As many parents know, taking kids “fishing” really means giving them a front row seat in, “Daddy shows everyone how to untangle fishing line.” Kids are better at getting their fishing line to tangle than they are at finding puddles to jump in. One of the worst ways line can tangle on a spinning reel is what is known as a birds nest. If your child looks up at you and asks, “Why does my fishing line keep unraveling?” you know you’re in for a challenge.
There are many reasons that your fishing line keeps unraveling. The most common are that you incorrectly spooled the wrong type of line or too much line on your reel, that you never treated the line with a line conditioner (so it formed memory and coiled), or that you fished it the wrong way and your line started to twist. Any of these are enough to cause your line to first get loose on the reel, then coil up precariously, and eventually form the worst tangle the world has ever seen. While all fishing line can do this, braid is the least likely to unravel and twist on its own while fluorocarbon is the most likely to cause you headaches.
Loose line on a reel creates some of the absolute worst birds nest tangles you can imagine. If your fishing line unravels and you don’t notice it, your fishing line will often tangle underneath the reel to the point where you might need to disassemble the reel to free your line. More than likely, loose line unraveling on your reel will force you to once again add fishing line to your spinning reel. I sure hope you enjoy spooling your own line!
Why Does Your Fishing Line Unravel?
Why does my fishing line unravel, you ask? There’s five main reasons that we’ll get into in some detail: you put too much or too heavy of line on your spool, the fishing line formed memory and coiled up, there was too much slack in your fishing line, you closed the bail with your reel instead of manually, or your lure started to spin. All of these will create a situation where the line won’t lay flat on the spool and you’ll instead have a situation where your fishing line is loose on the spool and eventually falls off the spool altogether.
1. You Put Too Much or Too Heavy of Line on Your Spool
The biggest culprit for why your fishing line unravels and falls off the spool is there simply isn’t enough space for it in the first place. Unless you are using a reel designed for saltwater, most spinning reels aren’t able to handle as much or as heavy of fishing line as baitcasters. The heaviest line that I ever put on a spinning reel is 30lb braid, and even that is pushing it. 30lb braid has the diameter of 8lb mono. Most freshwater spinning reels are going to recommend a line size between 4 – 10lb test monofilament, unless they’re truly oversized.
If you overfill your spool, your fishing line won’t stay as tight and will unravel on its own. You should always try to leave about a 1/8″ gap between your fishing line and the edge of the spool. Believe me, if you miss this, your reel will let you know soon enough. Sometimes I get a little overzealous with my winding and put on a bit more than I should. Within casts, I have a pocket full of balled up fishing line I had to cut from my spool.
2. The Fishing Line Formed Memory
Fluorocarbon and monofilament fishing line are renowned for having “memory.” This means that they tend to “set” and coil up. Anyone who has gone a few weeks without fishing and left their line on the spool knows what I mean. Put some slack in it after you cast a lure out. See that spiral? Spiral is synonymous with “twist.” Do what you can to avoid memory. Change out your old fishing line before it goes bad or expires. Use a line conditioner if you have one. Go fishing enough that the line doesn’t have a chance to set too terribly.
3. There Was Slack in Your Fishing Line
Too much slack, especially on a windy day, can cause line to fall off of your reel and unravel because there isn’t enough pressure on it to keep your line on the spool. Worse yet, when this happens you can set yourself up for a monster wind knot, especially if you close the bail with your reel, as discussed below.
4. You Closed the Bail With Your Reel
Most beginners close the bail to their spinning reels by turning the handle. I know I did this for years as a kid before I learned better. This was likely a major reason poor old Dad spent so much time figuring out how to untangle a spinning pole I was using. Here’s the issue: if your line has any slack in it at all, when you close the bail with your reel (giving it a little twist) the slack line is going to form a loop on the spinning reel. This loop will be tight and twisted and won’t sit right on the reel. This loop in your line will be the first to unravel from your spool, get caught by other line trying to leave it, and culminate in a tangled fishing line.
5. Your Lure Started to Spin
Sometimes your lure gets fouled enough that it starts to spin on the retrieve. Consider a crankbait that has both its treble hooks get stuck together. When you start reeling it in, it will start spinning. This creates line twist that, true to form, twists your fishing line up in a spiral and causes all sorts of problems. Some lures are more likely to do this than others, and you might find that attaching a small swivel to your line and then using a leader to the lure from it helps.
Why Does Your Fishing Line Keep Getting Tangled? How to Prevent Fishing Line from Tangling?
Frankly, I think all the tangles I put Dad through as a kid were good for his character and my vocabulary development, but if you want to learn how to prevent fishing line from tangling, let’s talk about the common reasons why fishing line tangles and what you can do about it.
More than likely your fishing line was tangled by one of three things: your line developed line twist, your line formed a wind knot that caught itself and tightened, or your line sat too long and developed coils which wrapped up on themselves, causing a convoluted mess. While you’ll get your share of tangles up near your lures that you’ll quickly notice, the worst tangles by far are formed much closer to the reel, usually right after a cast. Left unnoticed, these quickly turn into monster birds nests of legend. Let’s dive into each more.
