New to threadline reels - help!

[Albinus]

Hi everyone,

This is probably going to sound quite silly but I need some assistance with using a threadline reel. Ever since I've been able to walk I've used sidecast reels with the occasional bout of a decent overhead rig for heavy gear. The only real limitation of the sidecast reels is retrieve rate on certain lures, so my wife decided to buy me an outfit for Christmas. Well, I've seen kids use them better than I can. I'm finding them awkward to cast without a bunch of line falling off, hard to set the hook and my finger gets in the way while doing so. And don't get me started on how to correctly set a drag (I'm used to the palm of my hand providing infinite drag settings!)

Any tips for someone new to these?

[Binder]

Your line is either to lose or you have to much on the spool if you are getting a bunch of it coming off the reel when casting. Spinning reels are not as forgiving as alveys when winding line back on, pretty much need to have tension on it all the time.

No need to  put your fingers anywhere near the line when waiting for a bite or retrieving a lure, let the rod do its job and transmit the bite / hit to your hand holding the rod, when you feel it lift the rod. If it doesn't transmit the bite, the rod is to heavy for the fishing you are doing.

Set the drag so it is as stiff as you can get it while the line pulls off the reel smoothly when you pull on it. Unless you have have line to light for the reel that should do as a starting point, wind it off a turn or so and see how it goes..

You can palm the reel if you want to, but it is nowhere near as easy as an alvey to do it, you basically cup the front of the reel and use your finger tips on the spool, and it only works when the fish is taking drag anyway -  I would recommend you let the drag do its job, and upgrade your alveys to units that have drags

 

 

[rayke1938]

With the line falling off are you overfilling the spool?

Cheers

Ray

[samsteele115]

Perfect response binder! Well said. 

[Albinus]

Hi guys,

Thank you for the responses. The amount of line seemed right that I was spooling on but who knows, I may have overfilled the spool. After several casts it seems to have settled down a little but I might take 20-30m off just in case.

I believe the hardest part for me will be not leaving my finger on the line. With the side cast reels you develop an educated index finger that level winds subconsciously over time, of course you don't need to do this with a threadline.

Thank you again for the speedy reply. Appreciated.

[RUSSIAN]

Just another tip, it is essential to spool on your line under tension, if you haven't, this could be why you keep getting a bunch of line to fall off? 

Are you using mono or braid?

Anthony

[Gad]

This is a fairly simple google search for ‘how to cast a spin reel’. There`s a write up with a couple of videos.

http://www.baitrodreel.com/how-to-cast-a-spinning-reel/

There are plenty of  ‘how to’ info on the net that covers every thing you may want to check out about spin reels

Hope there`s something useful for you.

Cheers Gad

[Albinus]

Hi guys,

I went fishing this morning using my mate's reels (quite expensive by the looks of them!). First one I had similar issues to mine, line coiling etc. His reel was spooled with braid and I use mono. The second reel of his I had no dramas using. Turns out the way to get my left index finger out of the way is to retrieve threadlines in an LH config - if it's busy winding a handle turns out I don't subconsciously rest my fingers on the line

I'm still far more accurate with a little sidecast reel. Perhaps that's just due to experience. Even though I didn't nail anything my mate had a corker of a session with two large bass and a yellowbelly!

[Albinus]

Well I do believe I'm not meant to use them. New reel is already unserviceable due to dirt ingress. When you're walking long distances on foot in rough terrain keeping it out of the dirt isn't always easy. Looks like I'll just stick to bait and slow retrieve lures. My 4" Alvey from the 1950s can't be killed!

Thank you anyway to all that advised. I do appreciate the help

[samsteele115]

Jeez you must have put it on the ground and kicked dirt into it and stomped on it for good measure! What reel do you have?

I have done a lot of bush trekking with my reels and never had a similar problem even by resting it on the ground (although I try to avoid it). 

[Terry H]

Accuracy: A little jingle from a comedy sketch tv show a number of years ago comes to mind: "Repetition, repetition, lets do it again!" The more you fish and cast with it, the better you'll get.

As for the dirt, at worst it will just need to be stripped, cleaned and regreased. There's plenty of videos online for this.

It would be good to know what reel you are having issues with, and even a photo of the spool. 

Cheaper reels tend to not be as well sealed as expensive gear, and as such don't handle things like dirt or salt as well. Yes, one can argue you are more inclined to wrap the expensive gear in cotton wool, but in practice I find the expensive gear handles the abuse a lot better.

 

 

 

 

[Albinus]

I have a Shimano Sienna 4000. Went from being relatively smooth to running like a dog in the space of a few hours hiking. Still coils and falls off the spool when the bail arm is opened and I have no idea what's wrong - I even respooled the whole darn thing making sure tension was applied.

I just didn't think a new reel would be so problematic. Unless I'm doing something drastically wrong, of course.

