line question for everyone

[bamabassman]

ok gang. i have just taken off the old line from my reels (lisa's too,lol). now i am wondering about something. i got into a pretty heavy discussion with my brother last year on this and i am wondering what ya'll do.
when i respool my reels i like the line spool to be FULL. brother said i was wasting line. that i only needed enough to make a cast and have some for drag.
he only puts on around 80 to 90 feet on his reels. so the spool is kinda deep i think, making it harder to use the thumb to control your cast. what are ya'll's thought on this? how FULL do you spool your line?
like i said, i like mine to be FULL!
just wondering on your thoughts.

[rrw4258]

I agree with you bama, i also fill my spools to about 1/8" to 1/16" to the edge of the spool, a gear ratio means squat without the spool completley full... the less the line on the spool, the slower the reel brings the line in.

Ryan

[MIbasser]

I fill mine up. However, I fill 1/2 of it with cheap mono (BPS or Big Game). That way I can fill about 3 reels with 200 yards of line.

[cassidyta]

I fill mine all the way as well. The only value I see in not filling it all the way is when you are learning to cast them. It does help cut back on back lashes.

[BigBassin144]

Your brother is wrong. If he doesn't want to waiste line, use backing.

I fill my reels as full as they'll go. It helps casting performance, as well as retrieve speed. If you are worried about wasting line, like I said, use backing. And bama, that braid you got on a couple of your reels will last you a year or two, maybe more, so don't get rid of that. And when it does get worn out, spool it on backwards to another reel.

BB

[Rebbasser]

Initially I spool it all the way up. When I need to respool I pull off 3-4 long casts worth of line, cut the old line off, retie and respool. From then on I just replace the line to the knot. Haven't had a problem doing this, and it saves line. No bass will spool you so no problem with a cheap backing if you choose to go that way.

[abu4600]

I fill my spool all the way up. I use cheap line as backing too, it sure saves on line.

[weezymagic]

i fill mine up to about 1/16" from full. idk ut i thought i heard a good reason to do it. maybe im just making things up

[pig n jig]

Does your brother skip docks alot ? 90 feet is to short for some applications but it would work perfect for skipping docks with a baitcaster.The less line on the spool produces a slower start up spool speed,whih is a trick used for skipping lures with a baitcaster.

I spool up with one line, no splice.The waters are deep here. Lol.I spoon jig for trout with my bassin rods alot of times.I fill the spool a 1/8 th of an inch from the top.Alot of people use a 1/4 spool of old line and its fine that they do, but it really doesn't save a whole lot by doing that unless your spooling alot of reels at a time or something. P N J

[bamabassman]

well thank you gang. no pnj, he mostly fishes from shore cause he ain't got no boat,lol. he goes with me when i let him,hahaha. but he doesn't ever fill his up, says it wastes line, i told him about using cheap filler, but he is used to what he does. but i am glad to know that i ain't the only one that feels this way. i am still trying to convince him, even offered to GIVE him some cheap filler. but he likes it his way. oh well, just wanted to know what everyone else does. thanks again gang.

[carolina-rig-01]

i fill mine all the way full. on rods that i have to re-tie often like jig rods or crankbait rods it wouldn't be long and i would be out of line if i didn't fill it up.

[aikenyounggun]

I usually fill mine all the way up before a tournament and as i pond fish between tournamnets you can take the first 20 feet off b/c it will get really crappy.

[rrw4258]

A good reason, and one that i use is fill it up all the way, so that way the monkey will have something to go back to the store for... and then some!

Ryan

[JB]

I fill all my baitcasters full and stop when I see 1/8 or 3/16 of an inch, then I stop. I think we all can agree that a spool only half full or two thirds full results in less distance of a cast than with the fuller spool...

[gizzardshad]

Backing will solve all your troubles. you can fill up your reels and buy less line at the same time! No need to really change your backing when you add new line

[islandbass]

Looks like your bro, doesn't have a full spool, literally and figuratively.

Full spool, baby, full spool! Casting distance and drag performance are optimized.

Now make a bet with him, and then show him this thread.

[bamabassman]

hahaha island...he done seen it. said "well ....whatever....." hahahahaha. he still ain't gonna do it, so he'll keep on losing fish and i'll win ALL the cokes when we go fishing.

[islandbass]

at least he saw it. I was hoping you could have won something like dinner, a burger, or or like a lure from him.

[bamabassman]

STOLE his FAVORITE lure already,hehehehehehe. it was pop's old hula popper, and yes i REALLY do have it.

[MrPhotographer06]

haha i never fill mine to the top.. but i always backlashed when i started.. then i knotted it up about halfway.. but next backlash thats serious i gotta buy more braid anyway.. and i'll fill it up then..

[flfireman]

I use 40-50 yards of backing then spool most of the way up. This works for a few reasons, all stated-retrieve, drag, spin, weight. They have engineers who design these things, Im not a engineer. I'll take their word for it. Also what I didn't see mentioned. I respool from one pole to another. Let's say you put 100 yards of braid on- realistically you only use 30-50 yards of it. Now when you tie the end to new backing, all the unused braid is now on top. At 20.+ dollars a spool, Im saving about 160 dollars every 4-6 months by not buying all new line. The only drawback is if you forget which ones have already been flipped.

[rangerryan]

there are factors that change with how full your spool of line is... such as speed, torque and casting distance. i promise you will have more speed when reeling if it is full and cast farther. the only advantage to no filling the spool is torque which is one reason you would want a lower gear ratio. so i always fill my reels all the way so that they will perform as intended.

[Stinkies Daddy]

I fill mine to about a niclels width from the edge of the spool and i use either #2 or #4 silver thread an40

[Bob Smith]

Looks like the majority (if not all! lol) do what I do and for the same reasons! I like backing on all of my baitcasters (cheaper!), then fill to about 1/16" with the premium stuff. Like BB said, first and foremost, it optimizes the reels performance! It doesn't matter if you are casting, pitching, or flipping, a full spool just works smoother! The other benefit of using backing is the obvious economics! The price of quality line today doesn't make any sense if you fill your reel from spool core (2/3's will never see daylight).