ah, monkeys - blast from the past!
the way i would set them is to put the climber just in front of the buzzer/rod rest (ie inbetween buzzer and reel). have the needle as near to vertical as poss, and push it in till the top of the needle is level with the top of the rod. cast out and tighten up to the desired tension on the line. the monkey goes on with the 45deg cut uppermost, and the line is trapped inbetween the climber body and the needle. when you lift the rod up, the climber should go up the needle until the top passes the top of the needle and the line releases. hope that makes sense!
best to leave a short drop on the climber if poss, and make sure you keep the needle and the inside of the climber body as clean as poss.