Line-twist is the bane of anglers.
You fire out a cast, and the line clatters up the guides, sometimes
even catching on a guide. Sometimes the twisted section of line
picks up on some more line and in short order there is a nice
tangle to pick out. Bellowing out some oaths and curses may release
some anger but it does nothing to fix the problem.
Worse can follow. After spending valuable fishing
time un-picking a truly well made tangle, the next cast leads
to another tangle, even more swearing, and still no solution.
Line-twist is the culprit, and no amount of un-picking tangles
will fix the problem. If the core problem is not fixed, the line-twist
will remain, and so will the problems it causes.
Line-twist is easy to identify. Pull some line
off the reel, and let it hang limply. Line-twist will reveal itself
as a series of curling twists.
Some anglers blame the line itself for twisting.
‘That line is too stiff – it twists easily," or "that
line is too soft – it twists easily." Sorry, but line does
not twist by itself. The angler always causes line-twist.
So how does line-twist form? It is really quite
simple. If the end of the line – the bait, lure or fly end – can
rotate around its own axis, line-twist will work its way up the
line. The more line out from the reel the further the twist will
work its way up the line.
Using swivels that do not swivel is a good method
of building line-twist. But don’t all swivels, swivel, you ask?
Of course they do, I reply, but, and there always is a but, they
will only swivel under the right conditions. Too many anglers
use a swivel that is too big. Swivels come in different sizes
for the express purpose of matching fishing line sizes. As a rough
but good guide, the diameter of the wire used to make the swivel
should match the diameter of the main line you are using, not
the trace line. If you use too big a swivel there is not enough
torque in the main line to swivel the swivel.
Some anglers attempt to use a swivel as a stopper,
i.e. in a running rig. Theory is the swivel has to be big enough
to stop the sinker jamming down on the swivel or passing over
it and running down onto the hook. A much better idea is to place
a plastic bead on the main line above the correct sized swivel.
Using the wrong-sized swivel really shows up when
trolling. There can be very few methods of building a better line-twist
problem than when trolling. I have seen line so badly twisted
the only cure was to re-spool the reel. Here is some news – line-twist
from trolling is rarely caused by swivel failure. It is more often
caused by incorrect trolling speed.
Despite their name, most ‘spinners’ are not designed
to spin. Most spinning lures should more correctly be called wobblers
or shakers. They are designed to wobble from side to side, or
move with a tight shimmy. If these lures are retrieved too fast,
they will spin in a wide arc, too wide for the swivel to cope.
To avoid this a lure should be dropped in the water where you
can see it, and retrieved or trolled, till you can establish its
correct trolling speed.
But what if a pattern of several lures is the
aim? Well there really is no way around the problem, other than
to run lures that all have a similar trolling speed.
Another cause of line-twist problems when towing
lures is caused by the lure picking some weed or other watery
dross. This weed or junk can cause the lure to spin out in a wide
rotation pattern, too great for the swivel to handle. Careful
observation is the only way to overcome this problem. Watching
the rod tip will often reveal small changes in the way the way
the lure is running, and so reveal a lure that is ‘in trouble.’
Fresh water anglers who troll ‘Tasmanian Devil’ type lures know
that if the rod tip stops making a regular ‘nodding’ movement
and just stays static, weed is on the lure.
Misuse of spinning reels is a very common method
of producing line-twist. When playing a fish, and the fish starts
to peel line off the reel, the angler must stop winding. If line
winding continues while line is being pulled off the reel, every
turn of the reel handle will place, on average, five twists in
the line.
Another way of putting line- twist in the line
is incorrect filling the reel with line. Spinning type reels must
be filled with the side plate of the line-spool facing the front
of the reel’s spool. The line coming off the line-spool must be
coming off in the same direction as it is going onto the reel.
For overhead reels the line should come off the spool directly,
with the line on the spool facing the line on the reel. But why
get in a tangle about – your tackle shop will make short and correct
work of it, using their line winder.
Line-twist can be removed and it is relatively
easy, especially if you have a boat. Motor the boat ahead at around
five knots. Remove all terminal tackle. Feed out around 50m of
line behind the boat, and leave it to straighten itself out, after
a few minutes feed out another 50m, and so on until all the twist
is gone.
You can test if removal is complete by pulling
in some line, about 1 or 2m, back from the water and allow the line
to fall loosely. If the line does not twist you can wind the line
back on your reel.
Shore-bound anglers have a real problem. If you
are near a rock platform that juts out into a strong current,
the ‘boat’ method can be tried. Finding a river is another way.
Freshwater anglers can use a river to get rid
of line twist. Stand in the current and slowly feed out line until
the line twist is gone.
Another method is to find a beach with no swell,
and walk along the beach feeding out line as you continue to walk
along the water’s edge, as in the ‘boat’ method.
New on-land Method:
Tie a swivel to a tree or fence and then attach the line, walk backwards letting line off the reel. Every 5 metres or so, take hold of the line and let it form a loop below the reel with no tension. If there is twist keep walking back until the line does not form a twist when tested. Then using a cloth, pinch the line between your thumb and forefinger, and wind it back on the reel, keeping the line under tesion as you move forward. This method works best if you use a good quality ball-bearing swivel.
Line-twist is one of those problems that usually
arises when some attention to the details is ignored. To me,
there is nothing more frustrating than to be in a situation when
fish are jumping out of the water to try and get at my bait, lure
or fly, and I am sitting there muttering dark curses at a impenetrable
ball of twisted line.