INDIANANGLER

Much has been written about re-spooling the reel with fresh line "every season".
In practice, how often is this dictum followed ?
How does one decide when to change the line on a reel that has seen "average" use and the line appears to be in good condition ?

The short answer is that it depends.

Braid lines and Fireline don't really deteriorate over time other than by abraision so if they look OK, they probably are.
If my fireline gets a bit scuffed up, the strength isnt really affected (it's just the coating that gets marked) so I simply turn it around and use the other end.

Mono lines do deteriorate. This is mostly as a result of UV light and changes in temperature but the reduction in breaking strain of lines that have been exposed to lots of natural light can be dramatic - as I recently found to my cost when I lost a 15kg Amazon red tail catfish while using rented tackle in Thailand !
If your tackle is kept indoors and away from light between sessions then decent mono will usually be OK for at least a couple of years and if it looks OK, it probably is.
If your kit is left out in the sun, mono might easilly be rotten in three months and do you really want to risk loosing the fish of a lifetime for the price of 100m of line ?

Being aware of the potential deterioration of nylon monofilament if very useful when buying line.
Avoid any that has been stored where the sun can get at it and insist on a fresh spool from the box.

Normally i tie a Knot and give it a good Jerk if it holds i go with the line, this test is good when using Mono but for braid ill go with Ken,s Method.Mono stored even under best of Conditions seem to lose some of its breaking strain.I normal tie it to a spring balance and pull slowly with some one watching at what poundage the line snaps.

Well I have been a bit lazy when I comes to re-spooling my line and have paid the price.

- 25lb Steelpower started to break at about 10lb after 4 years, I only realized it when I lost 2 good fish in a row.

- I had not realized I bought 50lb (tournament grade mono) which had expired and spooled one of my Tiagras with it, when setting my drags before the troll, I always do this, when I go deepsea fishing, it was breaking at 16lbs. So I had to discard the entire spool of expensive big game line.

It is a good thing to test your line with a scale before fishing after a while.

Thanks guys.
Check before every trip ... that is the dictum to be followed.

The most important thing about spooling a reel is what you do with the old line.

IMPORTANT : Please! Don't just chuck line away. Birds and other small animals can get tangled in it and die a slow painful death.

I keep most of the old line. It comes handy, believe me. You can tie rigs, practice knots and experiment with it.

would agree on this completely i learned all my rigs and different knots practicing on the old discarded lines some time even not mine but Ali's and Santo's

Rajat,

that is only a part of the story. What I heard from Ali & Santo, is that they had to discard their lines as you messed it up trying to tie rigs & knots.

well if they say so and still allowed me to go ahead and do it then i am indeed very lucky

When man, do not malign my name...

Well Ali, you told me about it 2 nights ago while I was dreaming about fishing at Powai.