CC,

To connect GSP to reel arbor, I wrap the line several times around the arbor opposite the way it will be cranked on then attach tag to standing line with a uni-knot and slide it down so the wrap on the arbor are tight.

To attach backing to flyline, I put a bimini in the end of the backing, fold the resulting loop in half and tie a surgeons loop in that. This should leave you with a two strand loop that can be looped to the end of the fly line.

Conventional wisdom had been that 70+ turns were required to get an 85% knot in the bimini with spectra but a a recent article in Sportfishing Magazine, which was discussed in detail on Dan Blanton's site, indicated that a good bimini could be produced with only 12 turns in spectra.

If you want the benefits of reduced line drag without putting 800 yards of spectra backing on a big reel, you can first load dacron on the reel then top it off with spectra backing. Connect them by putting bmini loops on the ends to be joined and looping together.

There are other ways to do this, this is just the way that I do it, along with many other anglers that I know.