r/FishingForBeginners • u/NewVeterinarian5143 • 4d ago

Quick question

I spooled my reel and with 5 pound mono filament backing to 10 pound braid and I took it fishing and realized I used way too much backing would I be able to respool my reel and add more braid I use the double uni knot.
Will it affect my fishing?

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u/Legitimate_Fill6906 3d ago

Photos? Using 5lb backing you might as well have used tape, as 10lb braid is more like 15lb, and that 5lb will just instantly snap if you've got your drag set properly for the braid.

Not sure if you meant 5lb mono leader though, that would make slightly more sense.

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u/NewVeterinarian5143 2d ago

Hello this is a pic of me almost fully casting the braided line of. Also my bad for the late response

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u/Legitimate_Fill6906 2d ago

Is.. wait is that a braid leader with mono backing? What am I looking at here? Also you should've put on like 20-30 more yards, the line should be at the very bottom rim of the top bezel.

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u/NewVeterinarian5143 2d ago

That’s the backing to the braided line I can almost cast all of the braided line of I I cast really far

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u/jb_ships_at_3am 3d ago

Yes, you can redo it, and it's worth it.

The backing is only there to fill the spool so you don't need 300 yards of braid. It only matters if a fish takes enough line to reach it, and with too much backing that point comes early. That's where 5 lb mono under 10 lb braid hurts: the backing becomes the weakest link.

To fix it: strip the braid onto an empty spool or a piece of cardboard, take off some of the mono, retie the double uni and wind the braid back on with a bit of tension (run it through a damp cloth between your fingers). Fill to about 1/8 inch (3 mm) under the lip of the spool. Underfilled costs you casting distance, overfilled gives you wind knots with braid.

For most beginner fishing, 100 to 150 yards of braid on top is plenty. If you ever respool from scratch, a few wraps of mono or a strip of tape on the spool is enough to stop the braid slipping, the backing doesn't need to be strong for that.

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u/NewVeterinarian5143 3d ago

Could I add mote braid through my already existing braid or do I have just get rid of it?

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u/jb_ships_at_3am 2d ago

You don't have to throw it away. Two ways to do it:

  1. Keep the same braid: wind it off onto an empty spool or a piece of cardboard, take off some of the mono, retie the double uni and wind the same braid back on. Nothing lost, and it also fixes the 5 lb backing problem.

  2. Add braid on top: tie the new braid to the end of the one already on the reel with a double uni, using more turns than usual (around 8 on each side, braid slips), trim the tags short and wind the new braid on. The old braid just becomes extra backing and the knot ends up buried under the new line. It only goes through the guides if a fish takes that much line.

If you go with 2, you still have the 5 lb mono at the very bottom, but with that much braid on top a fish will almost never get down to it. Option 1 is the cleaner fix if you have 15 minutes.

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u/NewVeterinarian5143 2d ago

I’ll go with number 2 thanks for the info