rats nest line

Question
I just completed a life long dream of owning my own boat. So I also have taken up fishing but without much luck.  Even with soft bait and a light lead weight my casts seem to be rather short (maybe ten yards) and my line tangles into a "rats nest" so often I spend most of my time untangling line and less time fishing. What would you recommend (other than taking up Golf)?

Answer
No, don't switch to golf.  

I can only guess that maybe this is a baitcasting rod/reel that you are using.  If thats the case, they do take practice and it's best to start out with heavier baits till you master them.

If it's a spinning reel that you are having problems with, it could be cheap or old line.  Cheap and older lines have memory and will coil up and jump off the reel even when you don't want it to.  The answer is sometimes new line or a low-memory line like Trilene XL.  

One last thing to consider is line twist.  Many problems with tangles in spinning tackle can be tracked to line twist.  If you use spinners, you need to use a snap-swivel to prevent that spinner from twisting the line.  Also, a bad line roller on a spinning reel can cause twist.  Make sure that line roller is rolling smooth.

I hope that this helps, but if you can be more specific about the type of reel (spinning or casting) I could be more direct.

Good fishing!