Love my abels sds reels, but I use a 9/10 on my 8 and an 11/12 on my 10. Allows me to put plenty of 8strand hollowcore backing on.

 

From a few posts on here, I have become a huge fan of Seaguar Threadlock (60 lb) for my choice of backing. From my memory, when I first looked into it, the 60 lb Threadlock is similar in thickness to 20 lb Dacron.

From the pictures you saw, was that with 8 or 9 wt lines on the reels?

Does it really matter? Will the current amount of backing that you do have suffice for the type of fishing that you do? I pretty much only fish for redfish (of all sizes) with my 7-9 wts and I don't have a need for even 100 ft of backing. I ask this question to maybe give you some piece of mind to have confidence in your setup regardless of whether or not you were able to put the full 200 yards of backing on the reel.

 

Does it really matter? Will the current amount of backing that you do have suffice for the type of fishing that you do? I pretty much only fish for redfish (of all sizes) with my 7-9 wts and I don't have a need for even 100 ft of backing. I ask this question to maybe give you some piece of mind to have confidence in your setup regardless of whether or not you were able to put the full 200 yards of backing on the reel.

Agreed and valid point. It's more or less for the piece of mind should I get into something sporty on it.

 

I went with PP Ace hollowcore and it gave me another 100 yards of backing on the reel.

 

Just remember, orange backing for distance, green for accuracy.

 

I use Threadlock 50 pound when I want more backing than I can get with 30 pound dacron. 50 pound Threadlock is about the same as most 20 pond dacron or smaller, (maybe a little smaller).

You can also cut about 10 feet off the back of your flyline to gain a little room. A 9 weight line is considerably bulkier than an 8 and even more than a 7.

If you really need 200 yards minimum you might just get a bigger reel. I'm not sure what you're after with a 9 weight that needs all that.

 

If you are too hundred yards into your backing, you have different problems, you are either solo, and you won't stop that fish, or your pal on the boat doesn't know how to drive, or you don't have room or depth to drive the boat. Either way by 150 yards, your drag needs to be at 6 lbs at least and if you can't stop the fish , you can't stop the fish. My go to Tarpon rod is a 9WT, but when I hook a 50-60 lbr you have to be aggressive with the drag and the pull. I would prioritize fitting the fly line in the reel comfortably vs stuffing it. There are other options like mentioned to fit longer backing, but take a look at how many times you have needed 200 yards w a 9wt. My guess, zero? Once?
Now my 10 and 11 WT rods have 250, a big 80 lbr plus will put your there easily. .02 cents...

 

Anyone here ever have a fish take all of the backing off a fly reel?

 

I am not speaking for tarpon but bonefish and permit, not even close. Permit to 30lb on 9-10wts and bonefish over 12lb on 8-9wts. Then again I am not the person that sets the drag "just tighter than free spool". I set my drag off the backing/fly line connection to 1.5-2lbs. Clients are amazed at how tight 2lbs on a fly reel can feel but still have a blast with permit and bonefish. They pull drag and put on a show and are released in better shape than with a free spool drag.

As for the OP backing question, I have been using Seguar Threadlock in 50lb or 60lb for probably 5 years and have been very happy with it.

 

If you would have bought a White River you could have put on 500 yrds of 50 dacron.

 

You will be fine with what you have now.

 

I have some kinda green braid that won’t cut. I have it on all my Tarpon, Jacks rods. I doubt your guide can’t follow whatever you catch

 

I like Sufix 832.

 

What fly line did you put on it? Especially if you are using an overweighted line or one with a long head - or both - it's going to cost you some backing. Most of the time with a standard 8wt reel (SDS, CCF-X2, Everglades, etc.) you're going to end up with less that 200 yards with an 8wt line like a grand slam or a flats pro.

I would say it's pretty standard at our shop now to run at about 185 yards of backing on those reels with an 8wt to ensure there is room. If it was a rio flats pro, airflo power taper, or something similar i'd put even less. So with a 9wt line i'd already plan on being short, add in a heavier 9wt line and it's not going to hold much. Fly lines are taking up a lot of room on reels now a days.

Like everyone else was saying you're probably going to be just fine. If you're real worried about it before the keys trip stop in and we have some 50 pound gel spun that will get you a little more capacity.

 

What fly line did you put on it? Especially if you are using an overweighted line or one with a long head - or both - it's going to cost you some backing.

I started off with a 9wt Monic Advanced Clear (250gr) but opted for the Skyline Plus 9wt as the grain weight is a bit heavier (250-280gr) and will probably cast better on the rod.

 

Setting aside how much is really needed, FWIW The Yellowstone Angler just released its 8 wt reel comparison where, among other things, they tested how much backing a reel actually fits using 20 and 30 lb micron/dacron and Hatch 68 lb. They said that with an 8 wt line a SDS 7/8 takes 165 yards of 20 lb, so about a third less than the stated specs. I think they used a SA MPX as the test line, and obviously the length and taper/diameter of a given line will impact how much space is left for backing.