[Luc53]

From your photo, the reel looks to be correctly spooled.

If you just open the bail arm without holding the line, it will just come off the spool.

In the link Gad gave, prior to opening the bail arm, you need to hold the line with your right hand index finger as shown in the video "Fishing for Beginners - How to cast a Spinning Reel" at the 1.28 minute mark.

You need to get your casting action right before worrying about distance & accuracy.

If you got to your local tackle store, they should be able to help you with your casting.

[Old Scaley]

Might be time to drop into a good tackle shop for a bit of advice?

 

edit. ^^ just saw the post above. Great minds think alike.

[Albinus]

I'm holding the line when the bail arm is opened, but can't stop it coiling off. I think I'm going to need to see a mercenary I think.

[samsteele115]

I think that's what you get with mono as it has 'memory'. For casting lures it is not ideal and I remember changing straight to braid after my first frustrating attempt using mono on a spin reel when I first started lure fishing. I had the same problems as you. Braid is a much better option for throwing lures with spin reels because it does not have memory and you are able to feel the lure and bites a lot better due to it not having stretch, unlike mono. I think braid is a must for lure fishing on spin reels, in fact I do not know a single exclusive lure fisho who uses mono on their reels (excluding the bream weirdos who fish ultra light fluorocarbon straight through). The spool is a lot smaller on your spin reel than on an alvey so I think this is why you are having problems with it, whereas on your alvey it is not an issue due to line peeling straight off the reel and not coiling upwards. Again, I remember having the same problem when I opened the bail arm ready to cast and it just started coiling out! Frustrating! 

You are just not used to it yet and all this talk about braid and other lure-fishing jargon is probably a bit overwhelming (I try to follow and understand a fly fishing forum but have no idea what they are on about, so I know how you feel) but I promise if you stick at it for just a little bit longer you will catch fish, and good fish at that. Hang in there!

[Fisher384]

i only use them and if theres something wrong with the reel sienna is shimano an is fairly reputable on my lure rod i got a shimano solstice and its sits in a shed with one side fully open with a gravel floor and had no problems maybe take the spool of and make sure its not cross threaded or something it shouldn't do that.

to keep mono straight and not "curl up" maybe try a heavier weight or just go braid the feel you get especially with a graphite rod is ridiculous you can get it relatively cheap i get mine at kmart same brand and all at the tackle shop is 26.99 and at kmart its 20 jarviswalker hercules no complaints with it.

[Dinodadog]

I am an old alvey man from way back and when I tried to convert to spin reels I had all sorts of problems. My hands are very dry most of the time and when I tried to cast one handed the line would slip off my finger. So I went back to casting like I was doing with the alvey. Open bail arm and hold line against rod with left hand index finger, other hand on but of rod, make a cast towards your target and at the same time take index finger off rod, when the lure reaches the target, feather the line to a gentle stop with your index finger.

To make things easier I would be getting a 1000 or 2ooo reel and spooling it with 10 or 12lb braid when you are bass fishing.

Dino

 

[Albinus]

Well old mate couldn't work out what was going wrong either. He did replicate the coiling when the bail arm was opened but said that was unusual. Line weight was right for the reel etc.

Oh well.

[Gad]

I have 4 Sienna`s that my grandkids and visitors use, the older 4000FB + 2500FB models and the newer 4000 FD + 2500FD models,  if you knew my granddarlings you would quickly realise these reels are almost bullet proof, when used with in their specifics eg: reel line lb ratings- rod lb ratings, drags settings etc. For their price they are value plus for beginners, almost non-fishing visitors or as an economical back up. I`ve never had a problem with any of them.

 

quote {Still coils and falls off the spool when the bail arm is opened and I have no idea what's wrong}

 

Ok the problem you having with your Sienna, you have replicated the act of line coils coming off your mates reel loaded with braid.The photo of your reel shows your spool is not over filled.

So lets` assume the reels and the lines are not the problem.

 

Before opening the bail arm, your finger should lift the line (whether mono or braid) and pin it under the rod.

Your finger should be pinning the line to the rod directly above or slightly back from where the line leaves the side of the spool and lift straight up to the rod, without any slack (between your finger and the spool) in the line.

 

This way you have locked the line on the spool at that point, until you release the tension/restriction of the line from under the finger when casting.

[Albinus]

My wife graciously let me purchase another reel (she said that she would keep the Sienna). Ended up with a Symetre 1000 for a very good price. Spooled with 8lb braid with a 9.4lb fluoro leader on a generic 6'6" rod. I don't know what I was doing wrong before but this outfit is absolutely stunning. Long, accurate casting - no tangles - and as per my other thread landed a 42cm tandan effortlessly. Looks like the rainy day earlier in the week helped me tie my Albright knot well enough not to break

Heading to the salt tomorrow - hope it continues!