Copper Lengths Answer...simplified? YES!

[skipper19]

Here, try this spread sheet. Enter a number from 1 to 10 in ROW D in the cells that have a little black triangle in the corner. Under the X100 heading. that's the length of your backing or wire segments times 100 feet. Example: enter 4 and that will be 400 feet.

In ROW C LINE 11 cell with the little black triangle, enter your reel capacity in yards of 30# monofilament. Be sure it's only for the specs found for THAT mono.

 The sheet will do the rest. Look in the right side of the sheet for the results. The cells turn green or red and display the amount of reserve left, or a negative reserve and the cell turns red, meaning that combination will not fit.

Change the input for lines or reel and see the difference to compare on each combo.

hope this helps. The other links I put up did not work so I deleted them. This one should work.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13FzwTaoEhX8IpbeJW5PzH5ZZFOhLEsUZRtOp0jh0iDQ/edit?usp=sharing

 

Forget about reading all this below, I know it's confusing and everyone just wants something softer to bang their head on.  

 

 

I've done this before, I know. I still see lots of questions on copper lengths and how much reel does it take to fit all of it with backing. I know some of us here, Legacy Rob, for one and others have posted specific reels that will handle certain amounts of backing and copper. That's a good thing!  I have this formula that works for any reel, and you only need to find the specs for the reel you have, or you are looking for, in yardage based on 30# monofilament. The basic knowledge is right below this paragraph. When applied in simple division, multiplication, addition, and subtraction, this basic knowledge will give you answers to any combo of lines, wires, and reels you can put in your spread. I've done all the other goofy geometric to linear conversion, and have put it right here below this paragraph. Hope this makes it easier to understand. It's 5th grade math, and the answer might be 14 (Muskybob joke!), but probably not, unless you are really manly, and like huge farm equipment, and don't mind a skeleton of a fish after reeling it in... LOL!

77 feet of .033 45 lb copper in 1 cu in. (100 feet takes 1.3 cubic inches)
93 feet of .030 32 lb copper in 1 cu in. (100 feet takes 1.07 cubic inches)
689 feet of .011 30# power pro in 1 cu in. (100 feet takes 0.15 cubic inches)
370 feet of .015 50# power pro in 1 cu in. (100 feet takes 0.27 cubic inches)

THIS ISN'T PART OF THE EQUATION BUT HAS TO DO WITH CHOOSING THE RIGHT REEL CAPACITY:
172 feet, OR 57 YARDS of .022 30 lb. mono in 1 cu inch (just for reel linear yardage to volume conversion so you can find the cubic inches of the spool) Look for the 30# monofiliment yardage capacity specs on the reel, or the packing box, or online.

<<<<<<REMEMBER THIS FIRST>>>>>>***
***FOR REEL CUBIC INCH CAPACITY CALCULATIONS, LOOK FOR THE SPECS ABOUT THE REEL, FOR THE YARDAGE CAPACITY FOR 30 # MONOFILIMENT LINE*** (it's what you want to find, so that it will fit the copper and backing before you spend your money on it) wise, right?  

Most everyone has a specific length of copper they want to setup on some kind of reel...Question is, which reel will fit it?
You only have to look at the specs of a reel for the line capacity, in yards, of 30 lb mono. You have a simple calculation to do based on what I have already done for you. That's the fact that 57 yards of 30# mono fits in a cubic inch. You need to find the cubic inch capacity of the reel. Too bad the manufacturer never does that, but you can, and it is very simple.

Here's how.

Example, you need three basic components to know.
#1 Your choice of backing...30# or 50# braid...how much is enough? Preferences vary by personal taste and use. No less than 450 feet unless you have pucker power! 900 feet is better for all purposes in my opinion. Just a preference of mine.
#2 Your choice of copper strength...32# or 45#...the most common long coppers on either, and THIS IS FOR BLOOD RUN DIAMETERS ONLY, which is smaller diameter than some others that are .004 thicker..that extra thickness changes the outcome...less feet of copper by a significant amount.
#3 Find your reel by looking at specs of yardage capacity of 30# monofiliment...NOT BRAID...mono!
The first two COMPONENTS are easy! You know what you want, and I already calculated the 100 foot equals how many cubic inches, and fractions thereof, for you! You will find the best matching reel last, or in the case of a reel you have already, how much it will hold in cubic inches as it pertains to 30# mono lineage, yardage to cubic inches volume...nuf of that, its confusing.  
#3 requires you to do a simple math based on what I have already done for you on the 30# mono capacity...yes you can! You learned at least this much in school!

