Line Twist Suggestions?

[FL SNIPER]

I've been getting into the bulls pretty good lately...however I got the bluegill blues...happy I'm getting them, but frustrated in my equipment because my 3# trilene ice line gets all twisted up after catching a few fish. I've tried putting a swivel on a couple feet above the bait but it does not seem to help. I use a schooly's spring bobber on a rod and reel combo. I have a similar set up that does not twist as bad...I think I have 4# line on that one and slightly bigger reel. So...should I: try heavier line (but that makes it difficult to get my line down the hole and sense light bites)? Use a bigger swivel? Could it be the reel...its a small one - old tiny 20 tilstar? Thanks for the tips.

[Scott M]

If the line isn't that old its probably the reel, especially if you tried a swivel. Newer reels have very nice line rollers that help eliminate line twisting.

Is that reel a Silstar TFG20? It should have a nice line roller on it already.

[djwood]

it can also be caused from the drag set ! set the drag tighter for a few fish outings and try this .otherwise with a lite drag and your reeling against the drag you are causing the twist ! best bet to start with is change the line if it has memory , or pull some of it off and straighten out the rest for another go . hope this helps. djwood

[Scott M]

Good point djwood, can't overlook that either, since you did say you were catching fish...If you keep the drag set low, pump and reel when the line isn't going out or tighten the drag. Reeling while a fish is pulling drag is a great way to get lots of line twist.

[demonjigger]

I would bet on the reel. I have had this problem with smaller reels also. If you find the solution please post it.

How deep are you finding the 'gils?

[TNFL]

I've had luck with small diameter superlines with a uni-to-uni knot and a 3 foot mono leader. you can keep re-tying and trimming the mono to about 1 foot. It has no memory (coiling) and seems to reduce the line twist.

[FL SNIPER]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I don't reel when the drag is pulling so I don't think that is the issue. I'm thinking its the reel as I have a similar set up with a different reel and that setup doesn't cause near the line twist as the silstar reel...which is quite a bit smaller and about 12 years old. I'm going to pick up a new reel and go with 4 lb line like my other set up and try that with a swivel as well. (I always end up using the "other" setup but I'd like to get both working well) Hopefully that does the trick....nothing more frustrating then pulling up a nice bluegill and then trying to get back down the hole while the other "marks" are still around. They've been biting super light for me so I can't have line twists messing up the detection of the bite. I've been getting panfish in about 14 FOW for last month (VEX reads 12' not sure how you guys do it...to top of ice or bottom of ice). I'll keep trying different things and hopefully get it figured out...I'll post results.

[tunrevir]

Might want to try a bit of reel magic too. I've heard it takes the kinks out pretty good. The other thing that I have heard and tried is soaking your spools in water for a few hours. The only problem with this approach is that in the colder weather your line will tend to stiffen and even freeze to the spool at times but in temps like we have had it shouldn't be a problem. Mono can and does take on a bit of water after soaking for a bit and it will sink faster. I too, have had the spooly tales from using too small of a reel which can be reduced quite a bit by using a larger reel. The rods I have spooled with 4# weren't giving me a true read but the ones with the 2 pound and less gave me a pretty decent read even with micro jigs. Good luck out there!

Tunrevir~

[ZEEK1223]

I use a swivel instead of a split shot. Always seems to work for me.

[FL SNIPER]

Thanks for the tips guys. I picked up a new reel at Mike's bait last night so we'll see if it does the trick (I was short a reel anyways and well you just got to treat youself sometimes eh?). Just comparing the line rollers between the new reel and the old reel I could see a pretty significant difference, so hopefully that takes care of much of the problem. Now the fun part...to try it out...I'll let you know. Thanks again...have a good day.

[slipperybob]

Hi fellow F.Lake

You can check your line roller by simply gently rubbing some line on it to see if it spins freely. I know that often small reels don't have ball bearing in such small line rollers. Or that it's possible that they bind up in the cold. Then your line is just rubbing against a surface contributing to the line twist.

Small reel spools tend to have more line memory issues. When using light lures, there's not enough weight to counter that spiral line swim through the water column. It's the line itself that's contributing to the line twist.

[FL SNIPER]

Well I think the new reel has made a huge improvement on my line twist blues. It must have a lot to do with the quality of the line roller. Like I said, that older reel I was using had a simple/poor roller. A couple of the selling points of the new reel I purchased (Tica Cetus) were "anti-twist" and "bearing line roller". Time will tell (with different presentations) if it really does the job but it sure seemed to help last night. Thanks for all the advice guys. FL SNIPER

[Scott M]

I might have to give fly reels a shot next year on an at least experimental basis. Over in the ice fishing forum there is some discussion of use of fly reels on ice fishing combos. One benefit of using fly reels is the avoidance of twisting line during uptake.

Particularly annoying is line twist while sight fishing, especially when fish want a bait perfectly still. Line twist is such a huge deal that many folks overlook. If you're marking a lot of fish but few are biting, a spinning jig could be the culprit.

I know I'm repeating things a bit here, but a lot of line twist can be avoiding by using the spinning reel correctly, that is, not taking in line while a fish is pulling out drag. Even more twist can be avoided with the use of some sort of swivel. The trouble is, for most of us fishing panfish, using a swivel is a big no-no since you can bust out your rod tip or scare off fish with something foreign above the bait.