Tangles

RUNNING LINE TANGLES

I have heard many complaints about frequent tangles when using a Monofilament running line, so, I will repeat my advice for reducing this problem for those of you who may have missed it before.

First, use flat or oval running line, in my experience, these perform better than other types, and select the limpest line of that type. The green and black dyed lines are usually more limp than the others but check to be sure.

To minimize tangles in Mono. running lines, start, the evening before fishing, by wrapping a water soaked strip of toweling over the Mono. on your spool and wind the shooting head over this to reduce evaporation. When fully soaked Mono. running lines are quite limp and memory free, so, when you start casting there will be little, if any, tangling.

After casting a while you may begin to experience some tangles, this is usually due to twisting of the line caused by the elliptical swing most of us use when casting a shooting head. We swing the line to one side on the back cast and bring the rod more over head during the forward cast, thus, twisting the line one revolution per casting cycle. Some, but not all, of this twist unwinds during the retrieve so, eventually, tangle producing twists build up in the running line. It is important to check for line coiling between the reel and the first stripping guide, after a full line cast, and, if there are a significant number of coils, take action to remove them. To do this, make a full line cast and rotate the rod about the axis opposite the direction of the coils enough times to eliminate them. An easy way to accomplish this is to encircle the rod butt with one hand while encircling the rod just below the first stripping guide with the other hand and, using the offset weight of the reel as a circular Pendulum, swing the reel around and around the rod axis enough times to unwind the coils.

Minor twisting can be removed by stretching the Mono. and slowly releasing the tension.

Nearly tangle free casting will result from following the above procedures and keeping the line wet.

For tips on using Monofilament running lines go to USING MONOFILAMENT RUNNING LINES.

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