SCENARIO: The reel you are looking at has specs. THIS ONE says it will hold 330 yards of monofiliment...look up above, FOR REEL CUBIC INCH CAPACITY CALCULATIONS...57 YARDS OF 30# MONO fits in 1 cu in.
DIVIDE IT!...330 DIVIDED BY 57 EQUALS WHAT? The cubic inches capacity of the reel. It's 5.78 cubic inches! Write it down! Easy right? WITH A CALCULATOR... So how does that help you with finding out if that reel will accomodate your other components, which is, the backing and the copper?...simple math again, using my already calculated cubic inch capacities of line and wire ABOVE.

Let's see, say you know you want a safety net of 900 feet of 50 lb power pro. How much will the backing take away from the capacity of that reel you're looking at? Up above again! 370 feet fits in a cubic inch, you have all 5.78 cubic inches YOU FIGURED OUT ALREADY ( wrote it down right?)  on this reel at your disposal for the base of backing. You want 900 feet. Divide it! 900 divided by 370 equals what? The cubic inch space needed off the reel capacity..(2.43 FOR THE BACKING)... how much is left? Will it fit 600 feet of 45# blood run copper? Lets see! Subtract the backing!
THIS REEL has 5.78 cubic inches to start, minus 2.43 for backing..It leaves 3.35 cubic inches for copper 45#...well, already you can see that 600 feet won't fit since only 77 feet will fit in 1 cubic inch. (77 X 3.35 is only 258 feet!) Its gonna take a much bigger reel and you only have 3.35 left, so its good for a 250 copper if you were looking for that. How do you know how big a reel you will need!...Simple math again...I wonder how much space 600 feet of 45# copper will need? Division again. 600 divided by 77 is what? You are figuring out how many cubic inches 600 feet of copper 45# takes up! It comes out to 7.79 cubic inches to fit that much copper. KEEP LOOKING FOR A LARGER REEL! It said 330 Yards, you need one for your backing and copper space in total of 2.43 plus 7.79. That's a reel with yardage specs of 30# mono large enough to hold 10.22 cubic inches of THAT SIZE mono line. What reel has that much room?
Use the 57 yards per cubic inches from above and multiply it by 10.22 (57 X 10.22) equals 582.5 yard capacity. If the reel has 580 or more yards capacity listed for 30# mono, then it's large enough to fit 900 feet of 50lb backing with 600 feet of 45# copper from Blood Run. TIGHT! These are all are full reel capacity calculations. Advantage of line retrieve rate!

SIMPLIFIED EVEN MORE HERE BELOW...( for those of you who KNOW the answer is 14 )LOL!  
1st Choose your size of backing and the copper.
For the backing section, (I do this first since it is the space you hold in reserve (for deployment methods and fish running off drag, etc., and not part of the copper depth management plan you have in mind) you add the space the copper takes last so you know the size reel you need for all things complete. You want 900 feet backing? Multiply corresponding cubic inches (IT'S UP ABOVE) for 100 feet by 9, you want 450 feet? Multiply corresponding cubic inches for 100 feet (LOOK UP TOP AGAIN) by 4.5, and so on. This will be your base of backing volume (in choosen pound test) on the reel. SAVE IT IN MEMORY OR WRITE IT DOWN. You will add it to the copper sections requirement of cubic inches that you will do next.

