Is it January or April

Well, 2007 has come and gone. 2008 is here, and so is the 40 - 50 degree temperatures. As the warm weather moves in (temporarily), I wish I had some extra time to hit the big lake to try for some winter Browns.

Regardless, now is the time to begin going through our equipment and making repairs as needed, and even adding a few new things to our bag of tricks. To cure an "itchy" case of cabin fever, respooling, or reverse spooling all of our reels will take most of the month of January.

The warm weather is also affording us the opportunity to begin getting our new boat measured, and set up for the fishing season.

For those who may be looking for tips and tricks for the off season, keep visiting our Blog, for ideas.

Fishing line. To replace or not to replace. That is the question. Because of UV damage and its diameter, mono-line typically requires replacement. super-braid lines on the other hand, because of their UV stability and small diameter offer the option of respooling the line backwards on another reel.

Different people have different thought processes on the use of super-braid lines. Some fill their reels with a few hundred yards of mono, and then add 100 - 200 yards of super-braid line. In this case, respooling will probably not work.

But for those that use less than 100 yards of mono backing, and then fill their reels with 900 to 1000 feet of super braid, respooling backwards is a valid consideration. Respooling backwards involves starting with an empty reel that is the same size as the reel that is full of line. Then:

1. Install 100 yrds (approx) of mono backing to the empty reel.

2. Cut back about 50 feet of super braid line from the full reel. This is the end of the line that has been exposed to abrasions, knots, and rubbing on the downrigger releases.

3. Tie the freshly cut super braid line to the newly installed mono backing on the empty reel.

4. Begin winding the super braid line from the full spool to the empty spool. If all the measurements work correctly, by the time you reach the mono backing on the soon to be empty spool, the originally empty spool should be properly filled.

When you get to the backing on the soon to be empty reel, leave that backing in tact, and go to your next fishing reel. Repeat step 2 through 4 until all your reels are finished.

Some people ask “how does this work?” When using so much super braid line, the line on the bottom half of the spool never sees the light of day. Being that it is not exposed to UV, abrasions, or stress, the line is basically flawless and in perfect condition.

Please understand, there are exceptions to every rule, but for some people, this may work perfectly.