Bass Fishing Forum

General Bass Fishing Discussion => Rods, Reels and Fishing Line => Topic started by: philm63 on September 28, 2020, 03:03:53 PM

Title: Backing with Mono before Braid
Post by: philm63 on September 28, 2020, 03:03:53 PM
Heck, I haven't even ordered a reel yet and here I am asking about mono backing. I reckon this'll apply to both spinning and casting reels so here it goes; walk me through your preferred method of backing your reel with mono before filling it with braid.

I'm asking because I have seen a couple different approaches and one is to lay down a bunch of mono - about half your spool or so, and tape it off. Then tie your braid onto that taped mono and fill the spool the rest of the way. Sounds simple enough, but is this a good method?

Another way is what I was thinking all along, and that is to splice the mono and braid together. The mono grips the spool, and if, for some crazy reason, your line gets peeled off at an unexpected rate and you find the end of your braid, you've still got mono all the way to the arbor. Nuttin' worse than gettin' spooled by a bass!

So, which method do y'all use and why?
Title: Re: Backing with Mono before Braid
Post by: Capt. BassinLou on September 28, 2020, 03:10:37 PM
I spool my reels with a little less than half or a quarter of the spool with mono and the rest braid. This all depends on the pound test of braid I'm using. Why? Braid conservation.
Title: Re: Backing with Mono before Braid
Post by: SteveTX on September 28, 2020, 03:22:32 PM
I use 10 to 12 lb mono on my reels between 1/4 and a 1/3rd of the way on a typical 100 series spool. I don't like more than 12lb and it is course and doesn't make for as smooth of a backing for my braid to lay on. Probably makes no difference but I like the smaller diameter mono.

As for the connection the mono gets a Arbor knot and then I connect the mono to the braid with a Blood knot. Usually 5 to 7 wraps on each side on the Blood knot is plenty.

As Bassinlou said the best reason for this is to save $ not wasting braid. The second best reason is to help control digging of the braid into itself.



Title: Re: Backing with Mono before Braid
Post by: geneinnc on September 28, 2020, 03:33:03 PM
I put just enough junk mono on to cover the spool then add the  braid. The reason is  the entire spool of braid only could spin on the spool. I guess it could happen with some of the super slick braids.

The main reason I do it is the braid seems to lay down smoother against the mono plus the insurance of the braid slipping.

If you are going to use braid with a leader you best practice your splice knots. If they are too large your going to pop the eyelet liner out. There are tons of splice knots and you are going to see which you like. For me it's a modified Albright. It is tested very simply. If I can't break it its good to go.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

Title: Re: Backing with Mono before Braid
Post by: Smallie_Stalker on September 28, 2020, 03:35:49 PM
I match the diameter of the mono to the diameter of the braid. I tie the mono backing to the spool with an arbor knot and then wind some on. I don't really have a set amount, I usually just eyeball it until it looks good.

I do not use as much backing as a lot of peolpe. Once I can't see the spool through the mono I cover the spool once or twice more. and that's it.

Then I use a back to back uni knot to join the braid and mono together and fill the rest of the spool up with braid to within 1/8" from the spool lip.

Having the mono as a backup in case you run out of braid is something I've never heard of. I never let my braid get down that low anyway. 


Title: Re: Backing with Mono before Braid
Post by: philm63 on September 28, 2020, 04:53:01 PM
Yeah, I know; I've not been spooled at the lake yet, but I've seen some off-shore action that has brought my line to the brink (tuna) and it sure was handy having a full spool of line to work with, so splice it is!

Question 1: For the splice - and I know I'm splitting hairs here - do you put the splice to one side or right up the middle? If in the middle, does it make a lump in the finished spool or is the blood knot low-profile enough that you'd likely never notice it so it really doesn't matter where you put it?

Question 2: For bank fishing, I don't suppose I'd need much more than 100 yards of braid on my spool, if that. Is my thinking in line here, or...? (I think I just made a pun back there)
Title: Re: Backing with Mono before Braid
Post by: Pferox on September 28, 2020, 08:08:54 PM
I don't bass fish anymore, instead I deal with the kind of fish that can strip off all of your braid and take reel and rod parts to Neptune, so I spool my reels in a very special way.

I use a about 10 to 20 feet of 8lb test mono as the backing, then fill the reel with 30 or 40lb braid, if I want to go with a lower poundage of braid, I will leave about 100 yards or so shy on the reel and put the desired braid on.

You can save older heavy braid and use it as backing, since it should still be strong enough for that kind of line.

Title: Re: Backing with Mono before Braid
Post by: SteveTX on September 28, 2020, 08:18:01 PM
Quote from: philm63 on September 28, 2020, 04:53:01 PM
Question 1: For the splice - and I know I'm splitting hairs here - do you put the splice to one side or right up the middle? If in the middle, does it make a lump in the finished spool or is the blood knot low-profile enough that you'd likely never notice it so it really doesn't matter where you put it?
I generally let the knot lay where ever it ends up. The blood knot is pretty small. I mean if you do say 10+ wraps on each side it will get pretty long but 5 to 7 wraps is plenty. I never have had any issues with it making a "lump" in my spool.
One thing I like about that knot other than its simple is if you get it wrong you will know as soon as you cinch it. It will come apart so quick. So its like it has its own fail safe built in. When you do it right there is no guessing if its going to hold. 
Not to sure if you watch TacticalBassin on YouTube but they use to use a Blood knot as well. Not sure anymore I don't watch them much these days.
Title: Re: Backing with Mono before Braid
Post by: Oldfart9999 on September 29, 2020, 06:39:07 AM
I spool about 20 feet or so of backing then the rest of the way with braid.
Rodney