4 fly-fishing gear hacks to help you perform better on the water

#3  BACKING

Backing is the light braided line that connects your fly line to the reel, extending the fly line’s length in case a fish makes a long run. In reality, that’s pretty rare. Mostly backing acts as filler to increase the size of your spool, so you can reel in line more quickly. For the best performance, you want to install just enough backing so that when the fly line is reeled all the way in, the reel is almost full. For years, I did this through a maddening process of trial and error, repeatedly unreeling line to add in or cut out backing until it fit correctly.

Then I learned the reverse-measuring trick. First, wind the fly line onto the empty reel. Then crank backing onto the reel on top of the line until your spool is almost full. Cut it, and you’ve got the perfect length. Now unwind the backing and line onto their respective original spools, and reinstall them in the correct order, with the fly line on top. I know this sounds laborious, but it’s guaranteed to work perfectly in one shot.

Another hack: Rather than unwinding 150 or 200 yards of backing by hand, I run a bolt through the centre hole of the backing spool, then spin it with my electric drill.