Filling your reel with line.

[CoachKWJ]

Maybe best a topic for springtime, but-
I've tried all the methods, like laying the spool down, cranking on a few turns, and seeing if it is twisted etc. I now exclusively use my old tried and true method. if I'm alone, I stick a pencil through the spool of line and hold one end between the toes of each foot. I then reel the line onto the reel with a reasonable amount of tension. My reasoning is this. Think of how the line is put on the spool at the factory. It is pulled onto the rotating spool which can be in either a vertical or horizontal position. It is not wound around the spool like the opposite of the laydown linewinding method. It just makes more sense to me to take it off the spool the same way it was put on. I do not have any twist problems and will not look back.
P.S. The method above works easier if you have someone hold the spool for you while you reel in the line.
Sometimes you don't have that option.

[Donald Garner]

CoachKWJ,

Thanks for sharing the tip.

[tsmith35]

P.S. The method above works easier if you have someone hold the spool for you while you reel in the line.

Don't do that... run the line through a large phonebook near the binding and it'll take care of the tension. Works great.

[ronalddipietro]

its difficult if you are alone..in the boat...so I usually put the spool of line on the bottom of boat standing on the rollers..so that it can roll off...no twists...

[clarker2000]

I invested in a line winder station. Well worth it. I can unline and line all 14 of my rods in no time.  I did find an interesting article though that after all these years finally made sense of how to properly line a spining reel. Hang with me here.

If you turn your spining reel upside down and turn the handle that is the same direction you want your line to go on.  So basically if your reel turns counter clockwise while upside down then that is the same exact direction the line should come off the spool.  If the line comes off the spool in the opposite direction just turn the spool upside down. 

I cant tell you how many articles I read before I got to see this one.  It makes sense and its easy to understand. 

My line winder takes all that pretty much out of the equation and if you fish alot like me its a very worth while investment.   

[nuke]

...If you turn your spining reel upside down and turn the handle that is the same direction you want your line to go on.  So basically if your reel turns counter clockwise while upside down then that is the same exact direction the line should come off the spool.  If the line comes off the spool in the opposite direction just turn the spool upside down...   

I've used this method (after many years of using the pencil-thru-the-spool method) and I still encounter line twist as soon as I spool up on occasion. It baffles me...

[gillrod2728]

I've used this method (after many years of using the pencil-thru-the-spool method) and I still encounter line twist as soon as I spool up on occasion. It baffles me...

I keep my line in a spooling box made by plano weight it against something so it doesnt slide around put a little tension on the line and reel it on works great.

[bayscotter]

When spooling line, think of it like a cassette tape.Line=tape. For a baitcaster you want the line comming off the top of the bulk line going into the reel. same thing for spinning reels.. tie the line off to reel then take the bulk line and see how the line comes off it. Take a mental note what side the sticker is on. Remember....... cassette tape. No more line twist

[saint romain]

I use the little box that power pro line comes in. I don't have braid on all of my reels, but the box is a cheap and easy way to spool up your reels when your alone. Setting them up is kind of a hassle, but once its set up its set up. I have 4 set up, two braid, one mono, one flouro. I don't know how, but all of the line spools fit perfect