Reels and Backing

Time after time I have witnessed a customer say:  “I want  XYZ  line and 150 yards of backing on the reel.”

I then ask them:  “How do you know it will fit?”

Without experience, some fly fishers do not understand that a reel will only hold so much.

The next question I hear is: “How much backing should I put?”

My standard answer:  “ Fill up the reel.”

The truth is that if a fish were to run off 50 yards of line on a typical NC creek or river, he is going to be gone or you had better be running ON the water to catch up with him.     Of course the ocean is a different story.

A properly filled reel minimizes line curl due to being so close to the center of the spindle.   Likewise it can prevent the friction of line rubbing against frame parts. 

I see reels come into the shop where another store has simply overfilled in order to get the sale out the door.              Time has been taken more than once to take off the person’s line,  cut off a section of backing,  and reattach the line.              Overfilling a reel can cause more problems than underfilling.            An overfilled reel can jamb and quit turning due to the line rubbing the frame.           This can be due in part to the user not being neat when retrieving.     I always suggest that all casters use a little finger to “level wind” the line back on the reel after each use during the day.    This prevents problems later when the line either gets jammed or it develops that “birds nest” that can cost a guy a good running fish later.