I use something I think is called a latch hook. Used for knitting repairs in sweaters. It is like a long long long sewing needle except the eye end has a latch that opens on the side of the eye. You hook the yarn in there and just pull through the rag. There's a sewing store in Lynnwood up by BandAid Music that has stainless steel ones that are about a 10" long. I cut it down to about 6" and sharpen the cut end so that I can just pass it through like a regular needle. I also use this same tool on the river to put the rag on. Put a small cork over the sharp end when not in use. When I buy these I buy several at a time so that if I have a failure I always have a backup. Tip - if you sharpen the tip with a real fine taper you can put a micro hook on the sharp end and use it to coax out deep birds-nests from your reel, not like any of us would have a reason to do that, but just saying.