EXAMPLE: REFER FROM UP ABOVE TOP^^^ (450 FEET) 50# POWER PRO BRAID .27 cu in X 4.5 = 1.2 CUBIC INCHES ROUNDED     
                                                                                                30# POWER PRO BRAID .15 cu in x 4.5 = 0.7 CUBIC INCHES ROUNDED
900 feet is just .27 X 9 for 50#/ or .15 X 9 for 30# backing (2.43 and 1.35 total cubic inch for backing, respectively) as you can see, there is significant space advantage to using 30# backing on any reel.
 
For the copper section, choose one STRENGTH or the other (you can compare them easily) (32# or 45#) and multiply the cubic inches IT corresponds to (IT'S UP ABOVE ^^^) by 1 up to 6 for 100 up to 600 foot sections OF COPPER. 1.5 up to 6.5 for sections of 150 feet up to 650 feet OF COPPER and so on. This will be the volume that your choosen "depth management section" copper size and length will take on the reel.

EXAMPLE USEING THE REFERENCE FROM ABOVE^^^UP TOP!
600 feet of 45# copper  1.3 cu in X 6 and that is 7.8 CUBIC INCHES rounded
600 feet of 32# copper  1.07 cu in X 6 and that is 6.4 CUBIC INCHES rounded
Again, as you can see, there is significant space saving with 32# copper over 45#. You can use a much smaller reel. Combined with 30# backing, you can use the smallest reel than 50/45 combo. HOWEVER, EVERYONE HAS THEIR PREFERENCE OF COPPER POUNDAGE, I USE EACH ON MY BOAT WITHOUT PREJUDICE! other reasons apply that involve more scientific SWAG estimates on my behalf. LOL!

THE LAST PART (this is where you spend money on the big new shiny reel!)... is this part easy?
Just divide the reel capacity, found from the specs, on the packing box, the reel, or online, for 30 pound mono by 57. You now have the cubic inch space needed for the backing and the copper of your choosen setup.
IF YOU CAME UP WITH 10.22, A REEL YARDAGE CAPACITY OF OVER 580 FOR 30# MONO, YOU ARE GOOD TO GO WITH EITHER SIZE WIRE AND 900 FEET OF 50 LB BACKING. 45# copper being tight, 32# lots of room to spare, or spool on another couple hundred or so if ya feel like having your left arm bicep way larger than right arm...LOL!  
IF YOU CAME UP WITH 14, YOU NEED TO MOVE TO GLOUCESTER, MA. AND FIND THE GRAND BANKS FLEET! WE'RE ON, WE'RE ON, THAT'S A FISH'... THAT'S A SCREAMAHH! FISH ON DAVE MARCIANO and "HARD MERCHANDISE"!  
MARK

Edited February 18, 2016 by skipper19

[TileMan Dan]

Good info.

[bloodruntackle]

You can check out our site in the next couple of weeks as we are going to be republishing some reel fill data that we previously put together and including some new numbers as well.   Straight mono backer, and mono/braid hybrid system.    

 

Might get some leadcore numbers in there also both with mono and braid backer.

 

http://bloodruntackle.com/reel-fill/

[Sk8man]

OR buy a 32 pack and take your chances estimating after going half way through it and when you look at what you did the next day say "DILLIGAF" Great advice Mark. Thanks for taking the time to do it and putting it up here

[Silver Fox]

I've done this before, I know. I still see lots of questions on copper lengths and how much reel does it take to fit all of it with backing. I know some of us here, Legacy Rob, for one and others have posted specific reels that will handle certain amounts of backing and copper. That's a good thing! I have this formula that works for any reel, and you only need to find the specs for the reel you have, or you are looking for, in yardage based on 30# monofilament. The basic knowledge is right below this paragraph. When applied in simple division, multiplication, addition, and subtraction, this basic knowledge will give you answers to any combo of lines, wires, and reels you can put in your spread. I've done all the other goofy geometric to linear conversion, and have put it right here below this paragraph. Hope this makes it easier to understand. It's 5th grade math, and the answer might be 14 (Muskybob joke!), but probably not, unless you are really manly, and like huge farm equipment, and don't mind a skeleton of a fish after reeling it in... LOL!

