[Jim F.]

As I updated my records today, I realized that while I usually know which line is on my "several-many" reels & spools, at times I've had to scratch my head to figure it out. My Kids (who don't fly fish) would have no clue in the event of my untimely demise, so . . . I bought some plastic key tags at Office Max, a bag of large safety pins, marked the tags, and affixed them to the respective reels/spools/head wallets/cases, wherever these fit best. I was surprised at the number of line ID labels that had vanished over the years. I was also amazed at how many rods & reels,spools, etc I have amassed over 62-years after I had it all laid-out.

 

[Salmo_g]

I've noticed a similar condition. My fishing life was so much simpler when I had only one or two sets of gear, either the trout set up or the steelhead one. Now I've got so many rods, reels, lines, fly boxes, etc., I cannot seem to keep them organized well enough to just grab the one I want or need for a particular outing. It's crazy.

Sg

 

[LyNcH]

Timely post. I just started making a spreadsheet with the same information. My OCD-like tendencies (my wife would call it a waste of time) force me to swap lines with reels way too often & I don't want to start forgetting what lines are on what reels between steelhead and trout seasons.

 

[Mumbles]

I have a spreadsheet with rods on one tab, reels (and spools) on another tab and lines on a third. The rod and reel tabs are up to the minute currently, lines not so much. I used to be horrible at labeling my spools for the lines on them but have done much better lately. All lines that I have that are not on spools are either on their origional spools and/or boxes so they are labeled or they are in large coils in zip loc bags labeled with their brand, type and weight. Many of those bags also list the rods on which I fish those lines. I'm sure most of my problem is laziness and constantly fiddling with rod/reel/line combinations. I just can't leave well enough alone. I am my own worst enemy and have had to resort to measuring out lines and weighing their heads in order to narrow down what lines they are. I'm a lazy slob too, that certainly can't help either.

 

[937]

Sound like too many of you have mammaries rather than memories.

Every time you pull a line off a reel coil it up and mark it with masking tape which line it is before putting in a zip loc. If you have to keep a spread sheet on which line you use with which rod you probably aren't on the water enough. Take Mmbls post numbers as an example... 11.01 post per day:clown:

I'd love to cut and paste this post to one of the gear sites I visit to see the reaction. It would make for an entertaining day.

 

[Old Man]

I only use about three rods and reels and don't have that many more that I forget what I have on my reels. My stable is very sparse.

 

[Mumbles]

Thanks for the pot shot PT. Some of us are not blessed with your brilliant memory or limitless time to fish. I've never even remotely claimed to be on the water enough but enjoy the time I go get on the water. Somehow it does me good to spend some time reading or talking fishing when I can't get out or messing with my gear in the middle of the night. Cut and paste it if you like, entertainment comes in many forms. Yours and mine might be different. I keep track of my gear in an ridiculous manner so that when I get time on the water it is as positive as possible. Your results may vary.

 

[937]

That's the first time anybody has accused me of being brilliant in any form whatsoever. Thanks!

Nothing personal, just find it a bit funny the lengths we all go to in the pursuit of our finned friends. I try to keep it simple. Coil your line up, place a wrap of masking tape around it, and mark it. Pretty simple. Each real has a line weight it's best suited for so changing semi similar (wt wise) lines per reel helps keep things a bit organized also.

As Salmo said, it used to be a lot easier when I had one 8 wt and a couple 5 wts. Now I have 5 and 6 weights for trout, bass, steelhead, etc. Also have 8 wt's for fresh and salt. Lines to go with each (all serving a specific purpose), etc. I still try to keep it simple. Clear totes for each set up with flies and lines designated for a certain purpose. But, I do know off the top of my head which rod/reel/line works best together.

Then there's the 2-handers.....

Sorry Mumbles, next time I'll throw in a few of these and a couple of those:rofl:

 

[scottybs]

Be careful providing an inventory of your equipment, with divorce rates around 50% that could lead to your most prized items being taken... JK... Throw a mouse pattern!!!

Scott

 

[Preston]

Masking tape can get pretty nasty after a while, the adhesive tends to get sticky and to adhere to the the line. I roll my lines up with a folding line-winder, secure them with three pipe cleaners and hang a paper-and-string tag (these can be purchased in huge quantities for very little) on them with weight and line-type written on it. The rolled line goes into a Ziploc bag and the tag can be read without removing it.

