Pete Tyjas takes a look at an answer to his fly line storage problems.
Over the years I have accumulated a lot of fly lines. Sometimes, when I buy a new one for trout fishing I take the now discarded line off of the reel and wind it on to the spool the new line came on kidding myself that there might come a time I’ll need it as a backup. I can’t think of many occasions, if any at all, when I have need the line I have saved.
With the advent of a large variety of lines we use in salmon fishing now available as heads I am finding I accumulate a lot of them in a variety of densities and profiles.
The large majority of lines are by Rio. They cover just about every eventuality I am going to face on the river and do the job perfectly but storing them is becoming more difficult especially since my wife, Emma, is now building up her own selection too.
Let’s be honest. They aren’t cheap and so screwing them up or folding them up as best as I can and putting them in my reel case isn’t the best way of ensuring they have a long and hopefully distinguished life of service.
I have known for a long time that I needed a better way of storing the heads but the cost of many storage systems I have seen have made me think that I may just as well replace a line instead. This is until I discovered the Omnispool Switchbox.
First up it isn’t going to put a dent in the bank account at £9.99. It is well designed, in fact I’d go as far as saying it is one of the most cleverly put together fly fishing accessories I have come across. From the way the crank handle attaches to the easy way you can join the spool boxes together. It is really slick.
It is simple to use, just wind the head or line from your reel straight on to the Omnispool. If you are changing a line hold the Omnispool between your feet and easily reload the line, it really is that simple.
Although I have been mainly talking about salmon fishing when writing this piece I was reminded of a time I was saltwater fishing and whilst waiting for the flats boat to turn up I made a few blind casts into the surf and hooked a fish that disappeared off to the horizon cutting the fly line off on some coral. Thankfully I had a spare but I can see where the Omnispool would be useful as a way of keeping some spares for a trip that if you were in a similar position to the one I faced then it would be a really quick, simple change over.
There is also a LineCarebox cleaner that attaches to the Switchbox that you just add line cleaner to that will clean your line as you reel it in for storage.
If like me you carry a variety of fly lines and want a cost effective, easy to use storage system you should give the Omnispool Switchbox serious consideration. It has made my life a whole lot more easier.
Visit the Omnispool website for more details www.omnispool.com