Kevin Van Dam Forums

This may seem dumb but here goes anyway.
I just recently started fishing Baitcasters and i am getting different views on how much line to spool on it. How much should i use? I know some of it depends on the weight of the line. What i want to know is how much is to little or to much.

I always fill about half the spool with mono backer.  I only put on about 20- 60 yards of good line on each reel.  On my flippin sticks I put on even less.  It just depends on how far you cast each particular reel.  Do you have several reels or just one?  To me it is application specific.  On my crank setups I have a lot more line on then my flippin sticks or even the ones I know I won’t cast more than about 50 yards.  There is no reason to spool up 125 yards of expensive braid, when you are going to only use 1/3 of that.  Same with fluorocarbons...they are not the cheapest lines on the market either.  I usually use 10 or 12lb mono for backer...all the backer is used for is to take up space on your reel, it serves no other purpose really.  Some guys will tie their backer to the main line, but I don’t.  I will either use a thin piece of tape to keep the backer line from moving, or I will wrap the backer into itself to hold it in place, then cut off the little tag that hangs out.  Either way, I sill tie my main line to the spool, not the backer.  Hope this helps and I’m sure a few more guys will have some input.

I like xranger fill my spools with a mono backer but I go half way then fill the spool the rest of the way with either braid or flouro.  I fill my spools to about 1/8 in from the top of the spool.

For the best castability I would keep the spool at least 90% full. Like QM said, I wouldnt fill past 1/8” from the top or the line will over run the spool.

i unspool all but 1/3 of old line, then same thing, 1/8 from edge of spool with new line, any more will cause casting problems and less will cause a braking on your casts.

no wonder why i go through line so fast!!!!! i always strip off all the line and fill it with new line.. i put as much as i can without ruinging the performance. it will vary for each reel… maybe i should start using your guys’s idea and use a mono backer for flouro instead of just puting it straight on....

its important for braid too, and not just to save line, but so your braid dont cut into spool so bad.

The backing will help the digging problem you can get from braid and fluorocarbon.  Depending on what size box I get in a line I can usually do one reel 3-5 times.  I use backer on all baitcasters no matter what I put on for main line.  You will feel a lot better about putting fresh line on more often.  And like the other guys have pointed out....1/8 from the top when you fill.  If you get too much on you will notice right away as it will fluff a little and not pack right.  If that happens after you have casted a few times, pull some line out and cut it off.  It is a learning experience...but once you figure it out it will be real simple to be changing out your lines on a regular basis and not have problems.

Thanks all

well what i do is put on as much as i feel safe with.but it is up to the size and what you will use it with.