How To Untwist Your Braided Line To Prevent Tangles & Wind Knots
- By: Luke Simonds
- on
- Found In: *Tackle & Gear, Fishing Tips, Line, Weekly Newsletter: 6-20-21
When you fish a lot, your gear gets abused.
And when you catch a big fish that takes out a lot of line, your line can get really twisted.
And what happens when your line gets twisted? Wind knots.
So in this video, you’ll see how to unspin your braided line so you can get back to fishing and prevent wind knots and tangles!
Check it out below!
How To Untwist Your Fishing Line [VIDEO]
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Braid is not hard to get twisted up, but it does take some effort to untwist.
First, remove the leader, knots, and hooks so that it’s just the braided line.
Then you will drag it out behind the boat just like you are trolling.
Let the line out until you can see where the twisted line stops.
The line will naturally unspin itself in the water.
Lastly, you’ll spool it back nice and tight.
As you reel in, pinch the line with your fingers and point the rod tip towards where the line is dragging behind the boat.
You’ll be able to smooth out the line with your fingers and also check for any frays or damage.
You may have to repeat this process to get out all of the twists but then you’re ready to re-rig and keep fishing!
Here’s the braided line we’re using:
Conclusion
When a fish takes out drag, every rotation of the reel adds a twist to the line.
You’ll want to untwist your line by unspooling the spun-up line, dragging it behind your boat in the water, and then reeling in all of the line tightly.
Have you used this method to untwist your braided line?
Let me know down in the comments!
If you know someone who fishes a ton and catches big fish, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
And if you’re in the Keys and want to go out with Capt. Hollywood’s crew, you can find them at FloridaKeysFunFishing.com.
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I have used braid since Fireline came on the market. I use it on everyone of my rods,from panfish to shark with mono leaders. I have never had a problem with it in all those years. This year I have been having problems on 3 of my reels and a buddy also has the same problem on one.
The problem is when spooling new line,reeling in a lure/jig on our panfish/crappie setups it twists the line. The line isn’t slipping on the reel nor is the drag to lose. I have tied my line to something and walked off all the line. I then went back to the rod and started untwisting it by hand via pinched finger and walking the length of line to the end that is no longer tied to car,tree,fence,etc. When it’s good and straight I go back and start spooling it back on while pinching it up near the 1st guide. Within a few turn of the handle it has twisted up again up to where my fingers are pinching it. This twisting is so bad it cause wind knots on a pretty regular basis.
The reels are only maybe 6 yrs old and I take care of them and also never lay them in the dirt,sand,etc. I can’t figure it out,I have taken the bail roller completely apart,cleaned it thoroughly and re-lubed it with Quantum hot sauce oil (not the grease) and made sure it’s spinning freely. I have spooled on new line from a different spool,I have tried letting the water current take the line off and then respool….. but it’s still twisting it. I thought it may been the age of the line as I get about 7 yrs out of braid,but I respooled with new as did my buddy and there it is,twisted again. Any idea WTH is going on,it’s 3 different reels out of maybe 40-50 I own and use. The 3 that it’s doing it on I have 6 of the same models 3 1000 and 3 2500’s. It’s doing it on 1 1000 and 1 2500 of the same model and a 2500 of another..
I have noticed most of your posts are for boat people, our county in Jensen Beach Martin county of Florida are doing their best to make it where there is no land-based fishing in this county right now the only place we had at the Jensen causeway is being done by a company out of Rutherford New Jersey what do they know about Florida water weather and causeways 0 nothing fearria for a construction is the name of the group hired by the county to put tons of rock in that you can’t walk on you can’t get your vehicle down to the water I’ve complained to our local county commissioners but money I don’t have and that’s the only thing they care about there’s nobody that runs against them in the county commission besides me for the last 20 years you think anybody is going to vote for a Floridian when there is no more Floridians left along the east coast it’s all a bunch of damn Yankees from up North and it don’t know they don’t know a damn thing about down here money talks local people starve thanks a lot folks I wish you guys would follow up on this it really be nice to see this brung to public there is no handicap access to fish the beach the Indian River the Jensen Beach causeway the Stewart causeway all in Martin county there is only one handicap access at the Palm City bridge but who wants to fish out of the garbage coming out of lake Okeechobee the water is so poisonous that you can’t even breed the air around the port mayaka locks or anything else please raise a giant stink about this for me for I am an old disabled man I’ve lived in this county since 1977 I really hate seeing it destroyed there’s no place to fish no more unless you’re filthy Rich and you got a million to 5 million dollar yacht and also known as a so-called sport fishing boat the hell is sport fishing fishing is for catching food to eat and the morons in Tallahassee that makes rules about this fish you can keep the size of the fish and what time of year you can keep it have no clue cuz they’re not scuba divers they rely on saying that’s in the shallow flats looking for juvenile hatchlings they’re going to find them in the river cuz they’re all offshore where I used to dive at I used to be a diver a spearfisherman grocery shopping I should say fisherman fishing with a rod and reel that’s hit and miss if you get one great if you don’t it’s O well, I do appreciate a lot of the stuff you guys do a lot of it’s very entertaining some very educational especially to the young amateur fishermen that we need to get our fathers and mothers to do with our children instead of sitting on the couch playing PlayStation or being in a gang trying to be something that you’re not, keep up the good work guys I’d sure like a little help on this issue if you could publicize it for me I can’t even get our local news stations to help it doesn’t create panic so nobody cares and if the news couldn’t create panic among the people ain’t nobody would watch it pretty damn boring tight line guys
Thanks for sharing the issues that you’re seeing down in Jensen Beach area… so sorry to see that the land-based fishing access is getting progressively smaller. I hope that some new leadership can come in down there who will make it a priority to expand fishing to more people soon. Our goal is to help get as many people as possible interested in fishing so that we can have more people who vote with stuff like that in mind. I’ll make a point to do more shore-based fishing so that the lessons can be more relatable. Tight Lines!
