Can someone explain the different tackles used on fly rods?
Posted by admin on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
From everything I’ve looked up, I see that there are a couple different kinds of tackle used for fly fishing, Line Backing, Line, leader, tippet, and i think that’s it. For line backing, do you fill your entire spool with backing? half of the spool? would you put half backing/half line? and how strong should each be, for example, should the backing be stronger then the line, vice-versa, or should they just be the same? And finally, what are good backing/line brands? sorry for asking so many questions, I just really want to start fly fishing, to do something a little different from traditional spin tackle fishing.
Filed in Fly Fishing Rods | 2 responses so far
Nickon 09 Mar 2010 at 5:58 pm 1it depends in what the backing capacity is (mine is 80 yds.) so i put 80 yards of backing on mine it doesnt matter if the backing is stronger than the line, or vice versa, just get some backing that is strong enough. i use 20 pound test backing on mine. some good brands are scientific angler, crystal river.
Chaddon 09 Mar 2010 at 6:07 pm 2I’m going to assume you have a basic understanding of the order/arrangement of the tackle, but to summarize, the backing goes on first, then the fly line, then leader, and tippet at the end.
The best way to put on backing is to have your reel outfitted at a fly shop. They’ll wind it on with a spooler and they can help you decide what you need. They’ll make sure the backing and fly line “go together” well and they’ll make sure that all the knots are neat and secure.
If you can’t or don’t want to do that, then you’ll have to do it yourself. What you want is for your tackle (backing plus fly line) to almost fill up the arbor. (The arbor is the “spool” of your reel, the place where the line winds on.) When the tackle is wound on, it should never bulge out above the arbor, nor should you have a lot of extra space in the arbor. Now, the fly line’s length is not negotiable, it’s a fixed length, so you have to adjust the length of the backing so that the entire package comes to the “full” point on the reel. The way I was taught is to reel on the fly line head first and then wind on backing until the arbor is nearly full (you won’t leave it this way — it’s just to eyeball the amount of backing you need). Then remove everything, tie in the backing “for reals” using an arbor knot, and wind the whole thing up. If you can’t have this done at a shop, wind your backing on carefully and evenly — might be a LONG time before you ever see it again.
The most common backing material is braided Dacron, and it comes in various line strengths, but unless you are doing very heavy or very light fishing, 20-pound test should be fine. Backing is heavy, floss-like material that is not meant to be in the water while you’re fishing. It’s really just extra length for your fly line for big fish that refuse to come to the net. If you’re catching fish 6 pounds and under, you’ll rarely go into your backing anyway. If you’re doing very lightweight fishing, like very small brookies or on real lightweight gear, you might want 10- or 12-pound backing to save space. Otherwise, ordinary 20-pound backing is fine.
Line strength is not a specification that is usually shopped for when it comes to fly line. You sort of have to read the fine print to even know the exact line strength of a given fly line. The best thing is to choose your fly line according to your fly rod and your reel. 4 weight line goes with a 4 weight rod, 5 weight line goes with 5 weight rod, and so on. Most fly line between 4 weight and 7 weight will fall between 20 and 40 pounds in terms of line strength — if for some reason you think you need something heavier, you can get fly line with extra strong core material. So, your fly line will probably have something close to the same strength as your backing.
When you get to your leader, that’s when you start thinking about line strength, and your leader should definitely be weaker than your fly line. Leaders come in a very wide variety of line strengths, and you should get the one that fits what you’re fishing for. The most common leaders for “ordinary” trout stream fishing will be from 4- to 8-pound in lengths from 7 to 14 feet.
Now we’re at the tippet. This is the lightest piece of tackle, the one that is meant to break first if breakage is unavoidable. This makes sense if you think about it — you definitely don’t want your backing to break and have the fish pull your whole tackle into the water. Likewise, you don’t want your flyline to break and watch the fish pull your leader and line away. Leader breakage is less catastrophic, but leader is more expensive than tippet (inch for inch) and tippet is the shortest piece of tackle. You never want any of your tackle to break, but if something’s gotta give, it should be your tippet. Unlike spin fishing tackle, which is often rated in 2-pound increments (4-pound, 6-pound, 8-pound, etc.), fly tackle line strength is not as “rounded off.” You might get 5.5-pound tippet and 7-pound leader. My general rule is that my tippet should be one full pound lighter than my leader, but sometimes I break that rule — as long as each section of tackle (fly line -> leader -> tippet) is progressively lighter, you should be fine.
As I said, one great way to learn all this is to visit a fly shop. Not a sporting good store that has a few fly rods, and not one of those hokey Walmart fly fishing booths crammed between the pretzel shop and the eyecare place. Go to an actual fly shop and start asking questions. Fly shop clerks are usually enthusiastic fly anglers and they’re always on the lookout for new customers — just don’t let them sell you the entire stockroom.