How to untangle a snarl, or "Loose Loops BEGONE!"

[NulodPBall]

This is the second part of a respone that I had in a thread (http://www.hookupsportfishing.com/fo...narl#post89028) that I felt would be useful here

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Hey, after re-reading my last post for clarity, I just realized that I ignored the one thing that will prevent people from practicing casting for distance: SNARLS!

Don't worry, you'll know when you have one.

They're caused by your line loosening up off your reel, and then jamming up on itself, and then loose loops form and some of them will catch on other loops, or pieces of the reel and prevent your spool from spinning.

It IS possible to occasionally ignore the loops, especially if you can still short cast, but trust me on this, you need to get rid of the snarls as soon as possible and don't allow your line to load up when there are any kind of kinks or snarls on your reel. If you use cheap line, the loose loops will actually slap against the reel crosspieces often enough to break the line. If you use good line, even if you mess up, it will tend to not kink, or loop up as easily as cheaper line.

If you are trying to cast further, with a lighter weight, you will snarl, and most people will just cut their line in frustration, when they could've spent a little more time working with the line and freed the snarl.

Your fingers and your vision are your best tools for undoing a snarl, but I find that a flat, blunt tool for teasing the line helps alot at times. I have a knot tying tool that has a small blunt end piece that's split and I use that end to help me out.

Rule 1: Never cut your line, or allow the loose end of your line to come near your reel.

Rule 2: Every snarl is fixable as long as you follow Rule 1.

Every snarl consists of a bunch of loops going into places they don't belong. Sometimes those loops catch on the levelwind piece. Many times, the area you need to free is nowhere near where you see the problem loop appears to be, so one of my first moves is to just pick at ALL the loops to loosen everything up, not just the ones that are preventing line from going out. I just kinda do this at random, and many times I'm rewarded with a free spool...this solves the problem often enough that I keep trying it...just pull some line out gently to test if you freed the running line from the loops. Never pull hard enough to kink the line.

There's usually one loop that's the whole "lynchpin" of the snarl and if you can get it out on the first try, you're golden.

If that doesn't work, then I patiently try to figure out which loops need to be freed in order to get the running line free, and I pick at it with my blunt tool. This part needs alot of practice, and unfortuneately, I have ALOT of practice underneath my belt. I have actually had snarls bad enough that if I were to cut even one loop, I'd lose 2/3rds of my line on my spool. At night or in the dark it's harder to untangle snarls, so at one point in October, I believe I had gone through over 4 quarter pound rolls of 8# line at about six hundred yards a roll...that's over 24,000 ft of line. And that's with me untangling my line in the day

This whole process is easier to follow if you can watch someone doing it, but it is easy...it just needs patience.

Good luck and happy casting

[cst]

so is this for backlashes or for the ones on spinning reels? either way i got a comment to make, but i'll just wait so you can clarify that one little issue

[NulodPBall]

For a conventional reel...sorry I didn't state that but the thread that it's a part of is for long distance casting with a conventional reel...I tried to edit the article to add this but apparently I can't.

[NulodPBall]

Apparently editing replies isn't allowed also, but I find that if I get a snarl in a spinning reel, it's because I let the line get twisted....usually because I put the line on the spool improperly. For most other people the reason usually is that they were twisting their handle when the spinner's drag was releasing line. When you hear that clicker going, and line is going out, you have to stop reeling, and just hang on until the fish stops running. Don't touch the drag, it should've been set correctly at the start of the day and you should just let the drag do what it's supposed to do until the fish gets tired. Do some slow, short pumps or long pumps to get line back on the reel if you need to. If you have some loose loops deep in the reel, you should strip all the line off until you free the loops, and then wind the line back on, under slight tensions.

If you are on a boat or a float tube, the best thing to do to get rid of line twist is to just let all your line out (don't use a sinker or a hook, just a bare line, no knots) out and travel for a bit, then reel everything back in. If you put anything on the end of your line when you're letting line out, you will either cause more twist, or if you happen to slow down too much your line will sink and tangle on something, or if you're traveling fast, the item on the end of the line will cause much more drag than you're expecting and you'll either lose all your line or your line will be overstressed.

[cst]

well here are the two things i was going to say.

