5 Mistakes in Fishing Line Maintenance You Should Avoid

Whether you are aiming to catch a bass in the open sea or looking for a trout in your local pond, you need good fishing gear and among all the fishing tools, fishing line is perhaps the most important tool. Even if there is a slight flaw in your line, you may have to face failure and disappointment in your fishing expedition. Fishing lines need maintenance. Unfortunately, anglers unknowingly commit mistakes in their upkeep and then fishing lines get damaged. Here are a few such mistakes and tips on how to avoid them.

1. Using the Same Line for a Long Time

Like every other thing, fishing lines too are not everlasting. Are you under the impression that the mono which caught the trophy sailfish last season for you will work equally powerfully this season too? Or are you just being lazy to change the line? In any case, fishing lines need to change, more so, when they are cheap. If you compare fluorocarbon vs. monofilament vs. braided fishing line though, braids are more advanced and don’t need to be changed as often as mono and fluorocarbon. Lines are however affected by heat, light and weather elements. If you notice that your line has become brittle, is not casting smoothly and is breaking easily, you should replace it with a new fresh line. Otherwise you may have to repent for it.

2. Spooling the Line Incorrectly

Not many, but some anglers make this mistake. While spooling the line on a reel, they spool it sometimes loose and sometimes tight. This causes uneven spooling due to which the line overlaps over itself. Then when it is wrenched down under a heavy fish, it digs into itself and thus causes kinks and creases which damages it. Remember to maintain a uniform tension on the line while spooling and keep the tension centered on your rod so that there will be an even spool on your reel.

3. Storing Lines in Light and Heat

You might know that heat can badly affect fishing lines. But you may not know that it’s proved by studies that light is even more harmful and responsible for breakdown of fishing lines. Therefore, as far as possible, store all your fishing lines in a cool dark place, if you want to prolong their life and keep them as functional as new.

4. Tying the Lures Hurriedly

Many anglers are seen to tie a new lure or retie the same lure without wetting the knot and cinching it down hurriedly. This causes friction and burning that can reduce the strength of the line. This is true even if you check monofilament vs. braided fishing line. Therefore while tying the lures, overlapping and twisting should be avoided. Friction can be avoided by pulling them tight slowly and remember to wet your line before you cinch it.

5. Strapping the Line Too Tightly

A hook hanger is indeed a useful tool which helps anglers to store their rods attached to baits in an organized way. However, it’s seen that so many anglers store their rods in this way but with big kinks in the line. This happens due to the fact that they add the lure to the rod and then notch down the reel as tight as they can. This makes the top eyelet pinch a groove in the line. The kink goes on worsening for the period it is stored and a weak spot is formed in the line. This problem has a simple solution – not to tie the line down so tight. Now as there are rod gloves around, anything doesn’t have to be tightened so much. The rod glove keeps everything in place should something become loose.

Besides avoiding these mistakes, it’s also necessary to check for any faults, creases and nicks in your fishing line. And if it’s not behaving normally, perhaps you should change it to a new one. All the best for your next fishing trip!