77 feet of .033 45 lb copper in 1 cu in. (100 feet takes 1.3 cubic inches)

93 feet of .030 32 lb copper in 1 cu in. (100 feet takes 1.07 cubic inches)

689 feet of .011 30# power pro in 1 cu in. (100 feet takes 0.15 cubic inches)

370 feet of .015 50# power pro in 1 cu in. (100 feet takes 0.27 cubic inches)

THIS ISN'T PART OF THE EQUATION BUT HAS TO DO WITH CHOOSING THE RIGHT REEL CAPACITY:

172 feet, OR 57 YARDS of .022 30 lb. mono in 1 cu inch (just for reel linear yardage to volume conversion so you can find the cubic inches of the spool) Look for the 30# monofiliment yardage capacity specs on the reel, or the packing box, or online.

<<<<<<REMEMBER THIS FIRST>>>>>>***

***FOR REEL CUBIC INCH CAPACITY CALCULATIONS, LOOK FOR THE SPECS ABOUT THE REEL, FOR THE YARDAGE CAPACITY FOR 30 # MONOFILIMENT LINE*** (it's what you want to find, so that it will fit the copper and backing before you spend your money on it) wise, right?

Most everyone has a specific length of copper they want to setup on some kind of reel...Question is, which reel will fit it?

You only have to look at the specs of a reel for the line capacity, in yards, of 30 lb mono. You have a simple calculation to do based on what I have already done for you. That's the fact that 57 yards of 30# mono fits in a cubic inch. You need to find the cubic inch capacity of the reel. Too bad the manufacturer never does that, but you can, and it is very simple.

Here's how.

Example, you need three basic components to know.

#1 Your choice of backing...30# or 50# braid...how much is enough? Preferences vary by personal taste and use. No less than 450 feet unless you have pucker power! 900 feet is better for all purposes in my opinion. Just a preference of mine.

#2 Your choice of copper strength...32# or 45#...the most common long coppers on either, and THIS IS FOR BLOOD RUN DIAMETERS ONLY, which is smaller diameter than some others that are .004 thicker..that extra thickness changes the outcome...less feet of copper by a significant amount.

#3 Find your reel by looking at specs of yardage capacity of 30# monofiliment...NOT BRAID...mono!

The first two COMPONENTS are easy! You know what you want, and I already calculated the 100 foot equals how many cubic inches, and fractions thereof, for you! You will find the best matching reel last, or in the case of a reel you have already, how much it will hold in cubic inches as it pertains to 30# mono lineage, yardage to cubic inches volume...nuf of that, its confusing.

#3 requires you to do a simple math based on what I have already done for you on the 30# mono capacity...yes you can! You learned at least this much in school!

SCENARIO: The reel you are looking at has specs. THIS ONE says it will hold 330 yards of monofiliment...look up above, FOR REEL CUBIC INCH CAPACITY CALCULATIONS...57 YARDS OF 30# MONO fits in 1 cu in.

DIVIDE IT!...330 DIVIDED BY 57 EQUALS WHAT? The cubic inches capacity of the reel. It's 5.78 cubic inches! Write it down! Easy right? WITH A CALCULATOR... So how does that help you with finding out if that reel will accomodate your other components, which is, the backing and the copper?...simple math again, using my already calculated cubic inch capacities of line and wire ABOVE.

Let's see, say you know you want a safety net of 900 feet of 50 lb power pro. How much will the backing take away from the capacity of that reel you're looking at? Up above again! 370 feet fits in a cubic inch, you have all 5.78 cubic inches YOU FIGURED OUT ALREADY ( wrote it down right?) on this reel at your disposal for the base of backing. You want 900 feet. Divide it! 900 divided by 370 equals what? The cubic inch space needed off the reel capacity..(2.43 FOR THE BACKING)... how much is left? Will it fit 600 feet of 45# blood run copper? Lets see! Subtract the backing!

