[Catalpa_Joe]

Every time I turn my double taper line around it's always in tight coils at the tip. I guess it's time to start using a backing line. What's the wisdom on choosing the right backing material. I've read some of the reviews at Cabelas & Bass Pro but they seem pretty divided. Tell me what you like or hate about each.

[the saltydog]

I never really cared since I never catch fish that take my line out to the backing. I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's opinions too.

[FishAholic85]

Here is what I use for fly fishing Trout, Grayling, Walleye, Pike and anything else that will take a fly.

As much Dacron as I can fit on to my reel and still have room for my fly line and hope its a enough to stop a large trout or pike.
But it a depends on what and were you are fishing?
Freshwater, saltwater, lakes, rivers, creeks. What type of fish are you after?
Small stream trout for instance you would only need 50yrds of backing, but if you are after Pike you are going to need 200yrds of backing.


Cheers,
FA85

[Mr. Steelhead]

for anything under 6wt I use dacron, 6 and over I use spectra because I can put more backing in the same amount of space.

[Catalpa_Joe]

for anything under 6wt I use dacron, 6 and over I use spectra because I can put more backing in the same amount of space.

Any particular brand & wt?

[Mr. Steelhead]

30lb spiderwire braid. tie a figure eight lock knot in the end of the spiderwire to lock what ever knot you use to tie to your flyline. this prevents the knot from slipping.

[smallieFanatic]

Dacron is what I use...

[David Legg]

I use Dacron. I have been taken into my backing, but it still doesn't matter what you have, UNLESS, you hit the end of your backing. Then it just has to hold on better than your tippet. Dacron has a little more give than the other materials, and in the odd case I would ever hit the end of my backing (I got close once, years ago) I would want some stretch to cushion the impact. And I'm mostly worried about my hand in that case.

[BigDaddyHub]

I had a carp take me to the end of my backing once....literally had only three or four wraps left on the spool....was using about 150 yds of Dacron. What I did learn is exactly what was posted ..."stretch"...I liked the fat that the Dacron held, and yet had just enough stretch not to break off when I put "alot" of tension on the line trying to turn that behemoth in a mud flat. I eventually over played him and broke of the tippet, but the backing did it's job. HE was a HUGE fish. Wish I had played him a little differently, but the end result was my error, not gear error. On my last steelhead outing in 2007. I had a nice PA steelhead take me into my backing on a 6wt outfit. I hooked into it at the mouth of Walnut Creek and it headed back into the lake. I was using Dacron and it performed perfectly. I decided that day that when steelheading, a 6wt is probably not a wise choice for a "back up rod". If I get to go back, I'm packing three 8 wts! HA!

I've not had much experience with Spectra, but I really like Dacron. I've never had a problem getting enough on the spool for my heavier rods, but I also use large arbor reels. That probably would make a difference, I would think. Much like many anglers, I typically don't fish situations that require backing, fishing confined streams and inlets in lakes, but I always "back" my big sport outfits with Dacron...I guess it's just a personal preference based on my lack of info and first hand, knowlegdeable use of other backing lines.

[JSzymczyk]

Dacron. Tried, true, not very expensive, all you need unless you are after tuna or billfish. I agree, you should put as much backing on the spool as you can , and still freely fit the fly line. That makes sense from a line-take-up perspective, the larger diameter, the more inches of line you retrieve per revolution of the spool. For 99.997% of freshwater fishing in the USA, as long as you have a hundred feet or so, you'll be fine.

I always love to hear these <people> talk about "I can fit 600 yards of spectra backing on my 5 weight reel with a weight forward line, and you never know when you'll need it..." puke blah blah blah. Yeah, if you let a fish get 500 yards away on a five weight, what are the odds of ever landing it? The drag of that much backing plus the fly line through the water is enough to bust a pretty heavy tippet. If you are honest-to-God fishing for something that CAN take you hundreds of yards into backing, why aren't you using a heavier outfit? I can see a few instances in saltwater, and I have 200 yds of 30 pound backing on my salt water reel. Never needed more than probably 50 feet of it though. Maybe for really big carp, especially if you snag one right in the touch-hole with a jig.... It kills me, I see folks fishing small streams for stocked trout, and they brag about how many yards of backing they can stuff on the spool. NOT SAYING that's you, just sayin'.

[Mr. Steelhead]

WELL, I GUESS THIS NUMBNUTS IS DONE HERE, THANK YOU FOR POINTING THIS OUT TO ME, I WAS UNAWARE.

[David Legg]

Well, I think you have to match the backing to the job. The only time I ever got close to the end of my backing was a Cutthroat trout years ago. It was only a couple of pounds, but it went berserk when I hooked it, and the most comical fight of my life ensued which included, of all things, the fish running back upstream at one point in the fight, and literally running upstream straight at me... and I am not kidding... right between my legs and kept on going. I thought I had lost the stupid (wily) fish and was reeling in line, when suddenly I found my flyrod trying to bend down between my boots. I finally figured out the fish had "threaded the needle" on me, and had to step over my own line to free it. At one point in the fight, I was down to a single turn of backing on my spool as the fish was heading downstream on me, and I literally ran downstream after the fish, trying to gain line on it. I finally landed the little demon after about twenty minutes. I had fallen down a half dozen times while fighting that thing, had been outmaneuvered by it repeatedly, and still lucked out with a catch. I'd give a lot to have a fish that could make a monkey out of me like that again. If I had a few less inches of backing, I would have lost the fish for sure. After that, I never criticize anyone for having too much backing. You could pack a mile of backing on the reel, and it wouldn't hurt a thing, as long as you are comfortable with the size and weight of the reel needed to hold it. Not everyone needs a mile of backing, but it's for each person to choose.

While it is true that the increased drag of all that line and backing can be a problem in some situations, as long as the fish is running straight away from you, and doesn't have the freedom to put a lot of bow in the line, it makes little difference. On wider rivers or on still water, the potential for those problems is certainly greater.

I have never yet felt I had too much backing. Luckily, except for the one ridiculous stumbling chase downstream after that crazy cutthroat, I never felt I had too little.

[JSzymczyk]

sorry folks, "numbnuts" must have been a little too harsh of a word to use. I edited it out.

another consideration is once in a while unspooling your backing to dry it.... especially if you are one of the <PEOPLE> who insist on dropping your rod and reel in the water every time you land a fish. You know, like the <PEOPLE> on the TV shows, drop the $1500 outfit in the river so they can worship the trout with both hands for a few seconds. The backing WILL end up with some mildew and junk growing in it if it's not unspooled and dried every once in a while. I'm one of those <PEOPLE> who prefer unspooling and respooling less than 17 nautical miles of backing.

[TheCream]

I agree, match the backing to the job. If you're in saltwater for big fish, the gel spun or low diameter/high capacity backing makes sense. For stream trout, not so much. I use dacron on all three of my rods/reels. I have had a few fish take me to my backing, the ones I recall from last year was a nice channel cat I hooked in a pond and a nearly 4lb bass I hooked on my 3wt. The cat took several feet of backing, the bass not very much. Shortly after she hit the backing, I got her turned around. Even if you are steelheading and a big fish takes off, you can chase after it in most situations. My most likely chance to hook a backing-capable fish will be from a boat, and I'll be chasing before it could ever get too far into the backing.