fly fishing tackle

Question
I stumbled upon the AllExperts site trying to find out how to put fly fishing gear together.  I bought a kit for my youngest son (a Marine, on his way home from Iraq in January).  He told me he's going to take up fly fishing as a hobby when he returns.  Anyway, I've got an empty reel, some length of yellow plastic line (with a tag that says "this end to reel"), a 100-yd spool of white "fly line backing" (a thin braided thread), and 7-1/2 feet of freshwater tapered leader.  I'm sure these are supposed to go together in some specific order, but I'm somewhat clueless.  I haven't found anything on the Internet that gives me the clear instructions I need.  Can you help?  Thank you.

Answer
I apologize for the delay, I will answer your question. The backing is the base for your fly line and it also serves as a back up to the fly line in the event a larger fish is hooked and takes a long run. Once the backing is on the reel, you will then attach the fly line (the yellow plastic line) to the backing and end with the leader attached to the fly line. Try this link for an explanation of the types of knots used to attach the different components listed above.

I hope this helps,
Gary


http://www.graysofkilsyth.com/fishing-knots.htm