Berkley Reel Spooling Station Review

Berkley Portable Line Spooling Station

I love everything about fishing…almost. One of the few exceptions is replacing old line at the beginning of the season. It would be great to have a line winder like those at Dick’s or Cabela’s…

“Would you like us to put line on your new reel?”

“SURE!!!”

Naturally, you can’t buy a new reel every spring just for the fresh line, and expensive motorized devices aren’t for everybody. Thankfully, there is a moderately priced item that will allow you to fill several reels in a matter of minutes.

For $26.99 the "Berkley Portable Line Spooling Station" will get the fishing season off to a great start, and by-and-large I am very impressed with the product. Here are some pros and cons…

PROS

The line support shaft is equipped with tensioning cones that allow for moderate pressure on the spool. Thus, the line is evenly distributed on the reel and doesn’t twist.

The spooling station is both lightweight and easy to use. Once it was assembled, I was spooling fishing line on four reels in about ten minutes.

All parts are self-contained within the frame.

It comes with a battery operated tool that strips the old line off of all types of freshwater reels.

CONS

The reel seat is too large for use with the smallest of ultralight reels. For example, my Okuma Inspira IA-10 was too small for the seat. The Berkley line winder, while lightweight, isn’t of the most solid construction. I wouldn’t let it roam freely in the back of a pickup truck on the way to the fishing hole.

OVERALL, this is a very effective and helpful tool for most anglers and is well worth the price. Putting line on a fishing reel can be a difficult one man task, and the Berkley line winder is even better than having an extra pair of hands available.