Trout into your backing?

[TimMurphy]

Marsh Creek north of the chicken hating town of Wellsboro except...

You will probably discover that trout is actually a carp. 🙄

Moral of story, don't worry about how much backing you have on your trout reels.

Dear Bamboozle,

One time on the Susquehanna in upstate NY I foul hooked a Zeke in a pectoral fin. It was a complete accident, I was stripping a Strymph for smallmouth. It rolled and the backing was out in seconds, on an 8 weight.

I pulled tight on the line and retrieved a pectoral fin. Poor SOB probably swam in circles until he expired. 😉

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[Nymph-wristed]

Nope. Not once, not even on the Lehigh, where I may have come close.

 

[Steelhead_JESUS]

I have on the yough and then today on a small limestoner that’s privately stocked by someone that owns a club.. The same club near the little j :/

 

[Sylvaneous]

Except for the Delaware which I've never fished, are there any streams in PA where you've had a trout take you into your backing?

No. Not even steelhead caught along the Lake Erie shore, did any trout take me into my backing.

 

[Oregon_OwlII]

In PA trout no, carp yes. In Oregon, steelies, yes.

 

[LLR]

Only once when I accidentally fouled hooked a large rainbow on the Little Juniata and the fish got into heavy current.

I remember worrying what was going to happen if the fish did not turn and get out of the current.

My knot and backing was around 15 years old and everything held.

 

[jifigz]

My knot and backing was around 15 years old and everything held.

Yeah, no one ever replaces their backing, do they? I've never even thought about it.

 

[Bamboozle]

Dear Bamboozle,

One time on the Susquehanna in upstate NY I foul hooked a Zeke in a pectoral fin. It was a complete accident, I was stripping a Strymph for smallmouth. It rolled and the backing was out in seconds, on an 8 weight.

I pulled tight on the line and retrieved a pectoral fin. Poor SOB probably swam in circles until he expired. 😉

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

On Marsh Creek once, I dared a friend into making a cast to a carp with a light trout rod off of the upstream side of a bridge north of Wellsboro.

A carp grabbed his nymph and as expected bolted downstream taking him into his backing in a few seconds while I was laughing hysterically. 😎

As he was getting close to the end of his backing, his line went limp so we figured he broke off the carp. As he was recovering his line, he felt another tug and landed a pickerel on the same nymph that the carp threw. 👍

 

[rustbeltwilds]

Upper allegheney river below coudy😉

 

[Swattie87]

I’ve hooked two carp, both unintentionally. I was immediately in my backing both times. Didn’t feel like fighting them for half an hour so I just pinched the line and let them break off. They’re impressive fish.

 

[falcon]

Large Bows on the Delaware have taken me into the backing; somtimes you never get to see the fish as they have room to roam, see the horizon and just keep going ... then usually becoming unpinned. A large American Shad will take backing especially in current. I was lucky to land a 7 pound Roe that took a lot of line.

 

[Billr]

Sort of similarly, do you recall the fish you lost? I was on the Big Horn when I hooked a fish a couple of feet from where I was wading. It took off on a run and I knew I was never going to get that fish in my net. Into the backing when it did snap off.

 

[Dave_W]

Only once and that was on the Yellow Breeches in the lower special reg section in 1985; 22" brown on a streamer, which was landed. That was back when I used lighter tippets and let fish run. I doubt that fish would get as far on me today.

Several years ago I hooked a large trout in Conodoguinet that really launched downstream and was pulling like a train with plenty of distance in a long pool. It pulled off, but I remember thinking I couldn't stop that fish - that one might have pulled backing.

But yeah - you really don't need backing for small stream trout fishing in PA.

 

[Peter Ross]

Nope. I use 30-pound dacron because I don't need the maximum amount of yardage. Many saltwater fish have gotten into backing. Lefty Kreh said he asked a bunch of Florida Keys guides who told him they've never seen 100 yards of backing pulled off. Lefty recommends no more 150 yards for any fish other than giant tarpon.

 

[zenriver]

Me never. However, witnessed a good friend valiantly battle a monster rainbow on where else….the Yough. That river holds some leviathans for sure and white water adds to the excitement and frustration.

 

[TimMurphy]

Nope. I use 30-pound dacron because I don't need the maximum amount of yardage. Many saltwater fish have gotten into backing. Lefty Kreh said he asked a bunch of Florida Keys guides who told him they've never seen 100 yards of backing pulled off. Lefty recommends no more 150 yards for any fish other than giant tarpon.

Dear Peter,

I've gone as far as wrapping electrical tape around the spool arbor to reduce the amount of backing that will fit on a reel. Backing seems to come in 100 yard spools, and many reels seem to hold 125 or 150 yards depending on the line weight and taper.

Seems like some sort of conspiracy to me! 😉

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[Peter Ross]

Dear Peter,

I've gone as far as wrapping electrical tape around the spool arbor to reduce the amount of backing that will fit on a reel. Backing seems to come in 100 yard spools, and many reels seem to hold 125 or 150 yards depending on the line weight and taper.

Seems like some sort of conspiracy to me! 😉

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

The 100-yard spools work for my light-trout reels. For years, I've been knotting sections of backing together but recently read that's a no-no. The most important thing here is that you get a cool color that looks good through the vents! It's not how many fish you catch, it's that you LOOK GOOD.

 

[Dr.J 1952]

I was fishing the DHALO section of Pine Creek in Allegheny County several years back. I was using a seven foot three weight rod. I can’t recall if my line was in the water or I was making a cast when a few geese flew by close to the water. One snagged my line and kept flying down stream taking me into my backing. The goose landed and I ran down the bank thinking I was going to cut my line. Fortunately, the goose caught untangled and I saved my line. Stuff happens, lol.

 

[Peter Ross]

I was fishing the DHALO section of Pine Creek in Allegheny County several years back. I was using a seven foot three weight rod. I can’t recall if my line was in the water or I was making a cast when a few geese flew by close to the water. One snagged my line and kept flying down stream taking me into my backing. The goose landed and I ran down the bank thinking I was going to cut my line. Fortunately, the goose caught untangled and I saved my line. Stuff happens, lol.

😳 😄

 

[TimMurphy]

I was fishing the DHALO section of Pine Creek in Allegheny County several years back. I was using a seven foot three weight rod. I can’t recall if my line was in the water or I was making a cast when a few geese flew by close to the water. One snagged my line and kept flying down stream taking me into my backing. The goose landed and I ran down the bank thinking I was going to cut my line. Fortunately, the goose caught untangled and I saved my line. Stuff happens, lol.

Dear Dr J,

That reminds me of the time my brother and I were fishing Fisherman's Paradise. He was using my 2 weight and it was during a cicada hatch, probably 1992 or so? It was the BIG hatch. He was just below what was the Ladies Pool in the old days when he cast out and a sizeable carp ate the cicada imitation.

I was on the opposite bank near the bottom end of Fisherman's Paradise and the fish swam towards me and then headed downstream. In the process, it wrapped the fly line firmly around a mid stream rock. I was working a streamer and figured no way my idiot brother was going to ruin my 2 weight rig.

So I deftly cast my streamer across the line that was wrapped around the rock. and carefully lifted it away. My brother managed to land the carp, and my line survived with just a few scuffs.

I'm definitely not sure of the year it happened, but if Terry Murphy from Fargo ND, who is a board member here, sees this post he will vouch that it is 100% true and accurate.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