The Dreaded BACKLASH!!
Anyone that uses a bait caster to fish with definitely knows a thing or two about a BACKLASH!! Yep, you make a cast into the wind, make it too hard or your lure hits something like the side of a dock or the water surface while you weren't paying attention and you look down and find a rat's nest sitting atop of your reel. Chances are, if it is bad enough, that baby is done for the day. Not to mention the wad of cash you just flushed down the drain now having to replace a spool of fishing line. Well, pay attention now kids because I'm about to pitch you a great tip!
It is important to realize that even though we may have well over a hundred yards spooled onto our reel, we only use about 50-60 yards to fish with. Since the only thing the rest of the line is used for is backing and of course, making a catastrophic backlash, here is what you need to do. Before you get to or out on the water, grab some electrical tape, then hook your line to your bumper or trailer and walk out about 50-60 yards. This should be equidistant to a good, long cast relative to the rig and application that you will be using that specific rod and reel for on that specific day. For example, if you are planning to flip docks with that rig, 50 yards will be plenty since you will be close to your targets. But, if you are planning on firing heavier top water lures trying to reach schooling fish, you probably want a little more than 60 yards. Once you have walked out enough line, tear off about 1 inch of the electrical tape and tape down the line on your spool, What you have now done is limit the amount of line available to backlash should something go wrong! You could have the biggest "brain fart" possible and your backlash can go no further than where you have taped down the line.
To take this one step further, I will add a "BALLIN' on a BUDGET" feature to this tip. Replacing line often is essential and therefore, can get expensive. Serious tournament anglers replace line for each and every tournament! You can see how expensive that can be. I replace my line quite often and I do it in a way that ties these tips together. I use cheaper line like monofilament or a less expensive fluorocarbon line for my backing and then use the Alberto or Modified Albright knot to tie on the 50-60 yards of line that I am going to fish with. Then, I tape down the spool right at the knot. When it is time to replace my line, I go right to the knot, cut it off and repeat the above process with fresh line. The Dreaded Backlash is limited and I am saving money by only replacing the line I actually fish with. I know........BOOM!
