How much Backing is needed?

[rayfound]

So, a while back I built and 8wt. Last month I picked up a reel and a Striper Taper intermediate sink line.

I'm planning on using the rod for some surf/bay fishing and possibly some bass/striper in the reservoirs and duct.

I've still never cast the rod, since I forgot to buy backing. My local Sports Chalet has only 100yd spools, and they want like $11 for it. The reel will hold about 200 yards plus my line.

Now my thinking is that backing should be cheap, and I don't really understand why its so pricey (I really don't want to put $22 of backing on with a line I bought for $29). Also, how much do I really need?is 100 yards sufficient, or do I need the full 200?

Is there some reason I don't understand as to why Dacron is needed vs, say 30lb Mono? or Spiderwire Braid for that matter?

Thanks dudes... this light-tackle freshwater guy is over his head.

[midger]

Backing is to fill the reel up to where the flyline comes to within less than 1/8 inch of the frame cross members. Unless I have the specs to tell me how much backing it takes for a given reel, I generally load my flyline first, attach backing, and put in as much backing as it takes to get the line to where it needs to be, then reverse the process tying the backing to the reel's center spindle. This works best when you have two spools for the same reel (which I pretty much do for all my reels). It can be problematic when you only have a single spool, so you're best to find out how much backing is required from the reel's provided info. Please note, the amount they tell you is only a rough estimate, as the amount needed depends on type of line (ie Weight Forward, Double taper, sinking, etc) and length of the flyline. That's why I prefer the wind it on method--it's more exact.

As for the cost of the backing, you can generally find it for around $6 or so a 100 yards. I've bought spools of 12, 20, and 30# off vendors on eBay. These are in 300-500 yard spools. Usually get them for around 12-15 for the spool.

You do need backing though and the proper amount. If you don't have backing on a standard spool, the flyline tends to take a set and it takes a lot more turns of the crank to wind it in due to the smaller diameter.

Just my .03

[briansII]

To add to what Mike said, you can find 30 lb dacron cheap, if you shop around. I bought 1,000 yard spool of 30lb for around $45(?). It's not the highest quality, but it works to fill up the spool. You can use super braids like Spider Wire, but it's thinner....meaning you'll need more of it, and it's usually more expensive.

A couple reason you don't want to use mono. Mono stretches much more than dacron, or gelspun/spectra/dyneema. That may cause a problem if you hook a big fish. Also, that stretch will want to retract. If it's wound back on the spool, it can add a lot of pressure. I have read stories about mono warping a fly reel spool.

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briansII

[FlyinFish]

Ray, your question is similar to why do I need $300 worth of metal as a line holder. The backing just fills the spool to a decent diameter so that, like midger said, you don't have your flyline all coiled up at a small diameter and so it doesn't take 15 turns to bring in a yard of line. That's why large arbor is nice.

The only reason you may need the backing is if the fish takes a big run. For our creeks, that don't happen! For the ocean, I'd say if you hook a nice halibut you want to have like 50yds of line minimum. But, there are some big fish, sharks, and rays in the surf, so you may want to have about 100yds. For freshwater stuff, you may need some yards for catching stripers, but largemouth won't be a big issue.

I'd say do what midger said to get as big of a diameter as possible on your fly line.

As for why can't you just use 30# mono, well, you can, but you won't get very much on the spool. 30# is way thicker than 30# dacron. And although mono has a tremendous shelf life, it will get super coiled up. Dacron does not have that memory.

See if you can find a better price...


PS I have a similar issue with my 4# and 2# spinning reels. I throw some 15# on the spool then add the line. There, I don't ever plan to get to the 15# and just want to grow the spool. I don't need 400 yards of 2# and I don't want to use a tiny spool like on a 500 sized reel...