Line and tackle weights

[dingbat]

We where talking the other night at our club meeting and line strength came up in the discussions. To make a long story short, we came to the conclusion that most people fish tackle that are far too heavy for the size of fish they are targeting. Growing up fishing from a river bank fishermen I can understand the need to use heavier lines when fishing a river. What I don't understand is why people fish so heavy in a lake or from a boat.

When I started surfing I used the same fish to line ratio theory I did on the river. Then one day I was invited to fish with a well known surfing angling guide and author. His first comment to me as why are you using such heavy line? At the time I was using #25 mono. He had me tie the end of my line to the bumper of the truck and take 50 steps back then try to break the line off the truck.

Well, I couldn't do it. Not even close. Then he asked me if I was planning on catching something bigger than his truck. Well…no. Then why do you need a line that heavy? All it does in takes up space on the spool and cuts your casting distance in half. He went back to his truck and handed me a spool of #14 mono. I spooled my reel with the line and the rest is history.

For me, a fish to line weight ratio of 2-3:1 is the norm and I go as high as 5:1 in some applications. What is your typical fish to line weight ratio and why do you fish that particular line weight / tackle in that application?

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Line and tackle weights

I use 80 lb. Power Pro braid for Bluegill... should I go a little lighter?

 

[Teamster]

Re: Line and tackle weights

It all depends on what I am doing,...

On my trolling setups I start with 20 pound mono backing because it takes up space, Then I have 100 yards of 40 pound Fireline, Then I have a 20 foot leader of 10 pound mono leader,..

The only reason I run 40 pound fireline is that it's diameter matches the line diameter used it the trolling bible for dive curves, Thus I can very closely match the bible,...

I could just spool up with 10 pound mono but I don't like to clip inline planer boards to the mono because eventually you'll have line failure because you'll find yourself often clipping to the same spots,..

This way I only have to replace the 20 foot leader a few times a year,.

 

[foodfisher]

Re: Line and tackle weights

For me it's about casting in the surf. 10# of line test per 1 oz. weight. I don't watch my terminal tackle flying off to Hawaii anymore. Lake or boat, I'd match the expected catch lb. for lb.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Line and tackle weights

I don't watch my terminal tackle flying off to Hawaii anymore.

I absolutrly hate it when that happens!!!


I mainly troll for Crappie and match my line to my jig hook. I use the Eagle Claw 570 and 575 jig hooks that bend instead of breaking. 8 lb. test will bend the hook when it snags on structure and I get my jig back (most of the time) to be bent back into shape and used again.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: Line and tackle weights

I think too it depends on the structure you're fishing. If you fish the rock piles with braided line, it tends to fray about 1 - 2' from the lure after a while. Which will give you less line strength. I use 65# braid for muskies. Has a mono dia. of 17#. With a lot of the new lines you can go a little heavier without sacrificing diameter...... I'm throwing approx. 2 - 6oz lures....

 

[JEBar]

Re: Line and tackle weights

for most fresh water fishing I use 10 lb Trilene XL .... if I've figured out how to post a picture in this forum, below is a 46" estimated 14+ lb Northern that I caught a few weeks ago while fishing in eastern South Dakota

Jim

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: Line and tackle weights

46"/14#? Something doesn't sound right. A 42" is approx. 20#'s. 36"?

 

[catfishcarl99]

Re: Line and tackle weights

i use 30 lb mono on my channel cat reels and 50lb on reels ment for flatheads blues. when moby bites i dont want to loose him. 10 lb on all others for the most. bass ect... got 4 lb on the panfish reels.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Line and tackle weights

when moby bites i dont want to loose him.

Exactly! I've lost several good sized fish over the past year due to the line breaking...... And,,,, I'm fishing with 40# and 50# mono Most of this is due to the fish getting into cover and sawing me off, but I've also had a couple over the years that were in open water and the broken line came up cut clean, like the fish whipped out a pocket knife and let himself go. These were stripers that have a sharp gill plate and I suspect that's what cut the line with the open water fish.

The only time I downsize line is while casting lures with a surf rod, but that's only dropping to 25# mono. Going with lighter line would be like going to a gun fight with a butter knife in our rock infested waters.

