How To Know Exactly How Much Mono Backing You Need For Your Reel
- By: Tony Acevedo
- on
We recently published this tip about why you should use mono backing, but we didn’t address one thing…
How much mono backing should you use?
That’s a great question, since if you don’t put enough, you could run out of braid and be left with a half-empty spool, or you could put too much and end up with not enough room for your braid.
In this video, I’m going to show you a simple way to figure out exactly how much mono backing you should use for your particular reel.
You don’t need to go to the beach and measure out 100 yards of braid, and you don’t need to estimate how much mono is enough.
You can do this tip from your home without any crazy tools.
See how to do it in the video below.
How Much Monofilament Backing You Need [VIDEO]
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You want your spinning reel to be full of line to maximize your casting distance, so it’s important to put plenty of mono backing on it.
However, if you put too much mono on it, you might be left with only enough room for, say, 50-75 yards of braid and you’d probably need to put new braid on sooner than you might like to.
So, to get the perfect amount of braid and mono on your reel, follow the steps below.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Rod
- 2 identical reels
- Monofilament
- Braided line
Alright, here are the steps:
Step 1: Put 100-150 yards of braid on your spinning reel.
This won’t be the spool you use on the water, so it doesn’t matter what kind of knot you use to tie the braid to the arbor (I just taped it on).
Also, you usually don’t need more than 100-150 yards of braid on your reel at a time if you’re fishing inshore (unless you frequently run into tarpon).
Step 2: Tie the backing to your braid and fill the rest of the spool up with the backing.
This will ensure you have the perfect amount of line on your reel without having too much braid or mono.
Step 3: Transfer the line onto your other reel.
This will put the braid on top now, so you’ll have just the right amount of mono and braid.
Conclusion
To get the perfect ratio of braid to mono, while filling up your reel completely, put 100-150 yards of braid on first, then fill the reel with mono, then flip the line onto your final spool to have the braid on top.
Have any questions about how much mono backing to use?
Let me know in the comments below!
And if you know someone who needs to put new line on their reel, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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I’ve used this calculator with reasonable success. I upped the backing by 10 yards and ended up snipping a bit of braid at the end. It kind of depends on the accuracy of the diameter measurements and also how the braid stacks. Like, 4 strand braid can stack a bit more densely I think because of the coarser weave.
https://www.pattayafishing.net/advanced-fishing-reel-line-capacity-estimator/
I am enjoying your videos and am learning much. I have a Pflueger model 6920. This reel and parts are discontinued . I checked e-bay for a 2nd reel, as I am going to re reel with #4 Braided line, it takes 180 yds. The question is how much # 6 or 8 backing to use. I have contacted Pflueger regarding how many yards to use. Can u give me another idea? Thank you
Howard
Its tough to get an exact measurement, but if you at least coat the shaft of the spool (one layer) with mono you should be able to fill the rest with 150yds of braid.
Hi Tony
What knot did you use to join the back fill to the braid? Thanks!
Fay
Hey Fay!
I just use a uni to uni. Works fine with lighter lines but if you use heavier line you may want to use a slimmer knot such as an FG or alberto.
If you don’t have a spare reel and you’re using braid that comes on a flat plastic spool (or have one handy), you can use the empty spool as a reel to make the transfer. On the Power Pro spool, I used a fat sharpie as the axle and put a ball-point pen into the small hole on the face of it as the handle. You can use your fingers to put tension on the line as you reel it up and use the pencil-in-a-box method to unspool it back onto your reel. By the way, I don’t use the manufacturer’s capacity rating to calculate since they seem to be all over the place and unreliable.
For sure! I actually made a video on using an old spool to transfer line over using a drill:
https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/save-money-braided-fishing-line/
That’s a good idea, using the drill. It’s more high-tech than using my caveman reel – maybe I’ll do that next time. I came up with the makeshift reel idea when I was thinking up a small emergency fishing kit and then applied it to the transfer application. Regardless, either approach is better than wrapping it by hand, which would give me carpal-tunnel symptoms for a week!
Thank you for the great tip. Some spools are braid ready, with the groves that grab the braid securely. What is you thought on this, backing yes/no?
You’re welcome Raul!
I will still use backing on those “braid ready” spools. It helps save money as you don’t need an entire spool of braid. The backing also acts to fill up space so you can use 100yds of braid to top off the spool, instead of wasting 300yds where only 100 of it will actually see daylight.
What if you only have 1 reel?
It’s mainly trial and error for me when I have 1 reel. But once you get a set amount of mono on there you really don’t need to change it out at all, only the braid.
when attaching the backing mono to the braid, should you use the FG knot or can another knot be used?
I prefer to use an FG knot because of how slim it is. Helps avoid any bumps in the line as you spool it up.
Thank you for the video, Tony! Since I did not have two identical reels, I used the math method. Lesson learned is to do your own inches per turn (IPT) measurements for a full and empty spool. I found them both to be different than the reel manufacturer’s number. I used the average and came out very close to my goal.
Thanks so much!!!
You’re welcome Stefano!
Do you suggest reversing the line on a spool occasionally?
Absolutely! I do that with all of my reels unless I have lost too much line. In that case i want to put fresh line on to properly fill the spool. You could also just add more backing to take up the extra space if you’ve lost too much line.