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feed the line thru eyes of rod.....open the bell...tie the line on...close the bell...start reeling.....

i think u should change ur combo to like a spinning takle or baitcasting

It doesn't matter what kind of reel you have, if the spool stopped spinning the reel is pretty much useless. If you have a spinning reel, it usually means that you won't have any drag. This happen to me once on an Abu Garcia K-Mart special reel. I used the reel as is and continued fishing. I disengaged the anti-reverse and backed up the reel when I need to give out line. I fought a couple fish this way until I hooked up a nice bass. The bass put enough stress on the reel and made the locked spool to spin freely all of a sudden. That reel died on me twice that night. That reel died due to failed rear drag assembly caused by saltwater corrosion and lacked maintenance. I can't find replacement parts for that reel. So, it went straight to the garbage can.

If you have a spincast, a baitcast or a fly reel, it means the reel lost its function completely. If you have a spincast reel, it could mean some line got caught under the spool and locked up everything. You only need to clear out the caught line and you'll be back in business again. If there aren't any caught line, it probably means the part supporting the spool and/or gears snapped. If something snapped, you won't be able to turn the handle and there'll be no drag. The reel was out of commission until you found replacement parts or reel. (Yes, I've killed Zebcos too.)

I've not killed any baitcaster reels yet but a Shimano reel have failed on me once. The thumb release failed and the reel was free spooling. Turning the handle will make the thumb release pop back up but the reel continued to free spool. I disassembled it and couldn't find anything wrong with the reel. After I reassembled the reel, everything suddenly went back to normal again. I have absolutely no idea what happened to the reel.

I've killed 2 Penn saltwater conventional reels and one newer Mitchell trolling reel before; they function similar to baitcasters. The pinion gear on one of the Penn reels split in half on me due to metal fatigue. As a result, the spool and the gears weren't engage. This problem was easily solved by replacing the gears. The other Penn reel was an older Model 65 with plastic bakelite spool. I hooked up a big, unknown fish. While fighting it, I heard a loud pop. The left side plate cracked due to stress. About 30 seconds after the side plate cracked, I heard another loud pop and the spool froze on me. Needless to say, there's a 3rd pop because the line snapped as soon as the spool frozed. I later found the 2nd pop was caused by the plastic spool which snapped in half. The pinion gear on that reel was slightly damaged as well. I'll not describe how that Mitchell (newer Made in China) reel died because it will sound like a far fetched tale. I'll only say that reel couldn't hold up to stress and ceased to function while the 30lb test line that was on the reel held up.

Kevin, if you are using a spinning reel, the reason the spool doesn't work any more is because the screw that holds the shaft in place fell or broke off.

If you are using a conventional reel, the gears are jammed up, probably by a spring or some other loose object. If you are able to work the reel handle but the spool doesn't spin, it could be that you just need to clean out the reel and maybe replace the springs that hold the lifting plate that engages the reel. You can use small springs from a pen if it comes down to it for a quick fix. Also take a look at the drag system, washers may be worn down to nothing from catchin' all those steelies. I hope I helped ya out some. ~good luck catchin'.

What kind of reel?

Spinning?

Baitcasting?

Spincasting?