I hear Power Pro by cabelas is supposed to be the best of the gel spun lines. The only problem with them is there small diameter which is tough on the fingers. You need to use a least 65lb power pro to get a good diameter that is easier to handle like Dacron.
On another site I saw suggested to spool up you reel with the gel spun backing first the add 50 yards of the Dacron. Most fish around here will rarely run past that first 50 yards of Dacron so you will get the benefit of the suppleness of Dacron but have plenty of backing if you need it. Gel spun backing is mainly used to increase the amount of backing on a reel for blue water fishing or to cram a spey line on a reel as they eat up a ton of space. You will be amazed how much gel spun line you can fit on a real compared to Dacron. Also another word of warning. Make sure the gel spun backing is put on really tight cause it does have a tendency to eat on itself if it is spooled too loose. If a large amount of backing is not something you need (which I suspect you do not unless those alpine lakes have some fish in them you are not telling me about) then I would just buy a 1000 yard spool of Dacron and get the pain over with all at once <g>. You could also go into a shop and buy some fly tying materials and mention you have this reel you need backing on and if they are feeling nice you may get it for free.... -sean -----Original Message----- From: Kent Lufkin [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Friday, January 03, 2003 9:20 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Backing line? While I rarely see my fly line-to-backing knot, let alone my arbor knot, backing still seems to serve another useful purpose by increasing the effective diameter of the spool, thus reducing coiling a bit. I just bought a clear intermediate on sale for one of my extra reels. A 100 yard spool of 20# dacron backing cost another $10, nearly a third of the price of the fly line. Has anybody tried using some of the new small-diameter braided lines the gears guys use instead? Cabelas has 300 yard spools of 30# Spiderline for just $17 plus shipping. Kent Lufkin