THIS REEL has 5.78 cubic inches to start, minus 2.43 for backing..It leaves 3.35 cubic inches for copper 45#...well, already you can see that 600 feet won't fit since only 77 feet will fit in 1 cubic inch. (77 X 3.35 is only 258 feet!) Its gonna take a much bigger reel and you only have 3.35 left, so its good for a 250 copper if you were looking for that. How do you know how big a reel you will need!...Simple math again...I wonder how much space 600 feet of 45# copper will need? Division again. 600 divided by 77 is what? You are figuring out how many cubic inches 600 feet of copper 45# takes up! It comes out to 7.79 cubic inches to fit that much copper. KEEP LOOKING FOR A LARGER REEL! It said 330 Yards, you need one for your backing and copper space in total of 2.43 plus 7.79. That's a reel with yardage specs of 30# mono large enough to hold 10.22 cubic inches of THAT SIZE mono line. What reel has that much room?

Use the 57 yards per cubic inches from above and multiply it by 10.22 (57 X 10.22) equals 582.5 yard capacity. If the reel has 580 or more yards capacity listed for 30# mono, then it's large enough to fit 900 feet of 50lb backing with 600 feet of 45# copper from Blood Run. TIGHT! These are all are full reel capacity calculations. Advantage of line retrieve rate!

SIMPLIFIED EVEN MORE HERE BELOW...( for those of you who KNOW the answer is 14 )LOL!

1st Choose your size of backing and the copper.

For the backing section, (I do this first since it is the space you hold in reserve (for deployment methods and fish running off drag, etc., and not part of the copper depth management plan you have in mind) you add the space the copper takes last so you know the size reel you need for all things complete. You want 900 feet backing? Multiply corresponding cubic inches (IT'S UP ABOVE) for 100 feet by 9, you want 450 feet? Multiply corresponding cubic inches for 100 feet (LOOK UP TOP AGAIN) by 4.5, and so on. This will be your base of backing volume (in choosen pound test) on the reel. SAVE IT IN MEMORY OR WRITE IT DOWN. You will add it to the copper sections requirement of cubic inches that you will do next.

EXAMPLE: REFER FROM UP ABOVE TOP^^^ (450 FEET) 50# POWER PRO BRAID .27 cu in X 4.5 = 1.2 CUBIC INCHES ROUNDED

30# POWER PRO BRAID .15 cu in x 4.5 = 0.7 CUBIC INCHES ROUNDED

900 feet is just .27 X 9 for 50#/ or .15 X 9 for 30# backing (2.43 and 1.35 total cubic inch for backing, respectively) as you can see, there is significant space advantage to using 30# backing on any reel.

For the copper section, choose one STRENGTH or the other (you can compare them easily) (32# or 45#) and multiply the cubic inches IT corresponds to (IT'S UP ABOVE ^^^) by 1 up to 6 for 100 up to 600 foot sections OF COPPER. 1.5 up to 6.5 for sections of 150 feet up to 650 feet OF COPPER and so on. This will be the volume that your choosen "depth management section" copper size and length will take on the reel.

EXAMPLE USEING THE REFERENCE FROM ABOVE^^^UP TOP!

600 feet of 45# copper 1.3 cu in X 6 and that is 7.8 CUBIC INCHES rounded

600 feet of 32# copper 1.07 cu in X 6 and that is 6.4 CUBIC INCHES rounded

Again, as you can see, there is significant space saving with 32# copper over 45#. You can use a much smaller reel. Combined with 30# backing, you can use the smallest reel than 50/45 combo. HOWEVER, EVERYONE HAS THEIR PREFERENCE OF COPPER POUNDAGE, I USE EACH ON MY BOAT WITHOUT PREJUDICE! other reasons apply that involve more scientific SWAG estimates on my behalf. LOL!

THE LAST PART (this is where you spend money on the big new shiny reel!)... is this part easy?

Just divide the reel capacity, found from the specs, on the packing box, the reel, or online, for 30 pound mono by 57. You now have the cubic inch space needed for the backing and the copper of your choosen setup.

IF YOU CAME UP WITH 10.22, A REEL YARDAGE CAPACITY OF OVER 580 FOR 30# MONO, YOU ARE GOOD TO GO WITH EITHER SIZE WIRE AND 900 FEET OF 50 LB BACKING. 45# copper being tight, 32# lots of room to spare, or spool on another couple hundred or so if ya feel like having your left arm bicep way larger than right arm...LOL!