#1) if it's a spinning reel (now i know you werent talking about spinning reels but i'll say it anyway). the main reason for getting loops (other then line twist) is because you arent closing the bail with your hand and are turning the handle to close it. this reels in some line really loosely and that's what causes it.

#2) for untangling baitcaster backlashes: This one is coming from Bill Dance himself. first start by tightening your drag all the way. then place you're thumb on the spool and push down on it. Next reel in a few cranks and then disengage the reel and start stripping line out gently. once you cant do that, put your thumb on the spool again and reel in some more. just keep doing that until the backlash is gone. What this does is move all the loops so that they are all laying forward. this method seems to take out some backlashes that were otherwise impossible.

[NulodPBall]

Originally Posted by cst

well here are the two things i was going to say.

#1) if it's a spinning reel (now i know you werent talking about spinning reels but i'll say it anyway). the main reason for getting loops (other then line twist) is because you arent closing the bail with your hand and are turning the handle to close it. this reels in some line really loosely and that's what causes it.

#2) for untangling baitcaster backlashes: This one is coming from Bill Dance himself. first start by tightening your drag all the way. then place you're thumb on the spool and push down on it. Next reel in a few cranks and then disengage the reel and start stripping line out gently. once you cant do that, put your thumb on the spool again and reel in some more. just keep doing that until the backlash is gone. What this does is move all the loops so that they are all laying forward. this method seems to take out some backlashes that were otherwise impossible.

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Very nice...when I tried it, it didn't work except for easy, surface snarls but it's worth a try at first...my bad snarls tend to go really, really deep. That's why I basically went through about 4 bulk spools in a couple of weeks...before I learned to deal with snarls better...

[BeachBear]

Yah, I can't edit my articles either, ask CST about that Do you wet your spool before casting? I also yo-yo drop 20 feet to rewet the line. Then, I cast a little out, then a little further, then I finally go for brokes. What about underwrapping? Someone did that to me once, even had it inspected, had the chance to fire him, but not over line.

Originally Posted by BeachBear

Yah, I can't edit my articles either, ask CST about that Do you wet your spool before casting? I also yo-yo drop 20 feet to rewet the line. Then, I cast a little out, then a little further, then I finally go for brokes. What about underwrapping? Someone did that to me once, even had it inspected, had the chance to fire him, but not over line. Thanks for writing it'll be great help to many. I remember starting and WreckinBall and you helping me understand the rating of a rod's speed.

I can't edit replies either.

[NulodPBall]

Originally Posted by BeachBear

Yah, I can't edit my articles either, ask CST about that Do you wet your spool before casting? I also yo-yo drop 20 feet to rewet the line. Then, I cast a little out, then a little further, then I finally go for brokes. What about underwrapping? Someone did that to me once, even had it inspected, had the chance to fire him, but not over line.

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Usually the short test cast wets it enough...If there's ALOT of line on a big spool, I'll wet it, but not the whole reel, just the spool...just dip your hand in water and pour it over the spool. That's what I like about using smaller/lighter spools, I can get away with using lighter pressure to control it so I don't have to worry about burning my thumb off.

This is usually only for the first cast of the day, or if you haven't cast in a bit.

Good point to bring up though

Originally Posted by BeachBear

...What about underwrapping? Someone did that to me once, even had it inspected, had the chance to fire him, but not over line.

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You'd be surprised how long an underwrap can last before you detect it...an underwrap happens when the end of the line passes under a loose loop on the spool...as long as the line isn't under alot of tension (i.e. "on a fish") you might not notice, but your casting distance tends to be reduced and you can't figure out why. As long as the loop stays kinda loose, it allows the line to feed out kinda okay. Once tension tightens that loop, it either stops the spool from moving or it cuts the line...either way, that's a bad thing.

That's why shops take the end of your freshly spooled line, tie a loop on it, attach the loop to your reel foot, and tighten the line, to prevent underwraps.

If I have loose, unattached line on my reel, I don't grab the end of the line, I grab a loose loop and just pull. Hopefully if the tag end went under a loop, pulling on the line that way frees it.

If you have an underwrap, the only way to get rid of it is to take off all your terminal tackle, and free it from the loop that traps it.

[cst]

yeah, there isnt much you can do about an underwrap when you're on the boat. you just have to pull the line out from under the loop.

[BeachBear]

Thanks guys it really clears things up a lot and I needed the help. I think this board is rather free with information.