Backing Question...

[Airborne]

Anybody use tuff line for their backing? I have the old tuff line comming of of one reel and thought it would work as backing. I think it would be ok and maybe even get a little more on? but then again it would be nice just to see a fish that could show me the backing once in a while :grin:

Yes you could definately get more line on and it will work okay. What kind of knot would you use to connect the two?
I prefer the larger diameter dacron fly line backing myself but that is just a personal preference.

[Steelheader69]

Will warn you about using such thin diameter backing. It's all fine loading up tons of extra backing. But how rarely do you take out more then 100 yards of it? Here's the problem with it though. It's such a fine diameter, it takes awhile to stack that line back onto the reel. You have a screaming fish that takes alot of line, and takes a bit to stack it back on. Why? Because if you aren't careful, you can dig it into the spool much easier then standard dacron. I never used it. But had a friend who did. He did nothing but cuss for the longest time. He only uses the normal backing now.

Makes sense Jerry [img]graemlins/idea.gif[/img] Thanks for the info. That's the reason I don't use it while drift fishing with a casting reel.

[Bubzilla]

Probably not the best of ideas for several reasons. One of the biggest reasons has already been mentioned, i.e., braided lines have a tendency to dig into the spool. This can be a serious issue when the line is then taken off the reel again in a hurry. The result can be a quick stop and break off.

If capacity is a genuine issue--which for 99 percent of fly anlgers it is not--you might want to consider using gel spun backing materials. Several line makers now make a number of gel spun options. I'm frankly not sure how gel spun would compare directly to ordinary braided lines, e.g., Tuff Line, but it is made specifically for fly fishing. That is to say, I know gel spun is made to have a low enough coefficient of friction so as not to damage your fly rod's guides. I don't know if the same can be said about ordinary braided lines. Gel spun backing can be pretty expensive, though. And it should be said that even gel spun has it disadvantages--it's one of those things that's only around for certain uses.

As a practical matter, the only people who really need to worry about using gel spun are saltwater anglers fishing for certain species known to burn up a lot of backing. For the rest of us, that sort of backing capacity really isn't necessary--or even desired. If you're current reel can't hold a sufficient amount of dacron, then perhaps looking for a larger reel is in order? Otherwise, I'd stick with the dacron. Either way I'd recommend that you relegate the old braided line to it's proper place in your own personal fishing history: the trash.

[ 10-28-2003, 01:20 PM: Message edited by: Bubzilla ]

[Airborne]

makes sense to me thanks for the info......

[Gizmo Man]

another concern is the ability to cut your fingers to the bone due to the thinner diameter. If you use it, make sure your fingers are out of the way and do not grab the line by hand. Reel it in.

Giz...