Fly fishermen are prone to over-complicating most everything and would do well to greatly simplify matters. Take knots, for example. I find it rather musing that there are entire books dedicated to fishing knots. I am not so much concerned with the specific knot the fly fisherman uses, or even what that knot is called. There are too many names for too many fishing knots. The fisherman may choose any knot they wish and call it what they will, but my suggestion, particularly when it comes to affixing the backing to the fly reel, is to eliminate the knot altogether.
I would suggest not even wasting one’s time with backing, but fly fishermen like their backing. They like to see it. Doing so apparently makes them feel good about themselves, as fishermen are known to say with great pride, “That fish took me into my backing!” or, “Today I saw my backing!” Good for that fisherman. If they saw their backing and didn’t suffer catastrophic equipment failure and loss, the fisherman caught a cute little fish. Probably a brookie.
In this instance, the fisherman got lucky that it wasn’t me engaging them in a bit of sport.
Again, allow me to reiterate: do not attach your backing to your reel.
At this juncture I can envision the angry fly fisherman throwing up their arms in protest, blurting out expletives and proclaiming, “This is an outrage! Why would I not secure my backing to the reel using one of the many knots I have memorized after having studied several volumes on fishing knots!?”
It’s all rather simple, actually. The risk the fisherman runs when the backing is securely affixed results in the following:
An inadvertent introduction to Tenkara.
Synthetic disc drags are like a fine cigar or the rear tires on a alcohol-burning dragster: they are easily smoked. Once that has happened, the fisherman finds himself at the end of the line, in both the literal and figurative sense of the word. With 90 yards of fly line and another 150 yards of backing having been stripped from the reel, it takes mere seconds for the next phase of the meltdown to take place.
The lock ring on the reel seat is next in line for failure. Once this frail component has been compromised the reel is propelled forward as if being shot from a cannon. Stripping guides are the first obstacles, followed by the snake eye guides.
Upon close inspection we see that the fly reel is larger in diameter than either the stripping or snake eye guides. When the reel lurches forward it is akin to a 40-foot tall locomotive trying to fit through a tunnel that is 5 feet high, only in this instance the locomotive wins. At this point the reel becomes mine, along with the backing, fly line, leader and fly. You can keep the rod, although a rod is not of much use to the fly fisherman when it can no longer support a reel.
Unless of course you are one of those peculiar Tenkara fisherman types.
I am Roderick Hawg-Brown, and I speak the truth.
I have caught lots of big browns and in doing so have only seen my backing once! The Carp on the other hand…will show you your backing consistantly! The Great lakes Carp will run like a horse when hooked! He will not swim around in circles and do a crocodile roll like the Hawg Brown usually does! The Hawg Carp is a thoroughbred compared to Mr. Brown!
Clearly you have not caught the Hawg Brown. There are hawgs that are slobs and would no sooner put up a fight than leave their couch. Then there are those like me (actually there’s only one like me) who eat carp for breakfast and collect fishing reels. You go right on catching those thoroughbred carps–they go perty mouths.
I don’t know what kind of browns you’re catching Chuck but I’ve had several browns take me deep into my backing, and that’s in Stillwater, not a river! Definitely carp are known for long runs as well but they’re still ugly as sin! I’ll stick to fishing browns.
AS the picture prove….I have caught many browns over 20 pounds. I have caught dozens over ten pounds and they rarely run very far! Most are “Seforellon” – lake run browns from lake Michigan! The Hawg Brown is a joke compared to a steelhead or a carp!
Carp, carp, carp, blah, blah, blah. Steelhead are patsies, too, but at least they’re trouts.
I use a 2 wt 444 line on my steelhead rod for backing under my 8wt line.. and I rarely see more than 10 ft of it-
Steelhead are gentle creatures, and don’t even get me started on lake-run fish who’ve never seen a seen louse.
When a 30lb King turns tail and runs downstream nothing’s stopping it. The backing is like the warning track in baseball…WAKE UP & PAY ATTENTION! It’s time for a jog downstream.
That’s the problem with 30-lb Kings: they’re in such a hurry (because of that urge to spawn and die). I prefer to turn tail and saunter downstream, more like a diesel than a big block gasser. If you focus on the destination, you miss out on the journey. I prefer that the fisherman slow down and consciously acknowledge what is happening, knowing there’s nothing they can do. Panicked fishermen miss all the fun. Palm the reel.