Walter & Group........
Question from Jim Higgins:
From Jim Penrod (his answers in red. My comments in bold blue italics .) :-
Let's begin with a little quiz :
1.) Your
student is about to purchase an outfit to fish mountain streams for trout.
You and he have settled on a recommended 4 wt. rod and floating wt. forward fly
line. You have taught him what he needs to know about leaders. Now
he asks you about backing for his fly line. What do you teach him ?
With a four weight rod (sounds like a new
fisherman) considering
expense and fish size 20 lb Dacron should be sufficient.
Yes.
2.) I've planned a trip to fish large mouth bass
the Sawgrass Preserve in the Florida Everglades. What backing would be
best for my reel ? 30 lb Dacron or
Spectra-possible lilly pads to contend with.
Yes. Also, abrasive sawgrass (It's well
named). (Actually, these bass rarely run far enough to get into the
backing.)
3.) My grandfather says that the only backing he ever used for fly
fishing was silk. Are there any disadvantages to using this ? I suspect
that it is expensive and
possibly difficult to find. I would wonder about breaking strength as well
although I have no experience with this. True. Also, it rots if put away
damp.
4.) My Uncle Charlie said that he used to use Cuttyhunk backing when
fishing for striped bass on Cape Cod prior to
WWII.
a. What is it ? Now you have mentioned this before (and once again it is not
embedded in my brain) Is it a linen?
b.
Any disadvantages to using it ? It has to be rinsed and
dried. It is woven linen. It,
too, rots when damp. Doubt one could even find it any longer. Very
little stretch (not a real dissadvantage, however.) Bulky knots even
though they are strong. Named after CUTTYHUNK ISLAND , Mass., where it was
used extensively as a trolling line. The original material was literally
wound up by hand in the early 1900's. In the 30's when I used it, the
better brands were expensive. the cheaper stuff was terrible. We'd
get home from fishing, strip it off the reel, wash it in fresh water and string
it up around my mother's dining room chairs to dry before putting it back on the
spool.
5.) This student wants to use 15 lb. test nylon monofilament line for his
backing. Are there any disadvantages to his using it ? Yes.
It tends to dig into the
reel and can lock down on itself. Also, if wound on tight, it can spread and ruin a
spool. Too much stretch for many applications, as
well.
6. ) List some advantages to the use of woven Dacron backing. If two colors are used it is fairly easy to see. It seems
stiffer-is it less likely
to tangle?
True... but the main advantages
are: 1. Good strength per diameter, 2. You can get lots of backing
on the reel, 3. Good knot strength, 4. Won't rot, 5. Moderate
price, 6. Little stretch.
7.) Are there any disadvantages to the use of Dacron backing for my
trout reel ? Tell me if there are. Not very abrasion
resistant.
8.) Your student says that she can buy nylon multifilament line for
backing for less money than Dacron or Spectra. She is a trout fisher,
fishing lakes. Any disadvantage to her choice ? Yes.
It can cut into itself with a big fish on. In the summer if she gets into
shallows and really warm water theoretically the
backing could become quite limp and tangle. Disagree. It does not cut into intself under
duress. Doesn't tangle as badly as mono. For her lake fishing, it
isn't a bad choice.
9.) Can you list some differences between Dacron and Nylon multifilament
backing materials ?Dacron has no stretch to speak of
while
multifilament does. Dacron is more
temperature tolerant. We havn't
noted the temperature intolerance even in the Keys and Bahamas. Both have
good knot strength. Nylon multifilament has larger diameter per pound test
strength than Dacron.
10.) What is ARAMID ? That is the name of the
chemical category into which Kevlar falls I think.
Correct.
11.) Is there
any disadvantage to the use of Kevlar for fly reel backing ? Connecting to the fly line could be a problem as it is so strong
and could eventually cut through the fly line.
Jim True. After long hard
use, it becomes brittle, too.
Jim
Gordy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Gary Eaton.... His answers in bold blue. My comments in italics.:
Let's begin with a little quiz :
1.) Your student is about to purchase an outfit to fish mountain streams for trout. You and he have settled on a recommended 4 wt. rod and floating wt. forward fly line. You have taught him what he needs to know about leaders. Now he asks you about backing for his fly line. What do you teach him ?
2.) I've planned a trip to fish large mouth bass the Sawgrass Preserve in the Florida Everglades. What backing would be best for my reel ?
3.) My grandfather says that the only backing he ever used for fly fishing was silk. Are there any disadvantages to using this ?
4.) My Uncle Charlie said that he used to use Cuttyhunk backing when fishing for striped bass on Cape Cod prior to WWII.
a. What is it ?
b. Any disadvantages to using it ?
5.) This student wants to use 15 lb. test nylon monofilament line for his backing. Are there any disadvantages to his using it ?
6. ) List some advantages to the use of woven Dacron backing.
7.) Are there any disadvantages to the use of Dacron backing for my trout reel ?
8.) Your student says that she can buy nylon multifilament line for backing for less money than Dacron or Spectra. She is a trout fisher, fishing lakes. Any disadvantage to her choice ?
9.) Can you list some differences between Dacron and Nylon multifilament backing materials ?
The biggest difference I can envision is the greater stretch of Nylon over Dacron (polyester). This should result in higher strength to diameter for the polyester (Dacron). I believe nylon is also slicker to the touch, so may offer less grip or abrasion Yes
10.) What is ARAMID ?
FTC definitions is: A manufactured fiber in which the fiber-forming substance is a long-chain synthetic polyamide in which at least 85% of the aramid bonds are attached directly to two aromatic rings.
Yes.
11.) Is there any disadvantage to the use of Kevlar for fly reel backing ?