How to Put Fishing Line on a Crystal River Fly Rod Reel
- 1). Strip away all old line from the reel and cut the line at the knot around the spool.
- 2). Match fly line to the weight of the reel. For example, if the Crystal River reel is rated in the 5 to 6 weight category, you will enjoy the best performance from the equipment if the reel is spooled with 5 to 6 weight fly fishing line.
- 3). Tie a backing line to the bare spool on the reel using an overhand knot, then tie a second overhand knot on the end of the line just ahead of the first knot. The second knot prevents slipping (see illustration provided in Reference 2).
- 4). Load approximately 100 yards of backing line onto your reel. You can keep track of how much backing line is going on the reel by measuring the length of the line that goes on the spool with one full rotation of the crank handle. For example, if 12 inches of line (1 foot) goes on the spool with each full turn of the crank handle, you would need to turn the handle 300 times to add 300 feet, or 100 yards of backing line.
- 5). Tie the end of the fly line to the lead end of your backing line using an Albright knot (see illustration in Reference 3).
- 6). Clip the loose ends of the fly line and backing line to about 1/8 inch from the knot.
- 7). Add fly line to the Crystal River reel by turning the crank handle until the line reaches just below the edge in the side of the reel (above the holes in the frame of the reel).
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