For Swedish salmon where 300 yards backing is minimum, Dacron is rarely an option. 😁 8 strand strong braid works great. And also, when over 200 yards of backing is in the current, thin backing that cuts the water is an advantage.
I once came across a bunch of braided nylon 20 pound ice fishing line on closeout at a sporting goods store. It's neat stuff and holds well on a fly line. I bought several rolls of it and now have enough backing for my lifetime LOL!
Very informative! I have always used dacron, and on lines for steelhead, 40 and 50 lb. That is rope! I am going to give the braid a try, and hope I never get a fish into the backing...line cuts from braid are darn near surgical, and not in a good way...
Good discussion. You missed a couple key differences in characteristics between Dacron and braid though that are relevant if you’re going to fish for fish that will take you into the backing (in other words, if your backing is relevant at all). The first is stretch. Dacron has a lot of stretch and Spectra has none, though your fly line and tippet will still stretch obviously. The second and far more important difference in fighting a fish is water resistance or “drag”. The thicker your line is, the more surface area there is being pulled through the water when you’re fighting a big fish, and the more drag you put on your fish at the hook. The drag the fish feels at the hook also increases as the diameter of the spool gets smaller. Therefore the thinner spectra backing is FAR superior, because it will result in fewer break-offs when the fish gets a lot of line on you. You can have, let’s say 5 lbs of drag at the spool and with your whole fly line and backing in the water, 27-30 lbs of drag at the hook eye when the fish runs sideways and creates a bow in the line and you will not feel anything different at the reel. But the fish will probably break you off. I would argue that, unless you are using VERY heavy tippet, you are actually using a meaningfully stronger setup with 20 or 30 lb spectra backing than your 50 or 80 lb because of the line diameter. Sure the 50 lb is stronger but unless you have tied a bad knot your line is going to break down by the hook if it’s going to break. The chain is only as good as it’s weakest link. Anyway, all the best man. I hope you get the chance to test your backing sometime soon!!!
Braid has a reputation for being a bit slippery, so well tied knots are important. I use a Spider Hitch for large loops (backing to fly line), Double Grinner for mono to braid connections and a six or seven turn Grinner Knot to connect braid to a swivel or other metal connection.
Hi Peter, a question about the breaking strength of the backing... why so high? I'm running a 8 or 10 pound tippet and figure 20 pound backing would be lots. Am I missing something? Cheers!
We normally would want a high breaking strain for our backing to avoid the situation where we might loose our fly line, for example, if we snagged the front loop of the line in a crack between two rocks. I've had a friend break off his fly line, so it happens.
I didn't know that Dacron braided fishing line was for fly fishing I just bought Izorline Premium Braided Dacron for my Abu Garcia black max bait caster reel without backing for pier fishing should I change it for braided fishing line
Braided Dacron is used for bottom fishing and trolling as well. It just won't be great for continual casting. If you're just casting bait off of a pier, it'll work just fine. No need to change it.
For Swedish salmon where 300 yards backing is minimum, Dacron is rarely an option. 😁 8 strand strong braid works great. And also, when over 200 yards of backing is in the current, thin backing that cuts the water is an advantage.
I once came across a bunch of braided nylon 20 pound ice fishing line on closeout at a sporting goods store. It's neat stuff and holds well on a fly line. I bought several rolls of it and now have enough backing for my lifetime LOL!
Very informative! I have always used dacron, and on lines for steelhead, 40 and 50 lb. That is rope! I am going to give the braid a try, and hope I never get a fish into the backing...line cuts from braid are darn near surgical, and not in a good way...
Good discussion. You missed a couple key differences in characteristics between Dacron and braid though that are relevant if you’re going to fish for fish that will take you into the backing (in other words, if your backing is relevant at all).
The first is stretch. Dacron has a lot of stretch and Spectra has none, though your fly line and tippet will still stretch obviously.
The second and far more important difference in fighting a fish is water resistance or “drag”. The thicker your line is, the more surface area there is being pulled through the water when you’re fighting a big fish, and the more drag you put on your fish at the hook. The drag the fish feels at the hook also increases as the diameter of the spool gets smaller. Therefore the thinner spectra backing is FAR superior, because it will result in fewer break-offs when the fish gets a lot of line on you. You can have, let’s say 5 lbs of drag at the spool and with your whole fly line and backing in the water, 27-30 lbs of drag at the hook eye when the fish runs sideways and creates a bow in the line and you will not feel anything different at the reel. But the fish will probably break you off. I would argue that, unless you are using VERY heavy tippet, you are actually using a meaningfully stronger setup with 20 or 30 lb spectra backing than your 50 or 80 lb because of the line diameter. Sure the 50 lb is stronger but unless you have tied a bad knot your line is going to break down by the hook if it’s going to break. The chain is only as good as it’s weakest link.
Anyway, all the best man. I hope you get the chance to test your backing sometime soon!!!
Interesting points, but since this was a beginner video I kept things simple. ;)
Excellent coverage of an overlooked topic! Have you noticed any difference in their functionality-binding up, knotting, etc? Thanks
Braid has a reputation for being a bit slippery, so well tied knots are important. I use a Spider Hitch for large loops (backing to fly line), Double Grinner for mono to braid connections and a six or seven turn Grinner Knot to connect braid to a swivel or other metal connection.
@@hooked4lifeca Thanks so much, you have a great site covering a broad range of topics.
Hi Peter, a question about the breaking strength of the backing... why so high? I'm running a 8 or 10 pound tippet and figure 20 pound backing would be lots. Am I missing something? Cheers!
We normally would want a high breaking strain for our backing to avoid the situation where we might loose our fly line, for example, if we snagged the front loop of the line in a crack between two rocks. I've had a friend break off his fly line, so it happens.
I didn't know that Dacron braided fishing line was for fly fishing
I just bought Izorline Premium Braided Dacron for my Abu Garcia black max bait caster reel without backing for pier fishing should I change it for braided fishing line
Braided Dacron is used for bottom fishing and trolling as well. It just won't be great for continual casting. If you're just casting bait off of a pier, it'll work just fine. No need to change it.
Now I’m how hollow core line would work for backing?
@@juniciocacaljr800 Haven't used it myself, but I've seen other pro staff use it with noe complaints.
The other reason can be said for dacron to fill up space.