Put as much backing on, as your reel will allow, and still enable you to get the fly line on. As far as I am concerned this would apply to any species, and any reel you may use. (fill the spool up)
As far as I'm concerned there was nothing wrong with the post you made and it was great to see the artistry of a young person being displayed. To answer your question, it is not the first time a thread has disappeared on this forum. Back in Sept. the thread What Are You Tying 2014 Edition disappeared with no credible reason given. A lot of excellent content by many members was lost. The thread has since been restarted. I would restart yours and see what happens.