How to Put Line on a Spinning Reel for Beginner’s Fishing Tips & Tricks

If you use too light of a line on a heavier rod, you are in much more danger of breaking the line on a fish. If you use too heavy of line on a light rod, you could possibly break the rod. Ken Schultz is a fishing expert with over 30 years of experience.

Generally I spool up in the boat or garage, but I also keep a short spinning rod and a short baitcasting rod in my home office for this purpose. Thread the line through the lowest, largest guide and then onto the reel. Remember, braid is slippery, so if that’s your main line, tie it to the spool or use some backing to prevent slippage on your hook sets.

Part 3 of 3:Spooling Your Reel

Spool your reel with line as much ahead of time as possible. If you plan on fishing this weekend, try to spool your line midweek rather than Friday night, or worse yet, in the boat the morning of. The longer the new line sits packed onto the spinning reel spool, the less memory it will have of its past life on the factory spool. Spooling your spinning reel by placing the purchased line spool over an axle (e.g. pencil or pen), handing it to your buddy, and reeling in line. What this does is add a transverse twist to your fishing line, as the natural twist of the fishing line is being turned 90 degrees as it’s loaded onto your reel. Line loaded in this way will tend to jump off your spool.

So naturally it’s rarely a good idea to put it on a reel starting all the way down at the spool. It’s quite straightforward, and as with everything else in life, practice makes perfect. Therefore, as you get better, you’ll be able to do the procedure in a jiffy. Lastly, it’s worth noting that you can follow the same steps to put a fishing line on a spincast reel.

​​How to Put Line on a Fishing Reel

Then, feed your new line through the pole’s guides by starting at the tip and working towards the reel. Next, feed the line through the hole in the reel’s cap and tie it to the reel. Use the handle to wind the string onto the reel in the same direction the reel spins.

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 298,179 times. If your spool comes with a tab in it, you can also tie the end of the line around the tab. This will help avoid any problems with the line becoming twisted. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 1,383,792 times. Never dispose of old line by throwing it on the ground or into the water. It’s important to do this with every line in order to prevent tangles.