Spooling a conventional with braid and no spooler....

[Nasty Wendy]

OK so I have a 1500 Meter roll of 80lb braid and I need to load it onto my new Fin-Nor Santiago 30W.  The reel is not a level wind reel and I do not have a spooler.  What is the best way for one to tackle this task? 

[RowdyW]

I would take it to a shop that has a line spooler & have them spool it for me. With what you have invested getting a shop to do it with your line is not going to be that expensive. Get prices from a couple of shops. Getting it professionaly spooled you will know it is properly tensioned onto the reel.

[Keta]

Rowdy's suggestion is good but where I live no one has a winder capable of filling a mid to large reel.  Here is what I use,

[Shark Hunter]

Clay,
I have a lot of reels and no spooler. I would get two pairs of gloves. A strong young man holds the spool, and I wind on the other end.
The young man is one of my sons. I consider this the final chore and prefer to do it be hand.
I built or serviced the reel, spooled the reel and caught the fish with the reel.
From a Jigmaster to a 20/0 Everol. It makes me feel like I own it. JMO

[Nasty Wendy]

All good suggestions and I thank ya'll for it.  Having a shop do it is not out of the question but if I can do it myself I would prefer that.  I do take pride in my hands being responsible for as much as possible when setting up my gear.  I can rig up a make shift spooler to keep tension on the line spool, it is the laying the line level on the reel's spool that I was wondering if there was a trick for.  Man that is going to be a lot of fingering if that's the only way to achieve a level line lay.

[oc1]

Thank you Lee.  I like that.
-steve

[Keta]

Man that is going to be a lot of fingering if that's the only way to achieve a level line lay.

As far as I know it is.

Thank you Lee.  I like that.
-steve

It works OK and was many $ less than a good line winder.

[xaf]

Just a word of caution! I messed up a fore-grip last week spooling braid on a reel.

I normally have a local tackle shop spool my braid but a couple weeks ago I did it my self because I was in a hurry.  I put some gloves on and put tension on the line with my left hand on the fore-grip while cranking with my right.  It's hard to describe exactly how I was holding the line but I was able to get good tension with the line coming around the bottom of my hand while guiding it between my thumb and forefinger. What I didn't realize was that I was forcing the line across the fore-grip.  Now I have a small slice in the shrink wrap on the grip where the line cut into it. 

[Tiddlerbasher]

That's where a line spooler comes in. Load spool of line - attach reel - adjust drag (usually 10lbs) - press button - no problem

[conchydong]

 I have a older Penn International 50tw that I use as a "slave reel". I first wind the line onto that reel with as much pressure as I can, usually using a method like what Lee (Keta) posted and then I set the drag on the slave reel to what ever pressure is desired, usually 25% of the line. I then sit in my chair with a fighting belt and a small cooler with a couple beers nearby and carefully crank the line onto the reel that needs to be spooled methodically. Sometimes I have to use the low gear and it takes awhile. I levelwind the line with my finger as I go. A piece of bicycle inner tube from a narrow rim wheel cut in a small piece works good as a finger stall. I mounted some 15 degree rod holders in my outdoor work bench to assist me.

[handi2]

If you have access to a line winder do that. You have to get the braid on tight. I put it on my Tiagra 50 wides this spring to turn them into 80's and the 30 wides are now 50's with the braid. It was put one with 15lbs of drag using a Triangle HD-140 line winder.

These reels are for trolling only.

That's mighty hard to do by hand or any other way.

[Nasty Wendy]

I have a older Penn International 50tw that I use as a "slave reel". I first wind the line onto that reel with as much pressure as I can, usually using a method like what Lee (Keta) posted and then I set the drag on the slave reel to what ever pressure is desired, usually 25% of the line. I then sit in my chair with a fighting belt and a small cooler with a couple beers nearby and carefully crank the line onto the reel that needs to be spooled methodically. Sometimes I have to use the low gear and it takes awhile. I levelwind the line with my finger as I go. A piece of bicycle inner tube from a narrow rim wheel cut in a small piece works good as a finger stall. I mounted some 15 degree rod holders in my outdoor work bench to assist me.

I've done that before with a Penn Peer I believe the model is a 309.  That reel won't hold nearly enough line to spool the FinNor 30w.  Its a great technique giving you the ability to dial in the drag on the 'slave' reel that has to pulled against and lay the line tight.

[Nasty Wendy]

Thanks for the input guys.  I'm going to give my local shop a call and ask what their fee is for this service.

[day0ne]

Just a word of caution! I messed up a fore-grip last week spooling braid on a reel.

I normally have a local tackle shop spool my braid but a couple weeks ago I did it my self because I was in a hurry.  I put some gloves on and put tension on the line with my left hand on the fore-grip while cranking with my right.  It's hard to describe exactly how I was holding the line but I was able to get good tension with the line coming around the bottom of my hand while guiding it between my thumb and forefinger. What I didn't realize was that I was forcing the line across the fore-grip.  Now I have a small slice in the shrink wrap on the grip where the line cut into it. 

Never, never put tension on Spectra that way. It heats the line and can damage it. Put tension on the spool, not the line,

The way I used to do it before building a spooler was to put a metal rod, several feet long through the spool, and put the spool on a piece of junk carpet. I'd place my feet on the rod, either side of the spool,  press down, and start winding. Don't do this on your good carpet, as it will melt it. The other way was to get another person, wearing gloves, to hold the rod and put tension on the spool (not the line) and start winding.

[FatTuna]

Braid + big game reel + loose pack = braid bite.

I just removed the headers off two spools today. Here is what it looks like.

The line spooler is the best option for sure but I understand people wanting to do it themselves.

If people have good suggestions of how to get a ton of drag to hand wind, I'm all ears. I need to respool these two and would love to avoid paying for it.