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February's tip for young anglers - don't get your line in a tangle

"Before I came across this winder, I use to get my dear wife to stand with two hands either side of a rolled up magazine inserted through the fly line then slowly she would turn the magazine whilst at the same time I would be winding the fly reel. It was a bit tricky at times as it would tangle!"

February already, where does the time go! As the months and years march on it seems time moves faster. Long gone are those heady days, as a youngster, when time stood still. It seemed the day would never end... but I still enjoy my fishing.

Climate change is on everybody's lips at present, whether you believe it or not there is change of some sort to our planet earth, meaning extremes of weather, wetter winters and hotter summers. Unlike times past when we seemed to have predictable seasonal weather, it now seems to change by the day or even hour!

This is obviously a worldwide problem and whether can it be reversed, who knows? But we all have to play our part in doing something positive, to try to help.

But back to fishing. This month I'd like to focus on the fly line and the correct way to install it on your fly reel. The picture shows a fly line winder widely available from good fly fishing stores. It's a great piece of kit for replacing or renewing fly lines to your reel.

Before I came across this winder, I use to get my dear wife to stand with two hands either side of a rolled up magazine inserted through the fly line then slowly she would turn the magazine whilst at the same time I would be winding the fly reel. It was a bit tricky at times as it would tangle! It's so much easier with this gadget. Study the pictures and if you do purchase one (approx £20) you will see how easy and self-explanatory it is.

But first you need some backing on the spool. The backing I use is micro poly, but there are many other makes. Attach the backing to the reel spool with an arbour knot. Some manufacturers of fly lines provide a small booklet that will explain how to perform this exercise. The new fly line box will also explain how much backing you will need, as well as other information. This will be useful if starting out anew.

Once this done, attach your fly line. There will be a small tab stating "reel end", this is he part you attach to your backing using a knot called an Albright, again this will be explained in the booklet.

One very important thing you need to remember is that when winding the fly line off the winder and onto the reel it needs to be wound onto the reel the same way it was installed by the manufacturer. The idea is to have no coiling or what we call "memory". All the knots, attachments and other information should be explained on the box or in the small booklet attached, but if not try YouTube

Most modern fly lines come with a welded loop for you to attach your leader or tippet.

Fishing wise; hopefully our lakes or rivers are not frozen over and we can still fish.

The usual flies will still work, as I detailed in January's article.

Wrap up warm, keep safe but most of all have fun, Bob G.

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