I'm prepping to take the kids out this weekend. I have batteries to worry about, lights, flares, making lunches...etc...The least of my worries was an issue that arose tonight. I purchased a new rod reel today...and on my to do list was spool it with line.
http://www.sportsmanswarehouse.com/sportsmans/Abu-Garcia-Cardinal-402i-Spinning-Combo/productDetail/Spinning-Combos/prod99990134273/cat101052
I plan on doing salt water so I got out some Zebco 12 lb. I cranked the line between my fingers to give some resistance as usual...all spooled up, cut the line to put a hook on and BAMM, the entire reel became unraveled and ended in a rats nest. I said "FUGG!" I have so many things to do...not now....I had an hour before I had to pick up the kids....so i go onto youtube and research this problem....I follow the instructions, making sure the spool of line is not unwinding towards me but is positioned horizontally with the line coming off the spool on my right..this is supposed to make the line unwind into the reel.....instead again...same rats nest....
I decided to take the line and pole out to a field with the kids and did a snip from one half mile to the other so the line could spin onto the reel...Same effin thing!!!! omg... A 270 6 foot man jumping around yelling and cussing ....
my son never saw me act like that.....I was ashamed. So I thought, now what to do....I did have some 10lb eagle claw instead of the 12 zebco.
When I open the bail, the line still wants to rats nest itself but not nearly as badly as the 12lb zebco...I was able to tie on a hook and call it quits for tonight.
Please, does anyone know if this is an issue with the manufacturer, the reel, something I did wrong.....Im afraid tomorrow I will get to our destination and the whole thing will unspool... what a dumb thing to be worried about.
http://www.sportsmanswarehouse.com/sportsmans/Abu-Garcia-Cardinal-402i-Spinning-Combo/productDetail/Spinning-Combos/prod99990134273/cat101052
I plan on doing salt water so I got out some Zebco 12 lb. I cranked the line between my fingers to give some resistance as usual...all spooled up, cut the line to put a hook on and BAMM, the entire reel became unraveled and ended in a rats nest. I said "FUGG!" I have so many things to do...not now....I had an hour before I had to pick up the kids....so i go onto youtube and research this problem....I follow the instructions, making sure the spool of line is not unwinding towards me but is positioned horizontally with the line coming off the spool on my right..this is supposed to make the line unwind into the reel.....instead again...same rats nest....
I decided to take the line and pole out to a field with the kids and did a snip from one half mile to the other so the line could spin onto the reel...Same effin thing!!!! omg... A 270 6 foot man jumping around yelling and cussing ....
my son never saw me act like that.....I was ashamed. So I thought, now what to do....I did have some 10lb eagle claw instead of the 12 zebco.
When I open the bail, the line still wants to rats nest itself but not nearly as badly as the 12lb zebco...I was able to tie on a hook and call it quits for tonight.
Please, does anyone know if this is an issue with the manufacturer, the reel, something I did wrong.....Im afraid tomorrow I will get to our destination and the whole thing will unspool... what a dumb thing to be worried about.
There are a few tricks to help relax line, i use a line conditioner, reel magic found al wally world. Reel magic is great for a lot of things as well, like lubing up knots so you get a good not without heat stress. It also works well to lube up a jig to get it into a mat. Some people give the line a stretch, dont know about that way i have never done it, and it may not be so great. You can heat up a spool in water if its removable, not so great for anything other than spinning reels. The last choice and most likely the best it to find a line with low memory. Berkley XL is great and found everywhere. It may be a little more expence than some of the off brand lines, but will prevent the wasted efforts and all time time working threw the problems. Low memory lines are normaly a lot softer, which in most cases gives up some abrasion resistance, but that doesn't seem to matter if you cant catch fish, due to the line not being in the water.
eagle claw and zebco line are probably a thicker diameter than most of the more quality brands and i think 12lb line is the max for that reel. I'd use 10lb to play it safe, but if you really need to use 12lb you may be able to pull it off with berkley XL or sufix elite is probably even better. Also, DON'T OVER FILL YOUR SPOOL, I like to fill my spool until about 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch from the top. Good luck!
Make sure you put the new line in a bucket of water while you are winding it on the reel. After winding some of it on, stop and open the bail. If the line jumps off and twists up, take the spool of line in the bucket of water, and turn in upside down. Believe it or not, line is meant to be taken off the spool only one way. If you are putting it on backward, it will twist and cause this problem.