Fly-reel Storage

Line wrapped around large empty containers

As a fly angler there are few things more infuriating than pulling out my dormant sets of reels at the beginning of a new season only to find irreversible degrees of curl in the fly-lines. It’s like we pay top dollar for the best of the best and then downgrade it to less than entry level line just by letting it sit idle for  a couple of months, coiled up on the reels.

Well, I’ve been testing a slightly awkward, yet seemingly worthwhile, and effective method of storing my lines, during times when I know that there will be big time periods between using certain rigs. For example my yellowfish gear, which I don’t touch during winter.

The method of line storage is simple, and entails using empty protein shake containers (or any other container with large round circumference). I simply cut a tiny hole in the containers, feed the leader end of the line through the hole and then on the inside of the container loop the leader end around a small long piece of wood (such as a piece of chopstick) to keep it secure. I then wrap the entire length of the line around the bottle very neatly, at a reasonable tension (but not too tight).

I must admit that it can become a slightly awkward exercise, and depending on how many reels you want to store in this way, storage space may be problematic. In saying this, however, the condition that the line comes off the container when needed is simply worth way more than the effort. Give it a try and decide for yourself.