How much / what weight backing, for a wide-use 8 weight?

daytripper wrote:


Looks like one side of the question is under-represented to this point.
So I'll be the contrarian:
If you can get 300 yards of backing on the reel using 30#, go with 30#.

Given what you intend to fish for - or more to the point - over, I'd
definitely go with the 30# Micron for greater abrasion resistance.

Barracuda usually live in reefs. Reefs are brutal on flyfishing gear as it is.
30# backing might save you a pricey fly line. And flats fishing puts your line
near all kinds of shallow water hazards - it doesn't take coral for that to be
a problem, either.

I have been out of the tech end of the tackle for some time, and wonder
why the (pardon the expression) bass fisherman's "spider line" isn't
used for backing. It is so much thinner, for a given test, than
dacron. Or is that what the Gel stuff is?

I spent two years in Micronesia with the Peace Corps (living on the
beach -- dirty job, but soemone had to do it) in the mid-90's. I had
the only fly rod on the island. The locals laughed themselves silly
when they saw me "beating the fish". But when I started giving the
village as many trevally (Jack Crevalle) as they could carry, the kids
began "beating the fish" with string tied to sticks.
....anyway...caught a lot of baraccuda, on the little green 'cuda
killers I tied up, using a home built 9ft. salmon rod in 9wt with 6in.
extension butt and an old 3 to 1 Martin #72.
14 in of stainless leader made casting kind of sloppy, but the cuda
didn't seem to care, and I was wading wet, wearing reef walkers (swim
fin booties with rigid soles). Reef cuda up to 20 lb. didn't seem to
tear me off much, but they were C&R anyway. Blue water cuda (paddle
trolling with the same gear) were immediately thin sliced and dipped in
soya, lime, and wasabe -- just as good as yellow fin.

cheers

oz, who went into PC at the tender age of 55

"MajorOz" wrote...


I have been out of the tech end of the tackle for some time, and wonder
why the (pardon the expression) bass fisherman's "spider line" isn't
used for backing. It is so much thinner, for a given test, than
dacron. Or is that what the Gel stuff is?
cheers


Kind of wondering that myself. I've been using it for a couple years now
with no issues (no really big fish, either...) I have at least 200 yds of
50# Spider Wire as my backing. Why? I had it in the house. It may be the
worst thing in the world, but I haven't seen anything yet to lead me to
believe that.

Dan
Who has less than zero clue what 'gel stuff' means.

Dan
Who has less than zero clue what 'gel stuff' means.

The "Gel spun" referred to in some of the above posts.

cheers

oz

On 1 Dec 2005 20:43:13 -0800, wrote:

Not to beat this to death, but, to make the choice simple --

From my (very rough) calculations, I can get about 200 yards at 20#,
versus about 150 yards at 30#.

Votes?


Paper or plastic? Same thing. Same choice. The LEADER is your
weakest link, not your backing. I've had most of my backing out on 6,
7, and 8 weights with either salmon, big rainbows, or northern pike.
If I didn't land the fish it was because the leader/tippet broke.
With all your line and most of your backing out, the drag is
tremendous and chances are your leader *will* break before you can
land the fish. *Most* of the time you never get into your backing, so
why worry about it. And, btw, leaders really take a beating when they
are dragged around coral and rocks. Again, they will fray and break
long before your backing will. *And* let us not forget knots. They
also are weak spots in the rigging.

No "zen", just lots of experience.

Paper or plastic?

d;o)

With regard to the gel-spun material, I think the general bias against it,
is due to much of the first production stuff being quite dangerous. The
newer surface fused material is a lot nicer to handle. Also, the diameters
of the backing are not so critical with gelspun. Indeed at anywhere near the
diameter of "normal" backing, the stuff is just about unbreakable.

Some of the new material is also very good shooting line. I have only tried
a couple up to now, but they are much better than nylon monofil or similar.

TL
MC

wrote:
Not to beat this to death, but, to make the choice simple --

From my (very rough) calculations, I can get about 200 yards at 20#,
versus about 150 yards at 30#.

Votes?


Dave LaCourse suggested a Lamson Velocity 3.5. I use Lamson Litespeed
3.5's,
reels with almost the same capacity. I have about 140-150 yards of
30# backing
on the reels. I use a 10 wt single-handed rod for some of my striped
bass fishing.
I use leaders that are rated betw 15 and 20 lb test. My goal is to be
able to bring
in most fish reasonably quickly.

If I were in your place, I would up the rod to a 9 wt and get a reel
that will hold at
least 150 yds of 30# backing. I'm not sure where you fish on Montauk,
but there
is a fair amount of rock out there and, with some luck, some
good-sized fish to
catch.

Since we fish for big fish but usually catch schoolies, my brother
switched to a
7/8 for a year or so. Finally he hooked into a decent fish, a 38 inch
striped bass.
He had to fight it for a good 30 minutes: he didn't want to break it
off with a clouser
and a long leader in its mouth. He was at the end of his backing
several times and
would have lost the fish if he wasn't on a flat and able to walk after
it a few times. It
took a good while to revive the bass to the point that it could swim
off. If you plan
to release fish, it would be good to go with a heavier rod.

[...and if down the road yu

..... and if down the road you have/decide to spend more money, take a
look at
2-handed overhead-casting fly rods....

wrote:
Not to beat this to death, but, to make the choice simple --

From my (very rough) calculations, I can get about 200 yards at 20#,
versus about 150 yards at 30#.

Votes?


150 yards of 30lbs.

Like a couple others have pointed out, 30 lb backing will be better in
certain situations. I would opt for the larger reel, and 30lb backing,
OR go with the gelspun backing. You may want to research different knots
when using gelspun. The line is very slick, and doesn't hold well with
certain, traditional knots. Nail knotting the backing to the flyline may
cause failures(backing cutting into, and stripping off, the outer fly
line coating).

brians

On Tue, 6 Dec 2005, briansfly wrote:

with the gelspun backing. You may want to research different knots when using
gelspun. The line is very slick, and doesn't hold well with certain,
traditional knots. Nail knotting the backing to the flyline may cause
failures(backing cutting into, and stripping off, the outer fly line
coating).

I use a Bimini Twist to double up the GSP line. Then tie an Albright to
connect the GSP to the fly line. Need to be very careful and make sure
that all of the Albright wraps lay parallel and as you tighten up the knot
make sure that the tension is as evenly distributed over the wraps as
possible. Then I use a toothpick to apply a thin layer of Aquaseal to the
knot. If you use a thin layer then the surface tension keeps the Aquaseal
from running while you wait for it to cure. Pliobond is just not as tough
as Aquaseal and when you're fishing the salt the additional strength is
welcome.

Mu