If you want to get backing more on, a hollow braid like the Power Pro or Cortland C16 is probably your best choice, though it's not cheap. Trident did a backing shootout/comparison several years ago and determined that using the PP results in a 20% increase over 20 lb dacron.

 

They said that with an 8 wt line a SDS 7/8 takes 165 yards of 20 lb, so about a third less than the stated specs.

Bingo....240 yards my a$$! LOL. This reel may be re-purposed on a 7wt next year or sooner so all this may be moot. LOL

 

The hatch backing allows quite a bit more. All that said, I have never spooled and 8W. A 9lb bone was the closest and I had at least 25% of my backing left on the first run.

 

I recommend and use Diawa J8 40 pound braid. It is easy to find. It is thinner diameter than 20 Pound Dacron Plus you get 40 pound test. It is 8 strand braid so is smooth. Comes in different colors and in 300 yard/meter spools.
If not enough backing yet, then cut off 10 ft sections of the back of the fly line. I also start off the bare spool with a few base wraps of Dacron then tie the PE braid to the Dacron. This is to prevent the slippery PE from spinning on the spool.
Mike

 

Not to derail, but I've been using Teflon pipe thread tape for years on my spool barrels to allow a bite for braid. A few wraps is all that's needed. It doesn't leave a sticky residue that collects salt and peels off easily whenever you change line. Cheap and available at any neighborhood hardware or big box stores.

 

I used to pay the silly prices for fly reel backing. I've switched to braid (I use PowerPro) with excellent results. I won't go back to fly reel specific backing since IMO it is simply a marketing ploy (you aren’t casting the backing). I buy PowerPro in 1,500-yard spools that serve all my reels, fly, fresh water conventional, and salt water conventional as well as a few spinning reels.

 

PowerPro (original kind) for a 1500 yd spool is $0.067 per yard

Seaguar Threadlock for a 600 yd spool is about $0.167 per yard

For a 200 yd capacity reel, this works out to about $13 for the PowerPro vs $33 for the Seaguar Threadlock.

I am willing to pay the extra $20 for a backing that will last several years and be better in every way possible for backing on a fly reel. Hollow core backing lays flat (resists digging into itself better than round braid) is smoother (less abrasive to your fingers) and is capable of splicing in multiple ways. Although the cost is more than double (per yard) between braid types, the actual amount spent on a reel is not that high for the advantages it offers. Also, when my rod/reel/fly line setup is over $700, I'm not worried about an extra $20.

 

Cortland Masterbraid or Suffix 832.

All of my Abel's are way short in actual backing capacity with dacron. It really doesn't matter on 7wt reels and smaller as the reel is mostly just a fancy line holder. 8wt is the start of the transition to where a reel's capacity and drag can become important to successfully landing the fish depending on what you are fishing for. Definitely 9wt and above the reel is a much more significant part of the equation. For me, I spool up dacron for 8wt and smaller while 9wt and above get gel spun.

Incidentally, I have 170 yards of 20lb dacron on my SDS 7/8 with Airflo 2.0 flats universal WF line. I've only seen the backing once in the 3ish years I've had the reel.

 

Cortland Masterbraid or Suffix 832.

All of my Abel's are way short in actual backing capacity with dacron. It really doesn't matter on 7wt reels and smaller as the reel is mostly just a fancy line holder. 8wt is the start of the transition to where a reel's capacity and drag can become important to successfully landing the fish depending on what you are fishing for. Definitely 9wt and above the reel is a much more significant part of the equation. For me, I spool up dacron for 8wt and smaller while 9wt and above get gel spun.

Incidentally, I have 170 yards of 20lb dacron on my SDS 7/8 with Airflo 2.0 flats universal WF line. I've only seen the backing once in the 3ish years I've had the reel.

Thumbs up for the 832. That's what I use.

 

Meh I wouldn’t worry about it. 20 years of fly fishing and the only time I have gotten close was when I thought it would be a good idea to chase bobo’s with a 5wt off the beach with a true 5/6wt reel. We caught 2-3 before we decided it was way to light but we did get close within 5-10 wraps of loosing it all until chasing them with the boat and getting back to square.

I think a bobo/albie strips line faster than a bonefish from my experience.

 

I've got a Rio Tarpon 13 wt line on my 12 wt rod. It came as 110 ft long.
I cut off 15 feet for a little more backing room as I don't think I can cast it a 100 feet anyway.

 

I’ve used Hatch 68lb backing on my SDS 7/8 with a intermediate 9wt line and think I got most of the backing on.

as others had said, if I’m about to spool, I’ve got other issues to deal with. 😀

but vs. a Tibor Sig 7/8 that seemed to hold a ton of backing…. As well as most Tibors- different strokes and etc.