Reviewed by: Capt. Mike Schoonveld
Normally, I’m the sort of person who likes a multi-tasker device better than one with a single purpose. I’ve hammered things with crescent wrenches. I’ve brewed coffee in a skillet. But every once in a while, something comes along which isn’t much good for anything more than what it was designed to do.
I can live with that especially if it does that one thing perfectly and better than anything else. This is the category I put the RTD – anchonym for rod threading device.
During the winter, I respool all my reels loaded with monofilament line and many of the other reels filled with braid, leadcore or copper if they need attention. I may be removing reels to either do maintenance on them or the rod on which they were mounted. During the season, I may do the same, just not all of them the same day. Add to this the number of times a broken line occurs and it’s easier to just wind the line onto the reel and grab one loaded and ready to go rather than try to get it back in the game.
I’d guess I go through the process of pulling (pushing) a line from the reel, through the rod guides and out the tip end about a thousand times per year. Okay, maybe it’s closer to a hundred, but I know there will be a dozen times or more each year when the line slips, the wind blows, the reel grabs and the line being threaded on the rod drops off and quickly de-threads. Start again and do it over and maybe over once more.
Previous to owning an RTD this was all hand work. Pinch the line, push it through a guide, pinch and pull to the next guide until it’s done. Since getting the RTD from Erupt Fishing Products, all I need to do is pinch a few inches of line and thread it through an eye on the tool which will grip the line. Then run the RTD across the top of the rod’s line guides and bingo, the line is in place. Remove the line, tie on a lure and go fishing.
It’s only the size of a large lure so it will fit in a tackle box or tool compartment on your boat. When you need to thread the line on a rod, it’s the perfect tool. Though it’s not good for anything else, I don’t mind. It’s earned a place next to the screwdriver in my tool chest which often doubles as an awl/hook remover/chisel/line spool arbor/nut cracker/can opener/pry bar and fish holder. Available at retailers or online at Amazon or www.eruptfishing.com.
FISHING TOYS 