How to spool a spinning reel without putting twist in the line

Why direction matters on a spinning reel

A spinning reel does not rotate its spool. Line is wrapped onto it in circles by the rotating bail, and it comes off in circles when you cast.

The filler spool the line came on is also a set of circles. If those two sets of circles run in the same rotational direction, the line lies flat. If they oppose, every single wrap puts a half-twist into the line.

Over 150 yards that is thousands of twists, and the result is line that springs off the spool in coils, tangles on slack, and forms wind knots. It is the single most common self-inflicted line problem in fishing.

The floor test

Lay the filler spool flat on the floor, label facing up. Thread the line through the rod’s first guide and tie it to the reel spool. Reel ten or fifteen turns, then let the line go slack between rod tip and reel.

If the slack line hangs loosely, the direction is correct. Carry on.

If the slack line twists into corkscrews, stop, cut it off, flip the filler spool label-down and start again.

This test takes thirty seconds and it is the whole trick. There is no reliable rule about which way up a spool goes, because it depends on how the line was wound at the factory — you have to look.

Tension while you wind

Line must go on under steady tension. Loosely wound line digs into itself under the load of a real fish, and then the next cast pulls up a buried loop and stops dead.

Pinch the line lightly between finger and thumb above the first guide as you wind, or run it through a folded cloth. Firm, constant, and not so tight that the line stretches.

Wind slowly. A drill on the reel handle fills a spool fast and puts heat and uneven tension into the line, and the time saved is five minutes.

How full is full

Fill to roughly 1/8 inch below the outer lip of the spool. This is not a preference; it is where the reel was designed to work.

Published capacity figures make this easy to plan. A Pflueger President 30X holds 145 yd of 6 lb; a filler spool of 150 yd is therefore almost exactly right, and 300 yd of braid is two fills with a lot left over.

Backing, and when you need it

Backing is a base layer of cheap line under your main line. It exists for two different reasons.

With braid, it stops slip. Braid is slippery and an arbor knot tied straight to a bare aluminum spool can rotate around it under load — the whole line spins and you cannot retrieve. A layer of monofilament grips the spool and gives the braid something to bite into. Some reels have a rubber band on the arbor for this; most do not.

With any line, it fills space. If a 150 yd spool of line only two-thirds fills your reel, backing brings it up to the lip without paying for another hundred yards of expensive line.

Join backing to main line with a double uni or an FG knot. Our knots page covers the line-to-line connection, which is the one people most often tie badly.

The steps, in order

1. Open the bail. 2. Run the line through the rod’s first guide. 3. Tie an arbor knot to the spool and snug it down. 4. Close the bail by hand, not by turning the handle. 5. Lay the filler spool flat, label up. 6. Wind fifteen turns and check for twist; flip the spool if needed. 7. Wind under steady tension to 1/8 in below the lip. 8. Cut, and thread the rod.

Step 4 is worth its own note: closing the bail with the handle is what starts line twist on every cast for the rest of the reel’s life, and it is a habit worth breaking now.

Afterwards

Fresh line has memory from the filler spool. Cast a heavy lure out and retrieve it under tension a few times before fishing properly, and most of the coil will pull out.

If line still twists in use, the problem is downstream of the spool — usually a spinning lure without a swivel, or reeling against a slipping drag. Our line twist page works through the causes in order.