Leftover fishing line

[zeebyrd]

Hi all,

it’s been a while since I’ve been on here. I am now retired and planning a move out to Allegany County to get away from the “madness” of so many new home developments and traffic around me. Also those crowded fresh water sites that are the norm around me. (AA County).

anyway, something I’ve always thought about. What to do with the line remaining on a spool after I’ve put the bulk of it on my reel. Suggestions?

I hope everyone is having successful days on the water! I am glad to see that this board is still active after all these years!

[J.A. Veil]

I am a big fan of finding secondary uses for items I already have around the house. This philosophy works for excess or used line too. I keep several partial spools of old line around the house for use in projects. I hung a hummingbird feeder and the sensor for our indoor/outdoor weather station using leftover 30-lb monofilament line. I also created a trellis for a climbing plant using some leftover 50-lb mono. I also hung some pictures in my basement and office using mono. The mono line has minimal visibility and is strong enough to hold up well.

I save leftover braid (I usually use 10-lb) for small sewing projects on outdoor items. I have repaired tears in fishing gloves and the fabric cover on a gel seat cushion for my kayak using braid. The braid is stronger than cotton thread. It may not look pretty but it is very functional.

If you just want to dispose of it, many tackle shops have recycle spots for used or extra line.

Some anglers, when respooling a reel, will put a backing of monofilament line directly on the metal spool. After filling the spool partway with inexpensive mono, they connect the end to braid for filling the rest of the spool. I followed that practice years ago but found that on occasion the knot connecting the two pieces of line would catch on the outgoing line during a cast. Now I fill my entire spool with braid after placing a strip on masking tape on the spool so the braid does not slip around the spool.

[dsaavedra]

I diligently tape down the loose ends on partial spools, store them neatly in a plastic bin, tell myself I'll find a use for them, then never touch them again

[bignose]

Hey Zee,

Good hearing from you again.
I know how fast the area surrounding you is changing! You may have to learn how to fish the Upper Potomac where you are going!


If you have some braid left, you could save it and put it on an ultralight reel, most of them only take 50 yards or so.

Alternatively, hang onto it and at the end of a season, use it as a base filler when you reverse your braid on the current reel.

Usually, I end up cutting about 10-15 yards off of the end that gets used the most and shows sign of wear, and then over winter, as a part of my servicing, I try to reverse the line so the unused portion becomes the "new" line.
So the leftover line on the plastic spool gets laid down first, and the "used line" end get tied to that.

[Red_Beard]

I use leftover fluoro and mono either for leader or backing material on my reels spooled with braid. Because I use backing on my braid reels, I can usually spool 2 or 3 reels with one spool of braided line.

[zeebyrd]

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I apologize for bit responding sooner. House hunting has kept me busy. I appreciate the ideas posted here.