Help me backfill my baitcaster...

[keltonz]

So I just started fishing with a baitcaster - thanks for all the help so far, I'm loving it. I spooled it up with 12lb mono just to get a feel for it, knowing that I was going to get a ton of backlashes at first.

 

Now, I want to spool it with braid, but I don't know how to figure out how much mono backfill to put on!

 

I have 150 yds. of 40lb Sufix 832. I want to use only half of it, so that I can use the rest on my next baitcaster.

 

A few questions:

 

1) What is the best way to split the braid right in the middle (two lengths of 75yds)?

2) How do I figure out how much 12lb mono to backfill on my Daiwa Tatula 100HL? Their site claims the reel can hold 140yds of 40lb braid, but they don't specify the diameter.

3) How do you then measure out exactly that much mono to put on the spool?

[fishnkamp]

I just  eyeball it myself.  The simplest way would be to find a ball field, maybe at a school.  Walk out the 832 and double it back. Then cut it in half.  Probably easiest way would be to tie the 832 to a goal post or batter's cage.  Walk it out, cut it and wind up one half bach onto the empty spool. Store that.   Walk out the mono in a straight line. Maybe tie it to the same batting cage.  Walk out till you get to the end of the 832. Cut the mono and tie the 832 to the mono using a double uni knot. If you have an empty toilet paper roll or spool from other line then wind up and save your mono. It can be used for leaders or backing on another reel. Now just wind up the 832 onto your reel making sure you do so with constant pressure as you walk forward. I have done that before.  The same method can be used to unwind braid then respool it after tying onto the other end. Makes like brand new and saves money.

[bigturtle]

If you dont mind going through the trouble, you can wrap the braid around some item with measured diameter (a bottle for instance), and roughly wrap 1/2 of your spool (number of wraps X diameter of bottle). go ahead and put that line onto your reel, no backing, no knots, just wrap it on (stick it down with a piece of tape or something). Wrap mono on top of that to your desirable amount, then cut it off and take off all the line. Spool with mono then braid. Might want to cut off an extra 6" of each line for knot tying.

I did that for a while, but now I just use old braid as backing, so no measuring required.

[MassYak85]

For the braid I got a line counter, but for the mono the best thing would probably be to do what bigturtle said and just do the braid first of the desired length you want it, then spool the rest with mono strip it off, and then spool it all back on in reverse. I've heard of guys calculating it, but I don't really trust the reel specs when they say "holds X amount of 12lb line" as the diameter of that 12lb line can vary depending what they used as their benchmark, and then the calculation get thrown off. 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Walk off 75 yards of the mono you have on and top off with braid. No need to spool lots of braid that will never see the light of day. 

[fishwizzard]

I have done it with math and had decent luck. I split a 200y spool of floro between two reels that each hold 100y.  The first spool is a little under filled and the second one is a little overfilled, but they are close.  

 

I am going to hunt around ebay for a cheap spool of 15lb braid and use that for my backing going forward.  Due to still being in the frequent backlash phase, I only want maybe three casts worth of nice line on each reel, with a small piece of tape maybe two wraps into the backing to protect it.  This way, if I do backlash on a trip where I only have one rod with me, I can remove the tape and fish the braid and a leader until I can get home and respool.  

[fishnkamp]

Bunnielab please do not use braid as backing. Braid can slip on the arbor causing you to think you have a drag issue. Instead go buy a spool of 12 or 14 pound Stren Original mono,  A 330 yard spool of it is just $8.00,  It will tighten properly on the arbor and will not slip. It is quality line in case you ever hook a larger hard fighting fish like a big catfish. If you install the mono on thee reel under tension it will make a nice smooth bed for the braid or fluoro to go onto as well.  Use a double uni knot to connect the two lines.  If we get together I can help you set it up.  We could do a little casting lessons also.

[rippin-lips]

^^^

Yes, it can slip but if you take measures to not let that happen, then there's nothing to ever worry about. I have multiple spools filled with nothing but braid and so do many others on here. 1.5 wraps of electrical tape before you tie your arbor knot will solve any concerns with braid slipping on the spool. Some shallow spools don't hold much line to start and backing with #12 or 14 can really cut down on the capacity of the spool. 

[bigturtle]

absolutely nothing wrong with using braid as backing. I tie an arbor knot onto the spool, then put electric tape on top. Once spooled, it wont even budge.

[Dan_the_fisher]

The way I do it the first time for a reel is(you only have to do this once) i reel 75yards of braid on my spool then I tie my mono back to it to and fill my spool completely full to my liking. Then I reel the line onto a spinning reel I have rigged up, then to another spinning reel, then back on the reel I want and the backing will be on the bottom and you will have the perfect amount of backing on for the amount of braid you want(since you already filled the spool to your liking initially). Then from then on out all you have to do is pull your old braid off and put 75yd of new braid on and it is perfect again

[fishnkamp]

rippin-lips that is true, but he only wanted a small amount of braid maybe double or triple his usual cast as he is learning and is afraid of backlashes.  If he has a shallow spool then I would drop down to say 8 pound test. I specifically suggested the 12 or 14 to get a tight firm spool of mono that might resist the braid from digging in. That works very well on all of my reels but I do not fish say a Zillion sv or one of the higher end Shimanos with the shallow spools.

[Angry John]

1 hour ago, rippin-lips said:

^^^

Yes, it can slip but if you take measures to not let that happen, then there's nothing to ever worry about. I have multiple spools filled with nothing but braid and so do many others on here. 1.5 wraps of electrical tape before you tie your arbor knot will solve any concerns with braid slipping on the spool. Some shallow spools don't hold much line to start and backing with #12 or 14 can really cut down on the capacity of the spool. 

I use blue painters tape so i dont leave any glue or sticky on the spool.  With all the money i have spent i just fill up the entire spool with braid and call it a day.  

[fishwizzard]

My thought for using braid is a backing is as follows.  Braid will not gain much if any line memory, so if I do have to fish it as main line, it will work better then mono that is months/years old.   In addition, I have done some (admittedly crude) measurements and as near as I can see, a braid of a given diameter is decently lighter than a mono of the same diameter.  So a spool backed with braid will be lighter then one backed with mono, which will help a little with my attempts at bait finesse stuff.  And finally, I do have mostly shallow spooled reels at this point so spool capacity is something I need to consider.  I do use a wrap of trimmed down electrical tape around the spool before I tie my knot and in my (again, crude) testing, it will not slip if I hold the line firm and work the reel handle with a reasonable amount of force. 

 

I am looking to fuss around more with Floro mainline and that is what I would fill the rest of the reel, say 3 cast-lengths with.  This way a 120-150y spool will let me get a couple of uses on a few different reels.  

[NHBull]

Friends will use 100% braid with no backing, using the tape method.  The following year they reverse the line to expose the unused section.  It isn't just worth their time