bad?

A twist in your line (whether its monofilament, fluorocarbon or braid) is detrimental to your casting performance because it causes the fishing line to uncoil off the spool in a non-uniform manner.

This effect isn't as pronounced on baitcasters, given how their spool is oriented to the rod guides, but it is very noticeable on spinning reels.

Degraded performance due to line twist comes in the form of tangles and wind knots.

Follow These Simple Steps

There are many ways to untwist fishing line, but this method has worked best for me over the years:

Step 1

Remove all tackle from your fishing line, as you want it completely naked.

Step 2

With the boat idling forward, feed line off of the spool into the water. Let as much as 3/4 of the spool out. In the video I took the line all the way down to the backing.

Step 3

Let the line drag behind the boat. The force of the moving water will completely untwist fishing line in about five or so minutes.

Step 4

Evenly reel the line in so the line is packed smooth and tight. Irregularly reeling in the line can cause it to bite in on itself, especially on braided line.

Step 5

Enjoy tangle-free fishing!

If you found this fishing tip useful untwist fishing line, then consider this simple method to get the most casting performance out of braided fishing line.

Tight lines, y'all!

Captain Devin

About the Author

Devin is a former fishing guide and lifelong inshore angler. He founded Louisiana Fishing Blog in 2012 to share his ideas as a charter captain and still writes in it today. Since then he's created a fishing university — LAFB Elite — where he teaches inshore anglers how to safely navigate Louisiana's coast and catch more fish.

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