Laying line evenly on reels

So, I'm kind of wondering about laying line evenly on reels. It's generally advised that as you reel in, you need to move the line back and forth so it lays down evenly. I'm wondering what the logic behind this is.

I can understand laying it level when spooling it. But if you're just jigging or trolling at the same line length constantly (say, 75 feet). When using 30-50# of braid that's really thin line. I barely see a bump if I forget to reel it in level. And even if it's there, I drop it back down to 75 feet and it's back to being level, if I choose to level it out on the next reel in, it's back to normal.

So I guess I don't really see the big deal about reeling it in level when you have a fish on the line unless you see it's really running for it. Because you're just going to drop it back down again.

I'm just mostly curious about what happens if you consistently don't reel it in while levelling it.

I once watched a guy have an albacore strip off 100+ yards of line.  When reeling in, he did not lay the line down evenly.  It eventually build up in a mound that rubbed on the cross supports.  He kept reeling until the reel got wedged up.  Bye bye fish.  You don't want to be that person.

-Allen

RBark, time to consider a level wind reel.

I do lay my line down properly with the conventional reel, SOMA. Once in a while I'll forget but it hasn't punished me. Which is why I was wondering what the problem was.

I can get the importance of laying it down in cases like polepole's. Stripping a ton of line off = definitely need to lay the line back properly. I was just wondering if there was something else I was missing for fishing stuff like lings, which generally can't pull that much line.

I do lay my line down properly with the conventional reel, SOMA. Once in a while I'll forget but it hasn't punished me. Which is why I was wondering what the problem was.

I can get the importance of laying it down in cases like polepole's. Stripping a ton of line off = definitely need to lay the line back properly. I was just wondering if there was something else I was missing for fishing stuff like lings, which generally can't pull that much line.

that and the braid digging into one spot on spool.  if you cast (not just drop down), it might limit your distance and may increase chance of bird nest.  that would suck trying to untangle braid.

If you catch a hard pulling fish, the line may 'jump' if it slips from the thickest/thinness part of the mound.  Plus, if it's braid, you run the risk of digging.  Do you need it to be flawless? Probably not.  I've had salmon jerking around my flawed spool and I made out OK.    I think the issue is not reeling in the fish, it's the peeling on the next fish.  Jerking the line around is not a good thing.  If you have braid, the digging issue is a deal breaker on a hot peel.

Should you risk the chance?  Well, that's up to you.   A level wind reel works great for this.  Or you can always 're-arrange' before the next fish.  If you target a big fish, proper lining is a must (i.e. even distribution and tight spool).

It also depends on how full the spool is. The fuller the spool is, the more important it is to lay it evenly on the spool to prevent jamming like Allen described.
Like retrieval rate will vary too if fill is very inconsistent across the spool. Anyway, when you train yourself to lay the line evenly all the time, it becomes second nature, so you won't forget when it counts.


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I once watched a guy have an albacore strip off 100+ yards of line.  When reeling in, he did not lay the line down evenly.  It eventually build up in a mound that rubbed on the cross supports.  He kept reeling until the reel got wedged up.  Bye bye fish.  You don't want to be that person.

-Allen

This is the very reason I try to lay it even.  Sometimes on a big fish, it won't be even but I'll do my best to lay it out evenly as possible and its fine.  Also, its a lot easier to do with tension/fish on the line. 

It also depends on how full the spool is. The fuller the spool is, the more important it is to lay it evenly on the spool to prevent jamming like Allen described.
Like retrieval rate will vary too if fill is very inconsistent across the spool. Anyway, when you train yourself to lay the line evenly all the time, it becomes second nature, so you won't forget when it counts.


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This....I've had it occasionally build on one side with a full spool but other than that its not really an issue.  I've also seen it happen when you have incorrectly splined factory rods and heavy weights.  The rods will roll over to the natural spine when torqued and the line winds up comin in on one side. See this a lot with newbs while salmon trolling.

Otherwise, never really an issue.   

Also, reels with narrower spools are generally easier to lay line on than reels with wider spools. That's one reason why jigging reels are narrow.


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