grassonfly
Well-known member
why dont fishermen use monofilament line for backing?
mono backing
- Thread starter grassonfly
- Start date
silver creek
Well-known member
Mono stretches with tension.
When wound on the spool after fighting a fish, it compresses and cracks the spool. I've thrown away spinning reel spools that have been crushed when put away after a catching a big fish. Always release then tension after a big fish fight on mono.
Backing must be nonstretch like dacron or gelspun.
When wound on the spool after fighting a fish, it compresses and cracks the spool. I've thrown away spinning reel spools that have been crushed when put away after a catching a big fish. Always release then tension after a big fish fight on mono.
Backing must be nonstretch like dacron or gelspun.
jack crack jones
Well-known member
Learn something new every day. That was a great explanation. I honestly had never thought of it. But I've also never fought a big fish that stretched the mono. 
Taking what Silver has told you into account as good info I'll add one more word regarding why not.............
Memory
Memory
silver creek
Well-known member
LOL,
The memory is good reply for two reasons. If you are an old fart like me, you could forget to release mono tension.
I should state that one of the spools that broke had on 6 lb. test line. You would think that 6 lb. test would only apply 6 lbs. of compression but not so. It all adds up and I found myself with a cracked plastic spool on a Mitchell reel I used before becoming a fly fisher.
wjc
Well-known member
Conversely,
Gelspun should be wound on very, very tight. If not, when fighting big fish, it will slide down through the line beneath it, and may well snap on the next run.
Gelspun should be wound on very, very tight. If not, when fighting big fish, it will slide down through the line beneath it, and may well snap on the next run.
I've never had that happen and I have caught some really big fish on spinning gear. I had a 70"+ Lake Sturgeon do grey hound jumps pulling my boat up river and smoke the drag, but the spool was fine. That was on an old mitchel auto bail. Are these cheap reels it happened on? By the way it wrecked the mono. Even with heavier line I have not had that happen. I used to do a lot of salt water fishing and had some serious afterburner runs and they didn't crack the spools either. I used Penn reels back then though.
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silver creek
Well-known member
It was the original Abu (of Sweden) 54 reel from the 1970s, a well known maker of quality gear. It was an expensive reel in its time. It was also sold under the Garcia name. Here is a Abu Garcia 57 with the history of the reels.
Abu garcia cardinal 57
Cortland - Monofilament
"5. Stretch: All monofilament line stretches, and some stretch up to 30% when really stressed. Some stretch is very desirable because it improves shock strength - but too much makes it difficult to set the hook or control the fish. Worse, lines that are overly stretchy will probably not recover after being stretched to the max, which results in a serious deterioration of line strength. All Cortland lines are formulated to deliver "controlled stretch" to provide just enough cushion for shock resistance and strength without being too stretchy."
It seems some mono does not return to the original length.
wjc
Well-known member
Mason hard, which was very popular a long time ago, would continue to stretch and require a lot of permanent deformation before breaking. But it's strength would continue going down the entire time it was stretching.
Guys going for tarpon records using 100 lb test mason hard shockers, would make sure it was no longer knot to knot than 11 1/2". This was for 16 lb class tippet.
Cheers,
Jim
Guys going for tarpon records using 100 lb test mason hard shockers, would make sure it was no longer knot to knot than 11 1/2". This was for 16 lb class tippet.
Cheers,
Jim
grassonfly
Well-known member
dan i saw a pciture of you on here with a sturgeon did you catch that on fly tackle?
Yes I did. It was a 57" fish. I also used a Penn reel there. It's the PENN 4GAR. I love a bunch. I had a much bigger sturgeon on before that one but it hauled me off to places I could not follow, then way into backing. I tried to horse it and turn it and it busted me off. To bad too, because it was way up into the 60's. I'm a pretty good guesser when it comes to the size of sturgeon when they jump and I would put it in the 65 inch range. It was a lot girthier than the one I caught I posted here to. I should have not tried to horse it so hard. It was stupid and I knew it when I was doing it.
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grassonfly
Well-known member
what did you catch it on?
I used a full sinking 11 wt. line on my 12 wt. rod. For the fly I tied a fly like a San Juan worm but it's like 4 inches long and has a diameter of 1/4". I weaved it out of knitting yarn. It has a circle hook and a bit of wire for weight. I call it the San Onofre worm after the Nuke plant in So. California. Also known as the Dolly Parton memorial.
I have modified the way I do it some. I got rid of the full sinking line for a T-17 head and amnesia running line. Still using the same fly.
caseywise
Well-known member
lol dan! you crack me up...
chuck s
Well-known member
Way back when most fly reels were not fitted to the close tolerances we have today and the materials were not as rugged, mono got a bad rap as a loose coil could slip between the spool and frame and mess things up badly and when the weather was colder it was so cantankerous with memory that a backlash, or birdsnest was sure to result. Once a mono backlash resuletd the line was usually weakened where any knot was drawn too tight during the over run. Also as many have mentioned above given a light weight spool of old and the propensity of mono to stretch and contract, many spools were deformed if not outright crushed. :yikes:
With all that said there are some who favor mono under their fly lines but not really as backing but rather as a shooting line. :thmbup: Sunset amnesia has been providing a dlightfully limp shooting line for years now and it works just fine but usually has a dacron or GSP backing under that. :icon_cool
Once a mono backlash resuletd the line was usually weakened where any knot was drawn too tight during the over run. Also as many have mentioned above given a light weight spool of old and the propensity of mono to stretch and contract, many spools were deformed if not outright crushed. :yikes:With all that said there are some who favor mono under their fly lines but not really as backing but rather as a shooting line. :thmbup: Sunset amnesia has been providing a dlightfully limp shooting line for years now and it works just fine but usually has a dacron or GSP backing under that. :icon_cool
wjc
Well-known member
Besides for all the other reasons, monofilament rots quickly so does not last nearly as long as dacron braid, and dacron is cheap. Even JB hollow spectra is cheap compared to a single fly line, lasts forever, is a third the diameter of mono, and can be spliced without knots.
There is no reason whatsoever to use mono for backing.
Cheers,
Jim
There is no reason whatsoever to use mono for backing.
Cheers,
Jim
Rip Tide
Well-known member
Just to complicate things more , on my big reels I add 25' of mono between the fly line and the dacron backing precisely because it does stretch.
When you have full fly line out and it being pulled through the water by a fish, the drag on the line can put a lot of tention on the tippet.
Having a stretchable section between the line and the backing takes some of that tention off.
, on my big reels I add 25' of mono between the fly line and the dacron backing precisely because it does stretch.When you have full fly line out and it being pulled through the water by a fish, the drag on the line can put a lot of tention on the tippet.
Having a stretchable section between the line and the backing takes some of that tention off.