IF YOU CAME UP WITH 14, YOU NEED TO MOVE TO GLOUCESTER, MA. AND FIND THE GRAND BANKS FLEET! WE'RE ON, WE'RE ON, THAT'S A FISH'... THAT'S A SCREAMAHH! FISH ON DAVE MARCIANO and "HARD MERCHANDISE"!

MARK

holy crap, you must be bored as hell.....

[woodsnwater517]

So according to these calculations an okuma convector 55 with 520 yard capacity is 9.122 cu in. With 500 feet of 45 lb copper being 6.5 cu in and 970 feet of 50 lb braid being 2.62 a FULL reel should fit this. Does anybody run 500 feet of 45 lb and 900+ feet of braid on a cv-55l? Everyone seems to say 400-450 copper is max for this reel. Seems even if you dropped 200 feet of braid to safely spare .54 cu in on the reel and still had 700 feet of backer you might be safe? I'm not sure if I have been lucky but I've never had a fish take more than 350-400 feet of line in the lake. Thanks for any input on this.

[Paul Czarnecki]

So according to these calculations an okuma convector 55 with 520 yard capacity is 9.122 cu in. With 500 feet of 45 lb copper being 6.5 cu in and 970 feet of 50 lb braid being 2.62 a FULL reel should fit this. Does anybody run 500 feet of 45 lb and 900+ feet of braid on a cv-55l? Everyone seems to say 400-450 copper is max for this reel. Seems even if you dropped 200 feet of braid to safely spare .54 cu in on the reel and still had 700 feet of backer you might be safe? I'm not sure if I have been lucky but I've never had a fish take more than 350-400 feet of line in the lake. Thanks for any input on this.

Some people run REALLY loose drags. [emoji16]

[skipper19]

So according to these calculations an okuma convector 55 with 520 yard capacity is 9.122 cu in. With 500 feet of 45 lb copper being 6.5 cu in and 970 feet of 50 lb braid being 2.62 a FULL reel should fit this. Does anybody run 500 feet of 45 lb and 900+ feet of braid on a cv-55l? Everyone seems to say 400-450 copper is max for this reel. Seems even if you dropped 200 feet of braid to safely spare .54 cu in on the reel and still had 700 feet of backer you might be safe? I'm not sure if I have been lucky but I've never had a fish take more than 350-400 feet of line in the lake. Thanks for any input on this.

You are correct, and your calculations are spot on. As I pointed out earlier, and Paul has demonstrated, that setup will be tight. Therefore Paul's assumption is evidently correct, so it is imperative to run a tight spool and mind the retrieve carefully. Dropping The braid to 30# would be a safe fill for 900 feet and have plenty room for a wind on 30# flouro leader of about 30 feet.

[Legacy]

So according to these calculations an okuma convector 55 with 520 yard capacity is 9.122 cu in. With 500 feet of 45 lb copper being 6.5 cu in and 970 feet of 50 lb braid being 2.62 a FULL reel should fit this. Does anybody run 500 feet of 45 lb and 900+ feet of braid on a cv-55l? Everyone seems to say 400-450 copper is max for this reel. Seems even if you dropped 200 feet of braid to safely spare .54 cu in on the reel and still had 700 feet of backer you might be safe? I'm not sure if I have been lucky but I've never had a fish take more than 350-400 feet of line in the lake. Thanks for any input on this.

 

An Okuma 55 spooled with 500' of 45# copper along with a leader will only have the remaining capacity to spool on 100' of braid backer. I have done and run it (as a chute rod) and it is not something i would suggest.

[woodsnwater517]

So are you saying the cubic inch capacity of the reel does not play out correctly? I have fished copper many times in the past but am just now setting up some reels of my own and want to fully understand before spooling. For there to be 870 feet of backing difference between what theoretically and actually fits is a massive amount.

[Legacy]

So are you saying the cubic inch capacity of the reel does not play out correctly? I have fished copper many times in the past but am just now setting up some reels of my own and want to fully understand before spooling. For there to be 870 feet of backing difference between what theoretically and actually fits is a massive amount.

