Spooling hollowcore on big game reels

[FatTuna]

I've done that technique before with the weight. You can reel it in. You just throw it in low gear. You don't want the boat moving fast. That's a good point about the salt though. That can't be good to have all that deep in the spool. Didn't think of that. The dacron especially soaks up water.

I own the busted fishing winder. To be honest, I'm not too impressed with it. It tends to tighten and loosen on it's own no matter how much I tighten it. Mine looks like it wasn't anodized properly. It developed all these spots on it.

I also owned one of the south Chatham tackle spoolers. I wasn't too content with that one either. It was advertised as being able to hold a 5lb spool but the shaft bent after the first use. The threads on the shaft all deformed. The drag it put out wasn't very smooth. I had one of the more basic models. Another thing I didn't like about it was that it didn't mount to anything.

Those two spoolers are fine for smaller reels. Worked okay with my 20lb and 30lb class reels.

[conchydong]

 I have heard a lot of positive reviews about the Bees Knees manual line spoolers. I do not have any personal experience with them as I still do the reel to reel method. Perhaps our Aussie or Kiwi members can chime in on their quality.

[FatTuna]

I bought this spooler last winter. I installed it on a wooden board in the unfinished part of my basement. I had it for approximately two weeks and started to look like this. It's gotten progressively worse. It still works but it just looks ugly now. I think I paid around $250 for it. That included the rod holder adapter and international shipping.

I'm not sure if it's bad anodizing or what.

[FatTuna]

In all fairness to the bees knees spooler, the issue only presented itself after I was working with it on a really humid night. Had the garage and back door open. The condensation triggered whatever the issue is. I mean the device is advertised as being used on a boat with the rod adapter mount...... I probably should have sent it back but it's kind of late for that.