Merwin: The Old Bottle Trick

Anybody else do this? Make a line-remover out of a water- bottle cap and bottle. It’s fast, cheap, and you can use it to store line or throw it away as you like. Here’s how.

Take a common water-bottle cap and drill a centered 1/4-inch hole, within which you’ll use washers and nuts to fasten a 2-inch-long by 1/4-inch-diameter bolt. The bolt shank will stick out of the top of the bottle cap.

Screw the cap on an old water bottle, and chuck the bolt shank in your cordless drill. Tape the end of your line to the bottle, and set your reel at a very light drag setting or in free-spool. Then rev up your drill to remove all line from the reel very quickly.

Works like a charm with baitcasting, spinning, and even fly lines (although I know that fly lines should be stored in large, loose coils).