How to String an Open Face Fishing Pole

Purchase your fishing line. You need to decide what type of fish you are trying to catch and the strength of your pole. It will do you no good to have 6 pound test on your pole if you are fishing for stripped bass or Muskie. This line is not strong enough for these types of fish. And the opposite is true too. You don’t want 60-pound test on your pole if you are using an ultralight rod and plan on fishing for pan fish.

Open you box of fishing line and grab the free running end of the fishing line. Take your fishing reel and open the bail. Take the free running end of the fishing line and run it through the top eyelet of the fishing pole. Make sure that you go from top to bottom of the eyelet. Continue running the line down the pole and through the eyelets until you have reached the reel.

Check to make sure the bail of the reel is open. Wrap the line around the steel shaft (some maybe plastic) and tie a knot. You can use many different knots to do this. Pick the one that you are most comfortable with. If you don’t know which one to use, try the fisherman’s knot. To tie this, take the line and wrap it around the shaft. Take the free running end of the line and wrap it around itself six times. Once you have done this, take the free running end of the line and bring it up under where the line starts to twist at the shaft. Grab the end of the free running end and pull up and the part of the line that is running back into the box. This will slide your knot down tight to the shaft. Once this is done, take a pair of fingernail clippers and trip the free running end down to about one inch from the knot. Ensure that you pull tight on the line to ensure that the knot will not give way. Take your bail and close it. You are now ready to put line on your reel.

String the fishing line on the reel. If your fishing line is in a box, then you can sit down, place your foot on the edge of the box and begin reeling. If your line comes in a spool, the easiest way is run a pencil through the middle of the spool and have someone hold the pencil. If you are trying this by yourself, take the pencil and hold it in place with your shoes. Begin to reel. Reel your line until the line reaches the edge of the spool. Do not put so much line on there that the line is even with the edge of the spool. If you do this, your line will slip and create a huge headache for you.