Sorry Lads but I,m still new to Fly Fishing as some of you will know,
Why does Fly Line come in standard lengths? is it because thats the
most distance you will be able to cast? Sorry I Forgot to mention that
my background is course fishing and sea fishing. I can appreciate that
the presentation is different but I just wonder why you need backing
(why not make the spools shallower)

Steve ( Laugh if You Want)

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You can get 40yrd flylines but most anglers find 20yrds plenty to handle.
you have backing because it is thinner,and takes up less space.many many anglers have never seen their backing in anger,

Jim

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

I think this is one for Lighthouse........

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Further to Jims reply. The backing is there in case you get a biggie on and it takes you all the way down to the end of your fly line, and this is where the backing comes in allows for an extra 50 yds or more to subdue your fish and get the main line back onto the reel. Hope that helps a bit

Hi', Warden. You could get by with a line of only 15 yards for most of your trout fishing, but the convention has been about thirty for a very long time. Since I started fishing in the days of silk lines, I have cut my DT floating trout lines in half. In the old days, it served to preserve the 'back' half of the silk line, and once I got into fishing for rainbow trout, it permitted me to use a small light reel and still get a lot of backing on the spool. Only three or four river brown trout took me on to my backing when fishing dry fly.
Of course, with WF lines, or when I fished the occasional competition, I used full length lines, as the regulations dictated. For river work, especially dry fly fishing, a half of a double-tapered floater will permit you to cover a trout that is about 20 yards away. Just think about it --- a modest 9ft of tapered leader; 15 yards of line just at the rod tip; 9ft of rod in the hand. Near enough 21 yards. I don't know anyone who can see a normal dry fly, in streamy water, at a distance of 21 yards, except under very good light conditions, perhaps.
I forgot to say, 'Welcome to the forum.'
Dunnet Bay reminds me of a holiday a friend and I once had, staying in Strath Halladale, at 'Big House'. We fancied a break from the trout, and we had sea tackle with us. A local lad told us the sea fisihing was poor, but that there were bass to be had off Reay beach. He was right, we caught several small school bass on spinners. They chased the lure almost to our feet, while wading in about a foot of water. Global warming, and all that. We always thought bass were not found north of Luce Bay on the North Solway coast.
Learning all the time!!. Cheers, TerryC

Thanks for that terry it,s all become clear now. ( Hope I get to Have that problem having all the line out down to the backing) I,s Luce Bay the one on
the way to Drummore from stranraer?
Steve...........

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Warden, living in Dunnet Bay it wont be long before you find out what backing is for

Also - its good to fill the spool properly with backing (and flyline) so that you don't have very tight coils of flyline around the spindle. Its much harder to get rid of the coil "memory" if the diameter of the coils are smaller. The best way to do this is in reverse! You start off by winding on all the fly line, then attach your backing and wind it on until the spool is full to within a couple of mm. Then you strip the lot off and wind the backing on, followed by the flyline. Slightly labourious, but the only way to truly get it right.

Whatever made you think that?

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With spare spools being quite common, if you have a second one free it speeds things up quite a bit. Just use one spool to tie on fly line first, then backing and get the length right. Then just tie the backing onto the second spool and wind on to it directly from the first.