Favorite Baitcast Reel Line For Backing ?

[ChrisD46]

Per tip from Todmc : I checked out the Zebco Mono line from WM and I now also believe this line is lighter and softer than other mono lines for backing . I picked up a spool of 12lb Zebco Mono for less than $3.00 that should last a looong time !
For what it's worth - I believe about 60 yards or so of your main line is about right over your backing line .

[toddmc]

Per tip from Todmc : I checked out the Zebco Mono line from WM and I now also believe this line is lighter and softer than other mono lines for backing . I picked up a spool of 12lb Zebco Mono for less than $3.00 that should last a looong time !
For what it's worth - I believe about 60 yards or so of your main line is about right over your backing line .

That stuff is really soft. I put 6lb. on my 4 year old's Spiderman spincast combo and he casts like a bass pro for hours from the front of my boat without problems.

[jpd0144]

two words: Fat Arbor

http://pages.videotron.com/fishing/page2.html

for when you guys really want performance gains and are tired of playing around with different types of backing

ZB ... Ya always seem to shine light from a different angle !

Thanks for sharing !

[Mcyl]

I usually topshot the entire distance of my longest practical cast + 10m of FC on the top, then braid wound tight with about 2m of mono on the arbor. I find the braid usually stays dry when using a FC top shot. Knots in spool isn't a problem with FG knots.
Has the benefit of giving me more overall capacity for big runs yet still has 50m of FC to absorb shock. It's also very effective in increasing the capacity of BFS spools with a 30m topshot and backed by 0.6PE with last 1m at the arbor using 4lb mono.

[toddmc]

two words: Fat Arbor

http://pages.videotron.com/fishing/page2.html

for when you guys really want performance gains and are tired of playing around with different types of backing

ZB ... Ya always seem to shine light from a different angle !

Thanks for sharing !

I saw this arbor on another thread before. Three questions came to mind. #1 Does it absorb water? #2 Does one size fit all? It doesn't look like it. I am very specific in the amount of backing that I require. So, I would require many different arbors for different reels and sizes of line. This might be a hassle. #3 Does your line wind up even on top of the arbor?

Back in the 80's, I used to work in a coastal tackle shop and a lot of saltwater guys would use cheap cotton string as backing on the Penn Jigmaster spools when they used them for inshore fishing that doesn't require a lot of line. This would also make the spool much lighter for casting smaller anchovies and lures. But it would absorb some water eventually and get very nasty. I hated filling up those reels with bulk line. There are plenty of things to use as backing on a spool, but braid has been the best so far for my standard baitcasting use (3/8oz. lures) and most freshwater applications.

[zenbassr]

Three questions came to mind. #1 Does it absorb water? #2 Does one size fit all? It doesn't look like it. I am very specific in the amount of backing that I require. So, I would require many different arbors for different reels and sizes of line. This might be a hassle. #3 Does your line wind up even on top of the arbor?

#1 negative, graphite arbor floated right up after being submerged for an hour...



#2 negative, as per the link there are a couple of arbor sizes available from Cabelas, but each will require some time to resize/reshape the arbor for each spool

#3 if you've done #2 correctly, yes the line winds up evenly

i like using "bass reels" offshore, so i absolutely understand the use of backing to gain capacity, to make it easier to change topshots to suit conditions, etc etc

but as i stated in my initial post, the Fat Arbor link is for those looking for noticeable performance gains, without having to spend alot of money or time...

if anyone wants to spend time weighing out different lines, please report back when you find out what FC, mono, or braid backing, lets say 30yds total, weighs less than this

[toddmc]

Thanks for taking the time to provide the info zenbassr.

It would be cool to see a spreadsheet that has the weights for the different types of line and all the major stock baitcasting spools. I know japantackle.com and other sites list weights for a lot of the aftermarket spools, but it sounds like many people on here want to know the stock spools weights also. I guess I need to get a better gram scale and post some results of the few that I have.