Heck, even if I'm catching 1-2# stocker trout I'll use 4-6# mono.

I'm not saying that big fish can't be landed on light line, but I'm not experimenting with that...

 

[catfishcarl99]

Re: Line and tackle weights

exactly! I've lost several good sized fish over the past year due to the line breaking...... And,,,, i'm fishing with 40# and 50# mono Most of this is due to the fish getting into cover and sawing me off, but i've also had a couple over the years that were in open water and the broken line came up cut clean, like the fish whipped out a pocket knife and let himself go. These were stripers that have a sharp gill plate and i suspect that's what cut the line with the open water fish.

The only time i downsize line is while casting lures with a surf rod, but that's only dropping to 25# mono. Going with lighter line would be like going to a gun fight with a butter knife in our rock infested waters.

Heck, even if i'm catching 1-2# stocker trout i'll use 4-6# mono.

I'm not saying that big fish can't be landed on light line, but i'm not experimenting with that...

agreed 100%

i had what i suspect was a flathead on last sunday 138 miles from home down in southern il at carlyle lake at a gathering from another forum and battled the fish hooked on a circle using bluegill heads and breast area cut from 8" fillet sized gills on my 50lb line. Hooked and battled the beast for 15 min up to the boat and ended up loosing him from the hook popping loose or ripping out. Using a abu 6500cl3 on a catfish ugly. Heartbreaking loosing something like that that was giving a 270 lb 37 year old a run for his money. Never expected hooking up with something that big sun 3pm in the afternoon. But you never know. I get the idea of the op's post. But i aint downsizing. Ya never know when your name could be up for a state record. And fighting a 80 lb flathead on 20 lb test. Aint really my idea of a good time. If you like dancing on pins and needles go for it. Not me.

 

[Jlawsen]

Re: Line and tackle weights

Dingbat - I've recently gotten into ultra-light fishing. In that art the skill is in tiring out the fish. Having fought a 500lb Blue off the coast of Maui I understand that line size needs to be matched to the game. There's no question about that but putting a 4-5 lb Eagle Lake Lahontan Cuthroat on a rod that feels like a buggy whip and 6 lb test can mean a memorable moment.

If the name of the game is getting them onboard quick and not fouling others lines then you have to go bigger. River fishing with guy's lined up on the bank and a run-away Steelie or King will cause you to lose potential fishing friends in a heartbeat. Turning a fish requires a good hookup and strong abrasion resistant line. My point is that there are a lot more reasons for using a heavier line than just fish weight.

Go light when you can but know when your shouldn't is what I think is the best guideline to follow.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Line and tackle weights

For me it's about casting in the surf. 10# of line test per 1 oz. weight. I don't watch my terminal tackle flying off to Hawaii anymore. Lake or boat, I'd match the expected catch lb. for lb.

I?m an avoid surf caster and tournament team fisherman. I cast up to 10 oz using #14 Sufix Titanium as my running line. My largest fish to date is a #80+ Red Drum with many fish in the mid to upper 50 lb range. Proof that there no need for anything heavier than #20 test in the surf unless your going for something bigger. Having surf fished the West Coast a couple of times, unfortuntaly for you and that shouldn?t be a concern:facepalm:

Exactly! I've lost several good sized fish over the past year due to the line breaking...... And,,,, I'm fishing with 40# and 50# mono Most of this is due to the fish getting into cover and sawing me off, but I've also had a couple over the years that were in open water and the broken line came up cut clean, like the fish whipped out a pocket knife and let himself go.

Fishing Striper with #40 and #50 line is nutz. Absolutely no need for tackle that heavy. My buddies would call me out for fishing that heavy of line.

We target #20-30 Stripers with #10 braid. In the Spring, maybe bump up #15 braid when the #50+ fish are here. Even trolling for trophy in the winter when there is the distinct possibility that you hookup with two fish at a time, I use #65 braid to match #30 mono diameter, not strength.

We use those #50 line chasing #200+ Blue and Yellow fin tuna. Standard White Marlin tackle is #20 test. A good friend of mine caught a #150+ bluefin tuna on a 10 wgt. fly rod 3 years ago so heavy tackle certainly isn't require to be sucessful.