On the reel, I try to remember to stick one of those 3/4-inch diameter, round, paper garage-sale labels somewhere on the spool with the line description. They are surprisingly durable.

 

[Cruncher]

I too created a spreadsheet but more so for fly tying materials because I was getting sick of finding twos and threes of the same thing. That being said, the file has over 1,100 individual items (doubles and triples are not counted again). Comes in very handy when you need to order up something or before I go the shop, that I check my inventory first so that I don't buy stuff I don't need. Amazing how much of this stuff I haven't used for years too or will never use. Impulse buying was my downfall.

 

[Adirondack Robin]

I decided to inventory all gear and tying materials and put a value on it; in the event of some type of loss, I would have no problem substantiating the loss for an insurance claim. If my wife ever comes across the inventory, I'm "dead meat"! It doesn't take much to add up to a signifcant amount of money. Try it with your firearms and tools. Pretty scary.

 

[7919]

i have the opposite problem. I only own 1 rod and 1 reel, but i have 4 fly lines (sink tip, depth charge, floating wf/dt) Anytiem i have to switch presentations I have to change the entire line on my reel its a huge pain in the ass. feel free to send me ur shittiest old reel that never sees uses and I will be sure to get a fish onto it!

 

[orangeradish]

I mark my fly lines with a sharpie about 10' from the end. 1/2 inch mark is 5, thin tic mark is 1. Looks like this.
3wt= X X X
7wt= XXXXX X X
10wt= XXXXX XXXXX

 

[Wormonhook]

Spread sheets, tags, marking lines; man, am I glad I didn't get into this game sooner. I don't even look at the classifieds. I know what'll happen. I can relate. I've got a 4wt, 6wt, two 8wts. I've got one reel for each weight and an extra spool for the 6wt and 8wt. My old brain would go absolutely bananas if I had more than that. But I can relate. Now, shotguns, on the other hand...

 

[soundflycaster]

I have also found over the years that the sharpie method works best. Due to the fact the I have both spey and single hand lines the higher # single hand lines and the lower # spey lines look the same at a quick glance so I mark the spey lines in red sharpie. Still not perfect as so many of my lines have been cut and spliced I also mark the spools with head length with the small round stickers.

For what it is worth.

 

[Mike Lee]

I'm still in the early [infant] stages of aquiring gear. I have yet to purchase any premium lines so a spreadsheet is yet to happen. I have made forms in MS Access for friends to quickly log in gear/materials/ or whatever you want to track that converts into a spreadsheet automatically. Makes entering info fast and stupid proof so you can't accidently delete a cell. For my old lines [no more than 2 years old] I wind them onto the spool of the replacement line, put into a ziploc freezer bag, label the bag and into the bin. Within weeks though it will diasppear from a friend looking for a new line.

Do you guys enter the price you paid for the line/rod/reel into your spreadsheet? I think that would be interesting to graph a statistic over time. Logging the date and price of purchases, usage log, and a cell for any notes. You could find out how much you have spent, the price variance over the years, any constants of expense, and maybe calculate a control group/constant. You could write a book on it. "The Truth of Tight Lines - A Memoir of how expensive Fly Fishing can be", or " I lost my F'king IRA, but I still have my Fly Fishing".

Sorry, Just Babbling here to get my posting count up.

 

[Don Barton]

When I remove a line from a reel, I use a line winder similar to the one pictured below. I secure the line with pipe cleaners and put the line into a zip loc bag that is just slightly larger than the line coil.

Most of my reels and spools are Abel brand. Abel Reel cases have a plastic window pocket on their reverse side. I keep my reels and spools in their cases and the labels current.

When I remove a line from a reel I also put the original box and the label from the reel/spool case into the zip loc as well.

I use a magic marker to mark on the zip loc the line specs and info regarding age and use.

For me, the key to this system is the line winder.

 

[Mumbles]

Don, great winder, I have one similar and it is one of the better low cost additions to my gear kit.

Mike? $$$? Really? You want someone to know that much information? You are wild and crazy man, more wild and crazy than I'm willing to get.

 

[Mike Lee]

Don, great winder, I have one similar and it is one of the better low cost additions to my gear kit.

Mike? $$$? Really? You want someone to know that much information? You are wild and crazy man, more wild and crazy than I'm willing to get.

I agree, perhaps a HUGE waste of time.