Multiplier Spool & Braid Line

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Filling the Spool of a Multiplier Reel with Braid Line

Recently I've seen two brand new Abu multiplier reels which were returned by their owners, who reported the clutch was slipping, so that it was impossible to reel in line onto the spool.

One was sent back to the service department at Abu and returned almost immediately to the owner. There was no manufacturing fault on this reel!

The problem was that the purchaser had filled the spool with 300 yds of Berkley "Fireline" braid line. He had tied the line directly to the centre of the spool and wound it on - as you might. He had not used any form of backing line, prior to the braid.

The result was that when you pulled the end of the braid line, the whole bulk of the line was able to revolve around the central spindle of the spool. It gave the impression the clutch was slipping, although this was not in fact the case, as the spool itself was not actually revolving at all.

The way to avoid this is to wind on half a dozen layers of ordinary monofilament line directly onto the spool spindle. It is springy and grips the spool tight.

Now tie on your braid to the mono backing ( a "double grinner" knot is the best method of joining mono to braid) and wind it onto the spool.

This has been overcome on several of the models in the latest 2005 Abu range of multiplier reels. The manufacturer has added a small stud in the centre of the reel spindle, to which you can affix the end of your line with a slip-knot.

You will not experience the problem if you do this first.