line/backing problem

[Alex L.]

Well it seems that the person who wound the backing on my reel used just a little bit too much, and when i am reeling in the last 2 feet of line it starts to bind and rub against my reel making it very difficult to reel in.

my first question: Will this take away from my fishing eperience?

if so...

Do i have to unwind all of my line and remove some backing? Or is there a simpler solution?

[Buddy Sanders]

Alex,

Probably won't take away from your 'fishing esperience' but it will eventually ruin your fly line.

Yes, you need to fix this. Take ALL the fly line off, cut off and then remove the excess backing, and reattach and then respool the line.

However, BEFORE you do this, make sure it's the 'extra backing' at fault, and not the reel operator. Are you spooling the line evenly onto the spool as you reel it in? You do need to work it evenly back and forth as you reel, so that it fills the spool properly and doesn't pile up in one location. Check that FIRST, and if it's till rubbing, then just take a few minutes and fix it.

Good Luck!

Buddy

[Bob Sedlak]

Alex:

Good advice already given. Would add only suggestion to take off a little more backing than seems necessary.

My experience has been that it's difficult to get your line evenly distributed across the spool while you're playing a fish. If you don't leave room for a little sloppiness in retrieve, chances are you'll get line interference with some part of the reel frame at the worst possible time.

[ducksterman]

Agree with both and would add...

It's easy to leave too much line on under controlled conditions and then get just a little sloppy when fishing...as Bob said....but another consideration not often mentioned...is that IMO it is best to spool your line on the reel with very little tension...less likely to set memory coils....

[Gramps]

Trust me. You want about a 1/4" of clearance.

Don't ask me how I know.

[J Castwell]

Spool the backing as tight as you can, prevents it cutting into itself. Line just normal

[kjgallaher]

If you need to maximize the amount of backing on the reel, you can remove the fly line and then cut some of the running line off the back end of the fly line. Unless you routinely carry more than about 70-80 ft of line in the air while casting, you shouln't notice a difference with your casts. Removing 20 or so feet of fly line will allow quite a few yards of backing to stay on the reel.

regards, Keith

[ducksterman]

Spool the backing as tight as you can, prevents it cutting into itself. Line just normal

As usual very true