Running Line in a Cave

Here's my first shot at an illustration of running line from open water into an overhead environment such as a cavern or cave.

[Click to enlarge]

I suggest practicing in open water or even on land so you won't have to worry about holding a flash light on your knot (though it's much easier to run line in water; the line won't fall to the ground as quickly because it will be suspended better in the water column.).  Run a course around a spring basin where there will usually be plenty of large rocks and tree branches to use as tie-off points.

Here's a video example.  Watch at 0:40 and 1:10 for this technique.  The only difference is that the diver does not wrap the line back around a couple times - but that is not always necessary if the spot is secure.




Things to consider:

• Another technique is to wrap first, then pull the tension from the incoming line last.  This will help keep tension on your line between tie-offs, however I like to pull the tension first to shore up previous segments.  Practice on your own and use whatever works best for you and  the situations you regularly face.
• Running the reel close to the floor of a cave/cavern can easily stir up the bottom, or even cause a silt-out.  Try making a loop with the line and fixing the loop around the rock or spur without moving the reel through the sediment.  Watch the video above from 3:38 to 3:56 for an example of how to do this.  Simply make a loop, attach the loop to a good spot, and pull tight.  The diver above makes two loops before pulling to secure the loops.
• Not all tie-off locations can actually be tied.  Often turning a corner around a large rock or other firm piece of debris will be a sufficient way to secure line as long as there is enough tension on the line.  This can serve as an intermediate spot between two tie-offs.  Further, if there are only loose rocks (football-basketball sized) available, don't bother wrapping.  Just lay your line and put a rock on top of it to hold it down.  It's easy for a line to become unwrapped, thus losing tension, and this will also conserve some line as well.