[nickdaviszz]

The general rule with casting reels is to use a spool that will accept the required amount of line, and no more. Lighter is always better, the spool starts up faster, is more controllable, and needs less braking. Backing may be needed because you are stuck with a deep spool (stool????!!!), or you need extra line when a fish makes a long run. Braid will result in a lighter all-up spool weight because the density of braid is 0.98, compared to 1.14 for nylon and 1.81 for fluorocarbon. Additionally, a 4-strand braid is better than an 8-strand braid for this purpose because it doesn't pack down as well and therefore there are more 'air gaps' between the layers. Wicking of water will occur to some extent, more so when bait fishing than when constantly casting and retrieving. The spinning spool tends to 'throw' much of the water back out. A graphite arbor is nowhere near as light as braid unless it has been drilled for weight reduction. Cotton soaks up water like a sponge, so should never be used.

[toddmc]

The general rule with casting reels is to use a spool that will accept the required amount of line, and no more. Lighter is always better, the spool starts up faster, is more controllable, and needs less braking. Backing may be needed because you are stuck with a deep spool (stool????!!!), or you need extra line when a fish makes a long run. Braid will result in a lighter all-up spool weight because the density of braid is 0.98, compared to 1.14 for nylon and 1.81 for fluorocarbon. Additionally, a 4-strand braid is better than an 8-strand braid for this purpose because it doesn't pack down as well and therefore there are more 'air gaps' between the layers. Wicking of water will occur to some extent, more so when bait fishing than when constantly casting and retrieving. The spinning spool tends to 'throw' much of the water back out. A graphite arbor is nowhere near as light as braid unless it has been drilled for weight reduction. Cotton soaks up water like a sponge, so should never be used.

Thanks for the density numbers.

[nickdaviszz]

With line weights, we can work that out without weighing them. Using 0.30mm line as a yardstick, we get the following: nylon 0.0737 grams per yard, fluorocarbon 0.117 grams per yard, 8 strand braid 0.0633 grams per yard. 4 strand braid can be a bit tricky to calculate because it deforms slightly when spooled, but my best estimate is 0.0435 grams per yard. Now all we need to know is how much 0.30mm line does the arbour replace? Also, solid graphite doesn’t float, so if the arbour floats it must be hollow, or have a foam or cork core?
That reminds me – back when the ABU 5000 was king, supertuning consisted of adding a cork arbour (home made) to reduce the line capacity to 50 yards 0.30mm line. The ABU would then cast weights down to 4 grams!!!

[zenbassr]

here's a real world sample, 12 feet of 80# 8 strand:



of course at that weight range i don't know how accurate that measure is. i couldnt find my 1gr calibration weight so went for something nearby:



US Mint says the dime is 2.268g (reference table -here-)

close, but no cigar. and that's a bit outside the range of my low end scale so i'd be interested in comparing numbers of real-world samples...

as far as the graphite arbor, as seen in the pic it is not solid. no need to cut it open to find out, what you see at the end of the arbor is what you'll see when sliced open. it most certainly does not absorb water.

does braid take on water? i wonder how much weight braid + water adds to the spool

[Toadslayer72]

Alright so I also have a pretty low end scale that unfortunately only measures the smallest increments in tenths but I'll give you what I have just for the giggles. First I wanted to test my scale so I weighed five dimes and five nickels. With the dimes my average came out to be 2.26 grams (two @ 2.2 and three @ 2.3). The nickels average was dead nuts at 5.0 grams (three @ 5.0 one @4.9 and one @ 5.1).

Here is what I got with my lines, all 12' sections.
P-Line CXX Copoly:
15# .016"/.40 mm 0.5g
20# .018"/.45 mm 0.7g

Samurai Braid:
70# .016"/.40 mm 0.4g
(used line)
80# .017"/.44 mm
(used line) 0.5g
(fresh line) 0.6g

[takrat 67]

I don't use backing because I don't like the extra knot on my stool. I usually just restool line on a differant reel. This works really well with braid. You can use the same line twice and still have fresh line.

You got a knot on your stool? You can get meds for that.
JD

[takrat 67]

Well I really don't like knots in my stool.

That's a relief!!

[StarTzar]

Well I really don't like knots in my stool.

That's a relief!!

I sure no one here asks for the weight of the stool knots.