What is Line Twist?
Line twist is when your fishing line, well, twists. It spins around in a tight spiral. When taut, this can be imperceptible to the eye, but when allowed to slacken, it will be much more obvious. Look for line that looks almost like a corkscrew with a loop in it. All types of fishing line can twist, though some are worse than others.
Does Monofilament Line Twist?
Monofilament line was twisting while fluorocarbon was still just a twinkle in some scientist’s eye. If you’ve been fishing long enough to decide it’s about time you put “why does my fishing line unravel” into a search, you’ve definitely seen monofilament coil up and fall off a spool or two.
Does Fluorocarbon Line Twist?
Does fluorocarbon line twist, you question? Boy does it ever. Fluorocarbon is the Wayne Gretzky of line twisting. It has such high memory that it easily coils, twists and contorts, often straight from the spool. It doesn’t matter if you have light pound test fluorocarbon, or heavy. The thin stuff will twist just as easily, and you’ll be less likely to notice it. My drop shot rod (which I use fluorocarbon on exclusively) goes through multiple spools of it yearly because it’s such a pain.
Does Braided Line Twist?
I suppose braided line twists, sure, but you probably won’t notice it after a couple of casts. Braid can sometimes take a few retrieves to limber up (it can coil slightly from the spool) but once this is done it has next to no memory. While it isn’t going to magically unravel itself if one of your lures goes haywire and produces a monster twirling motion, it’s also not going to be an issue that drives you crazy. Frankly, I consider braided line to be the best type of line to use on spinning reels because of this. It’s certainly the easiest to manage (assuming you’ve backed it appropriately).
With that said, be aware that the same limpness of braid that prevents your line from coiling, does make it more susceptible to other tangles, like wind knots. Luckily, what causes wind knots in braided fishing line are the same factors that cause wind knots in every other line. So avoid making those mistakes, and you’re good!
How to Prevent Line Twist on a Spinning Reel
If you’re serious about wanting to keep your fishing line from unraveling or tangling, you’re going to need to learn how to prevent line twist on a spinning reel. You’re going to want to learn how to properly spool your own reel, close your own bail, and consider using a swivel.
Spooling Your Own Reel
Unless you live next to a tackle shop or have a very bored friend, you’re going to be spooling your own reel with fishing line. If you’re using an open faced reel, it is very important that you learn how to spool your spinning reel without line twist.
I’ll bet you’ve looked at a spool of fishing line and thought you could just poke a pencil through the hole in the center and have someone else hold it while you spooled your own line. This can be fine, but probably not the way you are planning on doing it. Most people hold the pencil horizontally and have the line come off the same way a tire spins. This is the absolute worst way to put line onto a fixed spool reel such as a spinning reel. The reason is you’re immediately imparting twist to the line by forcing it to turn a 90 degree angle to get to the spool. By doing this, you’ve twisted all your line before its even made one cast.
Instead, either lay the spool flat on the ground. Take the tag end of the line and see which way it unspools fishing line. You want it to strip off counterclockwise. This is because it will reel onto your spinning reel clockwise. This is how you need to put line on a fixed spool reel, and a very important precaution to prevent line twist on spinning reels in your arsenal.
How to Spool Line Onto a Spinning Reel
Here are the steps you need to take to spool line onto a spinning reel to avoid line twist.
- Set up your filler spool of line as discussed in the last section, so that the line will unravel counterclockwise from the spool.
- Take the line and either thread it through the fishing rod you want to fill, or, if space is limited, use the lower section of an old two-part fishing rod for the task (this is a great thing to do with old fishing rods).
- Open the bail of your spinning reel.
- Form a loop with your line around the spool of your spinning reel. Tie it with an arbor knot.
- Close the bail.
- Take a rag, wet it with line conditioner.
- Pinch the line with this rag about 8″ above the reel.
- Reel in slowly and steadily until your fishing line is about 1/8″ from the lip of the spool.
If you follow these steps when spooling your next spinning reel, you’ll be much less likely to have your trip ruined by some line twist.
Close Your Bail Manually, Never Close Your Bail by Turning the Handle
As mentioned earlier, you should always manually close the bail on your spinning reel, never with the handle. First, it’s bad for your reel and will cause it to break down faster. It’s also a sure-fire way to get a wind knot. The slack in the line often forms a loop and gets stuck unnoticed when you do this (you’re probably concentrating on working your lure at this point). What you should do instead is manually close the reel and then pull your line tight through the roller before you reel in. This will save you tons of headaches down the road.
