Not enough braid?

[MRN III]

What do you do when your spool holds more braid than what is on the manufacturer's spool. What do you use for "backing"? I am connecting the braid fluorocarbon leader. Thank you!

[RANGER487]

Any older line that toi have laying around will work fine just have to judge how much backing to put on the spool you will not need the whole spool of braid thats for sure

[Walkabout7781]

I buy a bigger spool of braid, and use it all if I have to. I don't like using backing, because it always makes a lump in the line on the spool. The only thing I do different is to put a patch of electrical tape over the knot on the spool to keep it from slipping.

If I use a leader, it's a little less than rod length. I use a #10 or #12 Crane swivel at the junction and try not to reel it up into the guides. While I have tied some of those special knots, I don't want to be doing that in the boat on a windy day. My belief is that if your leader is 1' long, it's plenty long enough, and I'd bet our water is clearer than yours.

[basscat tyler]

I use Big Game as a backer and then spool 2/3 with braid

[ECobb91]

I use 15lb zebco mono that you can get in 300yd spoils at Walmart for about $2. Tie it on and crank the handle 15-20 times, then put the braid on. Since the braid has such a thin diameter you’ll never get to the backing on casts. If you put too much backing on then that’s when you’ll run into the bump issue.

for the leader I use Berkley 100%. It’s thicker than Invisx but way more abrasion resistant. Tie an Alberto knot and you’ll be golden.

[OkobojiEagle]

What do you do when your spool holds more braid than what is on the manufacturer's spool.

Buy a smaller reel

[ReefOctopus]

I buy a bigger spool of braid, and use it all if I have to. I don't like using backing, because it always makes a lump in the line on the spool. The only thing I do different is to put a patch of electrical tape over the knot on the spool to keep it from slipping.

If I use a leader, it's a little less than rod length. I use a #10 or #12 Crane swivel at the junction and try not to reel it up into the guides. While I have tied some of those special knots, I don't want to be doing that in the boat on a windy day. My belief is that if your leader is 1' long, it's plenty long enough, and I'd bet our water is clearer than yours.

How do you cast with a rod length of line out without reeling a swivel into the guides? It takes 1 minute to tie a leader.

[Nick D]

Old Mono/Flouro like most have said. I usually put about 10-15 yards just enough to cover the base of the spool so I don't have any slip.

[eyra_kid]

I use a 4-6lb mono leader for backing. Makes for a much smaller joining knot under the braid.
A lot of times, I don't even tie a joining knot, just a piece of electrical tape.
I usually only spool on 75-100 yards of braid. Less for crappie reels

[Casslaw]

Right now I’m using a bulk spool of red Cajun Line I found in my garage as backing. I put about 100 yards or so of braid on each rod, anything more is a waste. As long as I get more than 110 turns of my reel with the braid I know I have enough on. It took a couple reels to figure out how much backing I needed but it became pretty easy after a couple.

[Walkabout7781]

How do you cast with a rod length of line out without reeling a swivel into the guides? It takes 1 minute to tie a leader.

I always pitch a Dropshot rig. No reason to lob cast one. How do you cast a Carolina Rig? Probably the same way I do? Sometimes I underhand pitch that, too. Everything else is either straight FC, straight braid or straight copolymer. But thanks for asking.

[ECobb91]

I put backing on every reel Whether it’s a braid or floro mainline. It’s too expensive to use put $20 line on and only use half of itt. I use cheap Zebco mono from Walmart that costs around $2 for 300yd or more for backing, only out on about 1/3 to half of the spool then fill it with the mainline. You’ll never get near the backing on any cast

[ReefOctopus]

I always pitch a Dropshot rig. No reason to lob cast one. How do you cast a Carolina Rig? Probably the same way I do? Sometimes I underhand pitch that, too. Everything else is either straight FC, straight braid or straight copolymer. But thanks for asking.

lol, how many guides have you destroyed? Instead of tying one knot with a leader you are tying 2 knots with a swivel. Seems pretty pointless to me. I would love to see you cast a carolina rig rig or drop shot with 7.5 feet of line out. What are you gaining by using a swivel?

[Walkabout7781]

None so far. The #12 Crane swivel is really small, but rated at 25 lb test. I use a #6 for a true Carolina rig, and again, no chipped tiptop. I have had two or three chipped tiptops in 40 years, but not on a rod used for either C'rig or DS. My leader length is always about 6" shorter than the rod length, and I don't have a problem doing a lob cast with either a DS or C'rig. IMO, it's really easy to throw those farther than you really ought to, resulting in missed hooksets or just not feeling the bite.

I'll just stick with the Crane swivel and one extra knot...it's only one extra. I can break off the leader and tie on a new leader and hook, clip on a DS sinker, and I'm back in biz. Did that a few times last season. The annoying part was that it was two or three times within 30 minutes and 100' of boat movement. I suspect my chances are better with one extra knot that I tie frequently, rather than rely on one knot that I only tie rarely. But thanks for asking!