 

Heres a link to copper spooling and Okuma reels...

http://www.lakeontariounited.com/fishing-hunting/topic/52303-okuma-reels-copper-spooling-chart/

[Silver Fox]

Oh my, their goes my head again...

[ontherise]

🤔

[skipper19]

Edited February 18, 2016 by skipper19

[ifishy]

how did you determine how much volume a given leangth of line requires? was it by mass and density or did you do a displacement experiment or did you test it out?  I only ask because if you did a displacement or if you used mass and density did you factor in the filling efficency of the line? round line does not perfectly fill space on a spool there is a protion of empty space as the line layers over itself. if this isnt taken into account than the reel would hold less than the given math suggests.  

[Sanitarium]

thats what i was thinking ifishy.... 30# mono lays tighter than 45# copper. more voids in the overlay. etc.

maybe there is an equation for that too! lol

[skipper19]

how did you determine how much volume a given leangth of line requires? was it by mass and density or did you do a displacement experiment or did you test it out?  I only ask because if you did a displacement or if you used mass and density did you factor in the filling efficency of the line? round line does not perfectly fill space on a spool there is a protion of empty space as the line layers over itself. if this isnt taken into account than the reel would hold less than the given math suggests.  

It's not done on displacement, nor as an experiment. As the line is laying dry, in a round shape, on the reel spool nearly the same as it would lay in a cube of 1 inch except for cross wrapping. Visualize a transparent cube 1 inch square. Cut the line into one inch sections and pack it dry into the cube across in one direction. A reel does this similarly, as it spools line on with the line guide in one direction with occasional cross wrapping.

The cube now contains row after row of 1 inch sections layered across all the way vertically to the top. The line has a round thickness measured in thousands of an inch at its 180 degree axis. As it lays next to each other, it takes that space as mass volume with air displacement only. The reel also only has air displacement. If we were talking about water displacement on only one and not the other, then there would be an error in volume displacement.

When the width of the 1 inch cube has 1000 thousanths across and in depth, and it can be divided by the number of strands 1 inch long by its thickness in thousanths of an inch. A particular line that has a thickness of .022 would take it's width from the thousanths in the 1 inch cube across and, as each layer comes on top it would take .022 from the depth. You only then need to know how many strands 1 inch long can fit the cube vertically and horizontally.

1000 being one as a unit of an inch, you divide 1 inch by .022 and get 45.4545 rounded to 45.46 and for the volume in a cubic inch you square that figure.

45.46 (horizontal) X 45.46 (vertical) and get 2066.6116 rounded to 2067 linear inches in a cubic inch volume. divided by 12 inches in a foot and you get 172.25 feet rounded up to the next whole number to 173 feet that will fill a cubic inch.

That value can be used to figure the volume of a reel with a linear spec from the factory in yards of 30 lb monofilament because .022 thickness of line is the 30 lb. monofilament. The other lines of different thickness can now be used in the same way to determine how much will fill that spec.

This has not failed me yet in 5 reels calculated the same way. Even for hybrid mono/braid backing and copper on top. Three different line types and it still filled the reel perfectly!

  Now I need a drink.....  

[skipper19]

thats what i was thinking ifishy.... 30# mono lays tighter than 45# copper. more voids in the overlay. etc.

maybe there is an equation for that too! lol

It's not like splitting hairs on this. even if you couldn't fit the 1 inch strands in the cube 45.46 times and lacked 1 or two horizontally or vertically it would only change the length by inches. even if you missed 30 strands it would only be 30 inches. Don't  over think the volume thing. It's converting linear inches...just inches into the cubic inch. The reel has already been tested to hold the 30 lb mono by the factory and that is in yards. if it holds 450 yards that spool has a specific volume to do that. It doesn't change, even if you put 45 lb copper or 60 lb copper on it. It just fits less of that because the line is thicker, that's all. It's round and it's still round when you put it in a cube, with the same amount of air space around it no matter how it lays...UNLESS you spool it loose!

