DIY – Fast and Cheap Fishing Line Stripper
Eugene L. 04.10.25
Spring is finally here, and so are the fish, but are your reels ready for another season on the water?
If you’re saying “no” to that question and need new line for your reels, here’s a super-easy-to-make and cheap DIY fishing line stripper to help get rid of any old and frayed-up fishing line you may have on your reels. You only need a few things to make this that hopefully you already have at home.
You will only need a few things: a 3-inch-long carriage bolt with a matching washer and nut, an electric drill, and an empty fishing line spool. I am using a bigger fishing line spool here, but you can use whatever you have; a larger spool does make things easier. Also, to select the carriage bolt with a matching washer and nut, just go with whatever fits inside your spool. This particular carriage bolt is a 3/8ths bolt that fits just right into the drill chuck and fishing line spool.
The “Assembly” of the DIY Fishing Line Stripper is stupid simple. Just put the carriage bolt through the middle of the fishing line spool and then add the washer and thread on the nut. That is it—nothing fancy. Just tighten the nut down tight so the spool stays in place when you use the fishing line stripper. All that is left to do is throw it in the drill chuck, and you are ready to strip the old line off your reels.
Using the line stripper is very straightforward. Grab a little bit of tape and attach your old line to the spool, making sure to be in free spool or have your bail open. Then pull the trigger on the drill and let it do all the work.
You can strip all that old line off of a reel in just a couple of minutes, keeping all that old line nice and tidy. Once you do fill up one of these spools, you can remove the carriage bolt, throw away the whole spool of old fishing line, and swap on a new empty spool to use later.
