TAMING THE TWIST

Tricks of the trade for reducing problems with line

all fixed-spool reels twist line to some extent. Owing mostly to their shallow spools and refined line lay pattern, modern reels twist line less than reels of old. I upgraded my ancient Mitchells specifically to make life easier in that department. These excellent old fishing tools are notorious for wringing a line’s neck so badly that you never know whether the next cast will wrap the butt ring in a tangled web.

The principle of a fixed-spool reel guarantees some degree of line twist. As yet, no reel maker has eliminated it.

Twisting varies with model and size of reel, line diameter and type, and how often and how far we cast. I have reels where line runs smoothly for ages. Others demand reconstructive surgery after a single session. Constant management is the name of the game.

MoDeST TeNSIoN

The single most valuable step is always, always keep line under modest tension, most easily achieved by nipping it between finger and thumb on the retrieve.

This does little to reduce the number of twists going into the line, but it does help the line to pack neatly on to the spool, and thus stand more chance of escaping cleanly on the next cast.

Nipping also tends to concentrate the twists towards the shockleader end, which is why so many tangles seem to affect the first 20–50 metres of reel line.

There are a couple of easy ways to get some of those twists out at the end of a session.

I cast along the beach about 75 metres, put the rod in the rest then walk to the rig and cut the line just above the shockleader knot. I then wind in using fairly high tension, which has the effect of driving the twists out of the cut end of the line.

A similar way is to cast over grass, cut off the leader and then drag the line around for a while until the twists are combed out.

A friend of mine uses a hi-tech variation on the theme: he connects the end of the line to an electric drill and spins the twists out.

TWIST PRoNe

I suffer most with line twist when I’m spinning. My reels are pretty old and twist-prone. Unlike beach fishing, where I might cast four times in an hour, here it’s one cast after another that soon turns line into coils of spaghetti.

My way around this is to use two spools and a relatively short length of line – 75 metres is plenty where I spin for bass. I fish with the first spool until the line is a mess. Then I put the second spool on to the reel and transfer to it the line from the first spool, thus swapping it end for end.

Because the line is reversed, every new cast takes some of the existing twist out. Eventually, it starts to build up again in the opposite direction, at which point I swap back to the first spool and repeat the exercise. ■