How can I spool two reels evenly with one spool of line?

[Voltaire]

I bought a spool of line and I want to divide it evenly between two ice reels, is there anyway to do this short of unwinding it all, measuring it, cutting in half, rewinding it, and then spooling it? I sure can't figure out a way but hopefully someone out there in shantyland has the answer.

[lefty2053]

I bought a spool of line and I want to divide it evenly between two ice reels, is there anyway to do this short of unwinding it all, measuring it, cutting in half, rewinding it, and then spooling it? I sure can't figure out a way but hopefully someone out there in shantyland has the answer.

I would say no. At least I have no idea how to do it.

[bpiatt]

Tie line to your spool. Do one complete revolution of the handle. Mark the line right where it touches your bail roller with a sharpie. Remove line and measure how much was on spool. Divide the amount of new line you have by two. Convert that number to inches. Now divide that number by how much line was taken in one revolution. The number it gives you will be how many revolutions you need to do to have exactly half of your new line onto each reel.

[Voltaire]

Tie line to your spool. Do one complete revolution of the handle. Mark the line right where it touches your bail roller with a sharpie. Remove line and measure how much was on spool. Divide the amount of new line you have by two. Convert that number to inches. Now divide that number by how much line was taken in one revolution. The number it gives you will be how many revolutions you need to do to have exactly half of your new line onto each reel.

Hey I like that...I think I will give that a shot. I think it will get you pretty close to even but the more line you put on the bigger your spool is so you will actually be taking more line then when first starting. Is there a way to factor that in?

[MGK]

Hey I like that...I think I will give that a shot. I think it will get you pretty close to even but the more line you put on the bigger your spool is so you will actually be taking more line then when first starting. Is there a way to factor that in?

Yes, but how good of a Calc student were you?  If you want to factor that in, I would just subtract one revolution from the total number needed. It wont be exact but pretty darn close

[mud_n_fun]

First we need to know how many yards are on the spool. That will determine how many blondes we need to run down the football field and where they should stop.

[lefty2053]

Tie line to your spool. Do one complete revolution of the handle. Mark the line right where it touches your bail roller with a sharpie. Remove line and measure how much was on spool. Divide the amount of new line you have by two. Convert that number to inches. Now divide that number by how much line was taken in one revolution. The number it gives you will be how many revolutions you need to do to have exactly half of your new line onto each reel.

I was good in math when I was younger. Now I have a hard time figuring out the fastest way out the door. I cause trouble, and have a hard time troubleshooting.

[NYSporty]

Get a spool the same size as the one the line is coming off.
Fill the empty spool until they look even.

[Fishrmn]

Except for the fact that as the spool fills, the amount of line reeled in increases.  If you truly want 1/2 of the spool, take it outside.  Take the line off, find the middle and cut it.

[ryno]

My kitchen table is 4 ft long so I just start wrapping around it until I have the desired amount.  Than just reel it up.  For my shallow setups I only put 50 ft on...that way a 50yrd spool will last.  Open water setups for jigging I put 75yds on.

[BigDynamite]

Buy one of the line counter devices that clamps onto your pole (I think Shakespeare makes one).  The line goes through a slot on the device and a lever you flip over holds the line against a wheel inside.  There is a 3 digit display on top that keeps track of the line that has passed through in feet.

[jbird68]

How much line do you put on a reel anyway?

[Fisherman 1]

You serious..   don't start asking about reproduction whatever ya do..

[bpiatt]

If he has a 110yd spool and is putting roughly 55yds on each then the diameter increase of the spool due to line build up is going to be negligible. He will be within 12 feet using 4lb test. Your not going to be able to tell 12ft of line difference on each spool.

[fish-kabob]

if you got a level wind line counting reel laying around spool it on it as you take it off the spool let the line counter measure for you lol's. just remember it is in feet not yard so you got to do 3 time what it says.  like 165 feet for the 55 yards you needed. or see if you can find a 5 dollar line counter some ware with the rubber pad to attach to the rod i think i got mine at bass pro .any ways best regards.


like at this link
http://www.basspro.com/Berkley-Line-Counter/product/10220051/

[FishGut]

What's the obsession about half the spool? Just like when you cook, you fill a reel until it's full - some need more line, some less, some spool heavy on the top side and some on the low... I would use filler line as backing and only use as much line as 2x as your standard fishing depth. Why spool 50 yards of 1 lb test if you will only be fishing water 15 feet deep?

[lefty2053]

What's the obsession about half the spool? Just like when you cook, you fill a reel until it's full - some need more line, some less, some spool heavy on the top side and some on the low... I would use filler line as backing and only use as much line as 2x as your standard fishing depth. Why spool 50 yards of 1 lb test if you will only be fishing water 15 feet deep?

X2 I will from now on just spool what I need. Most of the time I fish in 12-20 FOW. 40 Ft at best.

[ice dawg]

Personally I think VOLTAIRE is messin with us and it worked.

[Voltaire]

No I have two fifty yard spools of suffix 832 ice braid and I wanted to make it stretch between four reels. I plan on using some mono backing and I would just like to have it divided up evenly and not have to buy anymore line.

[lefty2053]

No I have two fifty yard spools of suffix 832 ice braid and I wanted to make it stretch between four reels. I plan on using some mono backing and I would just like to have it divided up evenly and not have to buy anymore line.

It can't be done. 

[BigDynamite]

I'm with you on this one Voltaire.  I just put some fly line backing on a Genz Spooler I got for my son and I wanted to use half on his and half on one for me (yet to arrive).  I used my clamp on line counter to measure to the half way point.  If I just kept filling until "full" I wouldn't have had enough for two reels and if i bought a seperate spool of line for each reel there would have been too much waste.  I used some left over Fireline on top of the backing and then to the terminal line.  I will probably put on 2 - 3 times the typical fishing depth of the terminal line.

[s10xr]

I know where I fish is usually at most 34 cranks up.  So I have always found to do like 45 to 50 cranks on each reel and I can get 2 poles strung that way.  I dont need them to be perfect just to have enough string to work.

[anthonyjj]

I had to resort to some simple math to accomplish this as well (and on my open water reels as well).

Looking on the reels, check the ratio. So if it says 5.2:1, you'll get 5.2 rotations of the reel's spool for every 1 rotation of the reel handle. Use a tape measure and measure the diameter of the spool hub - usually its about an 1 inch or so for the small ice reels. So the circumference of the reel's spool hub would be 3.14 (pi x diam or 3.14 x 1).

So with every 1 handle rotation, you wind about 16.3 inches (3.14 x 5.2) of line on the reel.

Knowing the spool of line I bought from the store had 110 yards, I wanted 55 yards (110 ÷ 2) or 1980 inches (55 yards x 36 inches) on the reel. Since each single handle rotation gave me 16.3 inches of line on the reel, I need to count around 120 rotations (1980 ÷ 16.3 = 121.5) of the handle to get around 55 yards of line on the reel.

While counting the handle rotations when winding, keep an eye on the reel's spool. You don't want too much line where it spills off the lip of the reel's spool. I like to leave about 1/8" to 1/4" of an inch of spool lip (from edge of reel spool lip to the fishing line wound around the spool hub). 

Nerdy, I know. One part of me just says to "eye" it, and another says, do the math.