Great Info! I always stream new line after I have spooled it on BUT never thought of looking for twists afterwards so great info. Perhaps starting back to the landing we should take 10 minutes of our return by “Dragging the Line”? That would give us clean line for next trip & necessitate tying new leader for that trip!
Thanks for making time to leave the nice comment Bob!
Great info
Thanks Garry!
great video.my dad taught me this years ago.i did not realize that braid may require several runs.thanks!
How cool! One run gets the majority of the twists out. But sometimes a 2nd is needed.
This sounds great for those who have access to a boat. However those who wade or shore fish can’t do this. How would they resolve line twists?
The same premise holds true if you walk it out over a grass field or if you go to a high current zone (without boat traffic) and let the current take the line out.
I have done it from a kayak and from a boat powered by trolling motor. Even I. Riffle in a river. I often use this even with new line to avoid rats or birds neat
Greets.
So far so…..
Attatch a small swivell to the end before you let it out. Some drag is essential.
Remember, to avoid line digging leading to breakages, re-pack the amount you have used, under tension.
I wind off onto a vintage Penn 116 and then re-wind against the old fellers clutch.
Most of my stuff is reloaded with up to 15lbs tension. (Typically 30 – 80lbs line).
Yes, the star and handle of the big Penn do get hot.
Commercial machines are available, that tackle shops use to load up with tension, for customers.
Depends how rich you are and whether you can hide it from “‘Er indoors”.
Basic consumer rigs, Berkley etc., are fine for mono and the initial spooling of braid.
Remember, when self loading from a bulk spool, braid can drop 1/4″ when re tensioned.
I use a thick stick with a Fuji boat setup on each end. Grab a couple of matching butts.
Strap on the old feller and the reel that needs re-packing and just wind it off with light drag and back on with proper tension. Any old reliable multiplier will do, as long as it is big enough and the drag is up to it. The old feller came off an Irish tuna boat and initially had asbestos drag washers!!!
Kept ’em for authenticity when my family get to sell all my gear off.
Tips for a fresh load of braid.
It will bed down lots under tension. Enough to get a sizeable mono topshot.
Take your time and go back and forward a few times to get the tension.
Rush it, it will dig.
Benefit of using proper fishing butts. A gimbal helps with the big stuff.
Maybe, I should have glued a long foregrip onto my stick.
If you are happy to cast it (shorter distances) hollow braids, Power Pro Hollow ace, Toro Tamer 16 Strand, Momoi Diamond Gen 3 and of course Jerry Brown will all bed down to give a bigger line load. Even thinner, sit flat so require less preload tension to stop line dig and of course, splice to mono or other braids like a dream.
Hollow ace goes down to 40lb, Toro Tamer even do a 20 and 30lb. Twenty gets trickier to splice.
I use both brands.
Grass tip works so much better if wet. Dry grass can be a real pain.
Big field!
Will still need to re-tension for braid.
Rgds.
Malcolm Hayward.
Yes, I’ve used that method for years, works well on mono also
I have a question somewhat related. When you are fighting big fish that tail dance like the tarpon you caught with Hollywood, why do you drop the rod tip and point it at them.
Here’s a video that explains why it’s important to dip the rod when fighting a tarpon: https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/tarpon-bow/
Thanks Luke! I read the post and understand, from a boy I was always taught to keep the line tight on small and large mouth bass but I guess a tarpon is a whole different creature. By the way I am a member but was not signed in when making the post.
I wonder if this will work from my kayak
This line untwisting technique will definitely work behind a kayak.