Help! I Need a Laxative... for My Fishing Line

You heard me right. I need a laxative for a spool of my 40-lb. Stren Sonic Braid. Actually, I've already packaged it up and plan to drop it in the mail tomorrow, headed back to Pure Fishing--once this nasty weather gets out of town. I've already called and let them know to be looking for my package.

I've been spooling line for a lot of years now, but it wasn't until today that I've ever encountered a new spool of line looking like it had been through a giant backlash before it was packaged. As I told the company in the letter accompanying my return, I thought line was supposed to be wound on a spool, not "bound" on it. I'm not kidding you about the "bound" bit. It was so bad I ended up cutting my finger, trying to get it unbound. I kept pulling, thinking it eventually would free up but had no such luck.

If anyone else ever has had the same experience with a new spool of line--of any kind--I'd love to hear about it. Those of you who use braid know all too well how difficult it can be to pick backlashes from your reel. Imagine trying to do a whole spool that way. Like so many other times out on the water, I just gave up. The one difference between those times and today was that I didn't break out a knife and start whacking. It was a struggle, but I kept my frustration in check.