Tying Braid to a Spool

[Jigfishn10]

Would you still use an arbor knot? I won’t be using backing for this application. 

[MN Fisher]

I would still put something behind the braid - a turn of electrical tape maybe - otherwise it can slip. And yes, an arbor knot would be fine.

[the reel ess]

I use cheap mono for backing. I fill the spool halfway then attach braid with a double uni knot. It's way cheaper. The one time I did use all braid on a BC reel, I just taped it to the spool then started reeling. No largemouth will ever spool you.

[Scott F]

Braid will slip on a bare spool regardless of the knot. I ALWAYS use some kind of mono backing even if it’s only a small amount unless the spool has holes in it I can tie to or, has a rubber base that will keep the line from slipping. 

[MN Fisher]

Ya, what Reel and Scott say too - I only put 70-80 yds of mainline on a reel...rest is filled with cheap mono backing - 10# Big Game on my BC reels.

[Jigfishn10]

8 minutes ago, Scott F said:

I ALWAYS use some kind of mono backing even if it’s only a small amount unless the spool has holes in it I can tie to 

PERFECT!

[TcRoc]

I just use  an arbor knot  and piece of electrical 

tape..  and just reverse the braid when it gets to point of where I don’t like it anymore

[CrankFate]

Just leave a tail and lay it across the spool and you’ll never need backing again.

[RDB]

4 hours ago, TcRoc said:

I just use  an arbor knot  and piece of electrical 

tape..  and just reverse the braid when it gets to point of where I don’t like to anymore

Agree…I usually just use a small piece of masking tape and no knot.  I apply more tension when spooling braid so it’s pretty tight and I’ve never had an issue with line slip.

 

Edit:  To CrankFate’s point, I also leave a tail behind the tape so as the braid spools, it bites on the tail as well.

[islandbass]

10 hours ago, Jigfishn10 said:

PERFECT!

Not really. You’ll spend more time threading it though those ported holes than it would take to put a mono backing into a spool with the arbor knot. Braid being limp won’t help either. 
 

You’d probably or at least run the risk of scratching your spool trying to cut off the braid from the spool when the time comes. 
 

put a long enough backing and it will practically be on there for life. in essence, this is a one time event, putting on the backing. 
 

just suck it up buttercup, and put on a backing, lol.

 

If you are averse enough, then use tape. It does eliminate tying a knot. I personally don’t use tape.

 
 

 

 

[Hammer 4]

I've always tied braid to my spools that were perforated. getting the braid to go through then holes, and carefully cutting isn't that hard, and I would bet, I could do that faster than spooling up backing then tie the braid to that...just sayin.

[bulldog1935]

I've gone to shallower and shallower spools for thinner and thinner braid. 

On smooth spools, arbor knot + polyester/acrylic tape (or the clear tape that comes with your Shimano reel). 

Nothing like slip, and I always spool line under tension. 

On spools with holes, it's no real effort with good tweezers to tie a double-bend uni-knot through two of the holes to anchor your braid. 

 

The polyester/acrylic tape, btw, is so tough, I use it for seizing knots on kayak rigging. 

 

In case it isn't clear, you attach braid differently based on spool depth. 

Not one person on this thread will have the correct answer for every spool depth and every braid diameter. 

[ike8120]

This video is to tie braided line for BFS 

https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?ei=UTF-8&p=how+to+tie+braid+to+bfs+spool&vs=youtube.com#id=1&vid=8c664607dfa489b3cc4007b7a25c89f1&action=click

[jimanchower]

All of my spools with braid on them are tied directly. I use the method that Chad Hoover has demonstrated a couple of times: an arbor knot followed by four alternating half-hitches. I couldn't get it to slip on the spool even when pulling with the braid wrapped around a leather work glove.

 

Some folks insist that I'm courting heartbreak but so far I'm not buying it.

[Happybeerbuzz]

I have discovered that some of those holes in some spools have sharp edges.  I discovered this last winter when I decided I was going to experiment with braid backing.  Since then, I have just tied on a foot or so of mono or fluoro with an alberto knot and tied the mono/fluoro to the spool.  Is this all necessary?  I am starting to believe it is overkill.  About a month after deciding to try braid backing, I watched a video by Ott Defoe.  He literally uses about an inch of masking tape and and no knot to attach his braid to his reel.  

[Darth-Baiter]

My fishing store. The guys there have an awesome knot.  They are so fast, I can’t eyeball their moves.  Helps that they just have the spool on a spindle in the wide open. 
 

sounds like the chad Hoover thing.  I tried to carefully dissect the knot when I unspool, but it isn’t clear.  They start with a uni and do a series of overhand knots or something. 