Consider Using a Swivel
Swivels aren’t going to do much for line that twists near the reel, but they work wonders if your crankbait hooks get stuck, your spinnerbait wraps around itself, or any other issue causes a lure to start spinning wildly on retrieve. There are also some lures, like inline spinners, that are notorious for causing line twist. While you might think that a “spinner” would “spin,” that’s really not what it’s designed to do. It will, however, do exactly that if you reel it in too fast. Any lure that makes a large circular pattern on the way back to the boat is going to impart a twist into your line.
A swivel will help avoid this because if the lure starts spinning, in theory the only line that is going to spin is the leader between the lure and the swivel – not the main line. I say in theory because you need to make sure your swivel is actually spinning, as any amount of gunk or algae could clog it up and prevent this.
What is a Wind Knot in Fishing?
A wind knot is every spinning reel angler’s worst enemy. It is a knot that forms when slack causes your fishing line to unravel and slip off the spool. Left unnoticed, this unraveled line will form a loop on the spinning reel when the bail is closed by turning the handle instead of manually flipping it. One reason it is caused a wind knot is because wind puts so much slack into lines that these are much more common on breezy days. If you want to prevent wind knots, it is critical that you manually close your bail. Then, give your line a good tug through the line roller to make sure it is snug. While this might be a case of your needing to break an old habit, it’s one worth fixing.
How to Keep Fishing Line from Curling
If your line keeps unwrapping from your reel, you should consider if line coiling, or curling, is the culprit. As mentioned earlier, fishing line has “memory” which basically means it “sets” to an extent. In other words, the fishing line will more or less start to look the way it has sat, such as in a coil on your reel. These coils or curls are hard to keep tight against the spool, which can cause your fishing line to fall off the spool or unravel. How to keep fishing line from curling is an art in itself that mostly considers line care.
Use a Line Conditioner
One of the benefits of spooling your own reel is that you can use a line conditioner while you do so. Most tackle shops aren’t going to go to this length for you, and none of the pre-spooled fishing reels I know of ship with a fishing line softener applied. You can use anything from a purpose-built fishing line conditioner to simple silicone spray. I personally prefer KVD’s Line and Lure Conditioner, but there are plenty of other options out there.
It is imperative that you use a line conditioner if you’re planning on fishing with fluorocarbon fishing line. If you don’t, you will have a fluorocarbon line twist extravaganza on your hands.
Will Soaking Monofilament Line Help?
Some people like to soak their monofilament line in water to loosen it up. I suppose there’s nothing wrong with this given the line is going into the water eventually, anyway. I’d just caution you not to boil your fishing line. I know plenty of folks do it, but it’s one of those arts that can go south on you quick if you mess it up (high heat and fishing lines don’t always mix).
How to Untangle Fishing Line
While every tangle is unique in its own dastardly way, there are a few maxims that I can speak to that will help you untangle fishing line. The most important is to notice that the fishing line is tangled as quickly as you can. I tell my kids that I need to know they have a tangle as soon as they do. If you catch them early it can be as simple as just gently picking them apart or unwrapping your line. If you don’t notice them immediately, they tend to cinch down and you’re left with a situation where you need to reach for your scissors rather than try and untangle the fishing line.
Candidly, you’re probably better cutting off in most circumstances. Yes, this is expensive. However, every tangle creates pressure and friction on lines that they weren’t designed to handle. Every little kink and knot weakens the strength of your fishing line. What do you suppose is going to happen when that trophy fish bites?
As a general rule of thumb, I attempt to untangle braided fishing line. It is so limp that it won’t kink just because it folds over itself. Monofilament and fluorocarbon fishing line, on the other hand, should simply be retied unless the tangle is truly easy. The second I notice any 90 degree bends, creases, or folds, I cut off and retie.
Is There Any Such Thing as Tangle Free Fishing Line?
No. All fishing line can tangle, especially in the hands of a crafty child. However, there are several brands that have a reputation for being easier to deal with than others. Point in fact, I use these brands almost exclusively for this exact reason. A good braided fishing line that is fairly tangle free is PowerPro. A monofilament line that tangles less than some competitors is Berkley Trilene XL. As for fluorocarbon, good luck, but I do pay a premium for Seaguar InvizX as it is one of the softer, more pliable fluorocarbons out there. This makes Seaguar InvizX about as tangle free as a fishing line made from fluorocarbon can be (which isn’t saying much). These lines are all good choices to help prevent tangles and to stop your fishing line from unraveling.
Conclusions
Fishing is a great hobby, but every rose has its thorns. If you used to find yourself shaking your fist at the sky, crying “Why does my fishing line unravel!?” I hope this article helped sort through the issue for you. There are few things more frustrating in this sport than having your line get loose on the spool and start tangling up on you. As we’ve discussed there are several simple measures you can take to prevent your fishing line from tangling. Luckily, none are major changes. Just use the right line for the reel, apply proper conditioner to it, cast and retrieve it appropriately, and sacrifice your first born (kidding). While there’s no such thing as tangle free fishing line, at least these steps will reduce your agita a bit, and make for a better fishing trip.
Have a great day for fishing,
John Paxton
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