Spinning reels are dependable and ubiquitous for many anglers.  With proper maintenance a spinning reel can last for decades.  I have a few fishing reels that are over 45 years old and still going strong.  Older reels are generally a bit heavier; their drags might not be as smooth and can have inconsistent line spooling.  Some current generation reels also have issues with smooth line spooling.  For some reels you can fix uneven line spooling by adding/removing shim washers which is a cheap and simple upgrade.

See our article Repair and Maintain Your Fishing Reel for tips on reel maintenance. 

Uneven Reel Line Spooling

While spinning reels are great, they can have issues such as uneven line spooling.  Uneven spooling can cause wind knots, lack of casting distance and poor overall performance.  This can happen due to shim washer wear, uneven spooling tension or a few reels are just poorly designed and will never spool line evenly.  You might see the line “bunch up” heavier at the top or bottom of the spool (see example below).  This creates issues with casting as the line cannot smoothly come off the spool and will also have less line capacity.

Spooling Line Tension

When spooling fishing line, it is important to keep a consistent tension on the new line to assure smooth transition to the reel.  This will keep line twist down and assure even spooling.  Many anglers already spool line consistently by hand, but you can also use a spooler/despooler for great results.

See our article Building a Fishing Line Spooler – Despooler for instructions on building this useful inexpensive device.

Shim Washers

If the spool tension is good and you are still having inconsistent line spooling, you can look at adding (or removing) shim washers.  Shim washers can help align the spooling of fishing line to be even from the top and bottom of the spool.

Here is a picture of a current generation reel where the line is spooling too heavy at the top lip of the spool.  This was fixed by adding shim washers as detailed below.

Poor Reel Design

Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done with a reel that is poorly designed.  In general, current generation and more expensive reels spool line more consistently than older and cheaper reels, so you might want to upgrade if the problem is significant.

Installing New Shim Washers

The installation (or removal) of shim washers can be done easily and tuned to optimize the line spooling on your reel.  Shim washers are nylon or Teflon and are quite cheap.  I purchased this assortment of 510 washers on Amazon for $7.

You should select a washer size that most closely fits the spool shaft diameter and bearing size.  The washers should be placed below any click gearing or ball bearings as shown in this picture.   After installing the washer and replacing the spool, you should check the drag operation and assure everything is working properly.

If the reel is spooling too much line at the top of the reel you need to add washers.  While this picture shows 2 shim washers, after some testing, I actually ended up using just a single washer for the most consistent line spooling on this reel. 

Consistent Line Spooling

I fixed this reel by adding a single line washer, costing less than 2 cents.  The resulting line spooling is not perfect, but it is much more consistent than before I added the washer.  The reel now casts much more smoothly.

SUMMARY

Not all reels have issues with line spooling, but for those that do, this is an effortless way to resolve the issue.  For a price of 2 cents, you can now fix your reels that have poor line spooling by adding or removing shim washers.  This is a simple fix that provides a tangible improvement to the performance of your reel. 

Tight lines …  Captain P.