Tangel reels

They call it a “bird’s nest”– a “tangled mess!” I call it infuriating! Those nasty, way down the spool loops that one creates with a spinning reel can be an angler’s nightmare. And the “line monster” usually appears at the most inopportune moment -- right when you spot that huge school of hungry fish and get ready to make a cast. These days, with the advent of the ultra thin superlines, spinning reel tangles have become an epidemic and the bane of many a fisher’s existence. But take heart, there are some steps you can take to minimize this annoyance. First and foremost, forget about “clunking” your spinning reel shut. That is the practice of turning the crank to close the bail. Instead close the bail manually by gently flipping it back into place with your hand. Then, just pull out any remaining slack in the line. This should eliminate most of those down-deep loops in your spinning reel. I know that initially this extra procedure will seem to be a nuisance, but after a short period, you will be doing this without even thinking about it. And there are other steps you can take to avoid theses aggravating spinning reel loop knots. When making your cast, watch your bait and just before it hits the water’s surface, close the bail. This has the effect of making the bait land more quietly, and pulls out and excess slack in your line. Another thing you can do if you have a rod/reel combo that is particularly prone to these wind-knot monsters is to avoid using lighter weight baits. The momentum of somewhat heavier baits tends to pull the line out effectively and thus eliminates most of the slack when you close the bail. If you use very light jigs, small live baits or lures like the DOA Shrimp, match that with a spinning outfit that has somewhat larger guides and is fitted with a well maintained quality reel. Another procedure you can perform that will help avoid those bird’s nests, would be to frequently run your line out as you move in your boat from spot to spot. Be sure to take the lure off so as to avoid line twist. Then, drop your line in the water as the boat is moving, let most of the line out and let it ride for a few minutes. This way, the pull of all that line as it is dragged through the water will take out any kinks or curls in your fishing line. Then, keeping the pressure of the line being pulled through the water, reel the line back onto your reel. This will do a nice job of laying the line back neatly on the spool. Above all, in your everyday use be sure to keep an eye on your lines as you use it. Oftentimes, small loops that develop can be very easily undone without a lot of fuss. And instead of opening the bail to get to the small loop, it’s a better idea to loosen your drag, toss the line up wind and gently pull out enough line to get down to where the loop is formed. Then, take a look at it to see how it is formed and then carefully undo the loop. After several years of using 10-pound PowerPro, which has the same diameter as 3-pound mono, I have utilized all of these methods to avoid those very annoying spinning reel birds nests. As result, I've enjoyed almost trouble free fishing with this new, very sensitive no-stretch fishing line.