[cyclops2]

I have NEVER Been  spooled dry.  By any fish.  Almost by a HUGE 60 # ish carp ?    I have the mono as filler.  I want the line to go free.  Not break something or me.

[Bankc]

Braid, arbor knot, no backing (unless I'm reversing the braid and need more line on the spool).  Just spool it on really tightly to begin with, and it'll be fine.  That's what I've done since braid first came out, and I've never had issues with line slipping.

[WRB]

Braid has been around over 200 years!

Tom

[bulldog1935]

and it used to be linen or silk. 

 

Pound-test is the dumbest way to classify and represent any line - they knew that when they sized line diameter by number or letter designation.

(If you follow this link, note the next chapter is on leaders - silk gut)

Only now in the US are reels rated by pound-test capacity - the rest of the world uses line diameter. 

 

The Japanese way of rating both PE and mono lines by silk thread sizes is the smartest. 

 

1909 Meek Bluegrass 33 - 80 yds size G braid

[Glenn]

 

Full spool of braid, no filler, no slipping.  Done deal. Here's how.

[Linewinder]

3 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

and it used to be linen or silk. 

 

Pound-test is the dumbest way to classify and represent any line - they knew that when they sized line diameter by number or letter designation.

Only in the US are reels rated by pound-test capacity. 

 

The Japanese way of rating both PE and mono lines by silk thread sizes is the smartest. 

 

I’ve been noticing the wisdom on this more lately, digging through line specs to match to reels.  But I do SMH when seeing metric vs. imperial measurements that need conversion. 
 

Now, going back to your reference to polyester/acrylic tape:  do you put that down first on the smooth no-hole spool or over the finished tightened knot?  And is this tape similar to the gift wrapping ribbon that can’t be broken by hand (but with adhesive)?  I’m not suggesting gift wrap technology for reels but trying to understand what this is.  Thanks. 

 

[bulldog1935]

8 hours ago, Linewinder said:

... polyester/acrylic tape:  do you put that down first on the smooth no-hole spool or over the finished tightened knot?  And is this tape similar to the gift wrapping ribbon that can’t be broken by hand (but with adhesive)?  I’m not suggesting gift wrap technology for reels but trying to understand what this is.  Thanks. 

 

Hi friend,

On my shallow spools, I tie the standard arbor knot in the braid, tighten it against a free spool (e.g. spinning drag relaxed), and place the tape over the line wrapped around the arbor.

The tape is vapor-thin Mylar, surprisingly tough for being much less than paper-thin.  If you have a cut started in it, you can tear it, but without that cut, it won't tear. 

The kayak-rigging knot I show using the tape for seizing is a trolley line ring (the other end of the loop hasn't been tied in).  It drags back and forth across my hull 50 times in a day and the tape is not damaged (after years).

 

Back to the measurement part, converting inches to mm is a pain, but being conversant in PE#1, #1.5, #2, is a breath of fresh air, especially if you're loading a Japanese spool, and prefer Japanese line.  

PE1520 spool = 200 m of PE#1.5 line. 

 

If you want to do a quick conversion, google the conversion, inch to mm, yd to m, g to oz - a calculator pops up that you can plug in to either side of the = sign

(working engineering calculations, I do the same with MPa to ksi, Farenheight to Kelvin). 

 

I'm going to say again, if I were loading a deeper spool, I would definitely have backing, usually large mono, as close to the braid test as I can fit (20-25 yds). 

E.g. of this baitcaster, you have to tie a very good Allbright or FG knot to get through the line guide. 

[islandbass]

8 hours ago, cyclops2 said:

I have NEVER Been  spooled dry.  By any fish.  Almost by a HUGE 60 # ish carp ?    I have the mono as filler.  I want the line to go free.  Not break something or me.

Unfortunately, I’ve been spooled — by a chum salmon. Granted he was a freight train. I was using a 200 sized curado. 
 

After giving it a lot of thought, contemplating on how it pulled off that feat,  I am very inclined to believe it must have been foul hooked. Unintentionally, of course. 
 

When I was able to clearly  see the spool through the remaining line, I knew I lost this fight. I tipped my hat ? to it with respect and tucked in my tail, lol. That curado was done for the day. I believe if it were hooked in the mouth, I would have been able to bring it in. One regret was he was swimming around with a lot of line. Not a good feeling. 

[bulldog1935]

12 hours ago, WRB said:

Braid has been around over 200 years!

Tom

totally off topic Tom,

200 years ago, they dog-walked wooden plugs for bass in Florida - in Doc Henshall's 1881 treatise on bass and bass fishing, he called the technique "The Bob"

"Walking the dog" was coined by the Paw-Paw lure company, c. 1918.