STAR QUESTION

Q: When spinning with lures on a fixed-spool, the line will often start to twist and knot after several casts, resulting in bundles of line getting caught in the rod rings? What am I doing wrong? JON WILKS, BY EMAIL

HG says: You don’t say whether you are fishing with braid or mono mainlines but, either way, this should not be happening.

However, I do think that modern braids are far better suited to casting lures when using spinning reels, and it sounds like your issues might well be with mono mainlines on smaller spinning reels, which can cause problems.

Don’t get greedy and overfill your reel, and make sure you keep as much tension in your mainline as possible.

Whacking out and retrieving metals, for example, does tend to put a lot of twists in your line, so it could pay to put a small swivel on to your lure clip.

Q: I want to build my own lure rod on a blank I have stripped down. What are the best rings to put on it? AIDEN RICHARDSON, BY EMAIL

HG says: I find it hard to look beyond the outstanding Fuji Torzite guides these days, but they are not cheap. They don’t seem to rust, are very light, and I haven’t seen one break yet.

If a set of Torzites is too much, go for something like the Fuji K-Guides, but whatever you use, make sure to build with the smallest guides you can.

I believe that smaller guides, especially on the tip section, help with how well the rod recovers and fishes.