The more fishing line you can comfortably hold on a reel, the better
chance you have at landing big fish. Most crews use braided line known
as Spectra or Dacron as backing. This line is thinner than monofilament
for its strength and won't need to be replaced as often. The backing is
added to the reel first to provide extra line without taking up space on
the spool. The backing is then connected with a splice to the
monofilament 'top shot.'
Match the Dacron and monofilament by their breaking strength. If you try
to join two lines that don't match in size, it will cause the line to
slip if the Dacron is too large. And if the mono is too thick, it will
not be able to slide up the inside of the Dacron or Spectra. The mono
top shot will need to be changed out more often than the Dacron or
Spectra because it will be exposed to the conditions and get chafed from
bites and battles with big fish. The Dacron won't wear down as quickly
because it's hidden underneath the mono. When it comes to connecting
these two types of line, start by neatly cutting both ends.
Using a lighter, melt the tip of the mono to form a mushroom shape. The
rounded tip will help you feed the monofilament through the center of
the Dacron.
Dacron and Spectra are hollow braided lines. Because they are hollow,
you can slide the rounded end of the monofilament up into the Dacron.
Inching the mono up the Dacron line evenly requires patience. We like to
run the mono as far as 6 to 12 feet into the Dacron. Using this much
live gives you the strongest connection possible.
With the end of the monofilament 6 to 10 feet inside the Dacron, it's
time to start tightening up the connection. The splice acts the same as a
Chinese Finger Trap and when done correctly the tension of a fish
pulling on the line will only make the splice tighter. Again, the line
sizes must match for a splice to hold without slipping.
To finish the connection you'll need to serve the overlapping end of the
Dacron with waxed rigging floss. Use heavier floss on heavy line and
lighter floss on light lines. To start, take a 12-foot piece of floss
and fold it into two.
The 'serve' binds the two lines with floss and reinforces the splice. To
get the best serve you'll need to keep the line tight to work with.
Usually wrapping the mono around your hand and pulling tight to the rod
tip gives you enough tension to to start the serve, but having another
person hold the line might make it easier on you. As long as the line is
snug when you add your floss, the finished serve will be nice and
tight.
Bring the two ends of the rigging floss around the line and through the
loop. This will mark the beginning of your serve. You should start about
2 inches up the Dacron from the mono.
Cinch down the floss loop 1 to 2 inches from the overlapping end of the Dacron.
After you secure the first loop of floss, you'll need to start making
your half hitches. Using the two ends of floss, make half hitches
towards the end of the Dacron. Be sure the spliced Dacron and mono is
held tight as you make the half hitches.
After making several half hitches, the serve should start to look like
this and begin to reach the end of the Dacron. Continue the same
distance onto the mono, completely covering the connection.
Once your half hitches begin to cover the mono you can hold one end of
the floss along the line and half hitch over it with the other piece.
This will help you make a neat finish to the serve. Only use one strand
of floss for the final half hitches.
Once your serve reaches 1 to 2 inches over the mono, you can cut the
strand of floss you held alongside the line and half-hitched over. This
will leave you with only one strand to work with.
To finish off the serve, take the last strand of floss and make a
loop by bringing the end out and back around the mono five or six times.
Hold the tag end of floss alongside the serve.
Holding the tag end of floss along the serve, make even wraps around the mono working back towards the Dacron.
This should create a loop which you can pull shut by tightening the
tag end of floss. This will finish off the splice and give it a
low-profile, clean look.
Trim the last bit of floss tightly to the serve.
Your finished Dacron-to-mono splice should easily run through the guides on the fishing rod.
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