Wanna have a drink with me! LOL!

[Sk8man]

In offering the spreadsheet Mark has presented a way to figure things out in a thoughtful rational way as contrasted with the pure "guesstimation" and trial and error methods many of us have been using right along and I for one commend him for taking the time to do so. There can be many variables dealing with this stuff that no matter how conscientious someone is in figuring there will always be some things that come into play which can affect results. One of the things I discovered long ago in dealing with ss wire line is that it makes a difference whether you start out putting it on the spool straight with the level wind vs. starting randomly on the spool. Possibly things like letting your wife apply the tension to the spools vs. using a line minder type input device could make a difference as well . The assumption of .22 for the 30 lb test  might be a potential factor because manufacturers may use different processes to make the line some giving potentially smaller or larger diameters for their particular 30 lb mono. The point is that these calculations and the spreadsheet are meant to help in the "estimation" process and rather than looking at the spool of copper and of backing and saying " Geez maybe all this s#$%t will fit"  it is instead a starting point to get a good idea closer to the result you might want. Using 65 lb braid or 30 lb  is going to give radically different result on how much copper will go on a reel and deciding on how much backing you actually NEED will also come into play. For my Finger Lakes setups I can get away with 450 ft of 30 lb braid backing without problems running a 300 down the chute but on Lake O I have a different setup with 900 ft of backing for the same 300 ft of copper and it is very important whether you intend to run the setups off boards, what type of boards or as "chute" rods as the amount of line you HAVE to let out is different.

[The Scottsman]

WTF..........I'm dizzy after reading that.                        Peeps, just read below..........

 

You can check out our site in the next couple of weeks as we are going to be republishing some reel fill data that we previously put together and including some new numbers as well.   Straight mono backer, and mono/braid hybrid system.    

 

Might get some leadcore numbers in there also both with mono and braid backer.

 

http://bloodruntackle.com/reel-fill/

[skipper19]

WTF..........I'm dizzy after reading that.                        Peeps, just read below..........

Not everything is on that list. If you would care to use my spread sheet you can put any reel you want on it and find any combination of lines you would like. I don't expect anybody to do the thinking on this. I just want to help if I can. try it, if it doesn't apply to what you want to set up, then go to somebody's list...they might not have your reel listed though.

Mark

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WSAJpEtBJFazV4so1erVYC1U23IV0tcZT31tmtrfM54/edit?usp=sharing

This a link to a workable spread sheet. just add the data you want to the fields and see if it might help with a reel and a line combo want.

[The Scottsman]

 That's ok,.....................I like to K.I.S.S.     

 

Not everything is on that list. If you would care to use my spread sheet you can put any reel you want on it and find any combination of lines you would like. I don't expect anybody to do the thinking on this. I just want to help if I can. try it, if it doesn't apply to what you want to set up, then go to somebody's list...they might not have your reel listed though.

Mark

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WSAJpEtBJFazV4so1erVYC1U23IV0tcZT31tmtrfM54/edit?usp=sharing

This a link to a workable spread sheet. just add the data you want to the fields and see if it might help with a reel and a line combo want.

[Buckmaster7600]

I've done a lot of reading on here but this is one of my first posts. I just want to say thanks! This formula was a big help in getting my first coppers set up. It worked perfect for me. I didn't need it to the inch I measured the distances with a range finder and everything fit better than I would have guessed. Thanks again!

[skipper19]

I've done a lot of reading on here but this is one of my first posts. I just want to say thanks! This formula was a big help in getting my first coppers set up. It worked perfect for me. I didn't need it to the inch I measured the distances with a range finder and everything fit better than I would have guessed. Thanks again!

That's great! You are welcome, glad it is useful to you. The range finder trick is fast and easy if you have the space.

[skipper19]

When I get time, soon I'll put monofilament backing calculation in the spreadsheet and a end result for hybrid reel fill for those who want to spool on braid, mono, and copper. That system is useful to fill large capacity reels with less expensive mono over a braid base. Some advantages are for cost, release attachment, shock absorber qualities (stretch), and flea reduction on certain applications of down rigging.