With all do respect, I suspect that freshwater guys fish a lot heaver than the saltwater guys because of a lack of exposure and skill. In salt water it doesn?t matter how heavy you fish, you?re going to show up to a gun fight with a knife sooner than later. It?s a fact of life for a saltwater fisherman and the reason I gave up freshwater fishing long, long ago. A big time fish can show up at anytime. All you can do is fish the best equipment you can afford and hope your angling skills are up to the task. For freshwater angles this may be a once or twice in a lifetime event. For the saltwater angler, it a once or twice a year event.

 

[Jlawsen]

Re: Line and tackle weights

Dingbat, I'm in the same club.. I wasn't always when I was first learning the ropes. My Dad caught a lot of fish and taught me how to play the game but he was adament about heavy lines and stiff rods. Of course there was more than once that he ripped the lips right off the fish setting the hook. Oh yeah he was one of those... LOL.. Over the years I've learned that if you can just calm down and have fun with the fish you can use a lot lighter line and learn to feel everything that fish is doing.

Braided lines have finally matured and we no longer need the heavy lines to fish big fast running rivers like we have here in Northern California, Oregon and Washington. They simply don't get damaged like they used to. Stripers on 50# is simply a thing of the past. I even go at em with the ultralight when my testosterone level is high. Catching 20 stripers in a day isn't my goal anymore. Getting one or two nice ones on board with an ultra light flat out wears me out and makes my day at the same time. Seriously, I'm impressed with what your doing in the surf. After all, what's more impressive, 20 fish caught on telephone poles with trailer winches and 2000lb steel cable or 2 big fish caught on a buggy whip with a bobbin of thread looking reel. I get a lot more "Holy Currrap"s when I walk away with my fish and my ultra light and a big ear to ear grin.

 

[JEBar]

Re: Line and tackle weights

My point is that there are a lot more reasons for using a heavier line than just fish weight.

guess that pretty well sums it up for me .... over the years of structure fishing for bass, I progressively moved to higher rated lines .... line making technology progressed and they were able to make heavier ratings in thiner lines .... consequently, I was able to still use a heavy line but one that wasn't anywhere near as thick .... when he concept of light lines and playing the fish came up, my attitude was and for a large part still is, play with them when you get them into he boat .... I guess teaching old dogs new tricks might well still be somewhat tough to do

Jim

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Line and tackle weights

Fishing Striper with #40 and #50 line is nutz. Absolutely no need for tackle that heavy. My buddies would call me out for fishing that heavy of line.

We target #20-30 Stripers with #10 braid. In the Spring, maybe bump up #15 braid when the #50+ fish are here. Even trolling for trophy in the winter when there is the distinct possibility that you hookup with two fish at a time, I use #65 braid to match #30 mono diameter, not strength.

LOL, I used to have a buddy who "used to say" I can land any fish out here on 17# test... After loosing a bunch of tackle and a bunch of nice fish, he bumped up his line to 25# (which I thought was still, too weak). I'm guessing you don't run into many submerged trees and reefs out where you are fishing, if you did, it would be heart-break city fishing 10-15# braid. The trolling drill out here is, when you get a strike (and you are over cover), motor to open water so the fish can't dive into the trees and rocks. Without heavy line and a heavy drag, the fish would just be stripping drag all the way back to their hide-out.

Heck, I've even hand a big striper hang me up in a submerged tree in 80' of water, 1/4 mile from shore... The lure was floating way back behind the boat when it hit, then the fish dove deep.

This year I've been hung up and busted off several times with the 40-50# mono, smart fish knew where their hide-out was....

 

[Jlawsen]

Re: Line and tackle weights

Heck, I've even hand a big striper hang me up in a submerged tree in 80' of water, 1/4 mile from shore... The lure was floating way back behind the boat when it hit, then dove deep.

I'm sure you already know this but if you just keep tension on him with the rod tip most of the time they'll turn and come back out the same way they went in. I've done it up at our local lake where about 90% of the trees were left in the lake when they filled it. If a fish heads toward the shore on that lake it's almost certain he's headed for the trees.

 

[Don Dickinson]

Re: Line and tackle weights

I don't have a problem fishing 6lb for most fish (12lb in cover), HOWEVER, if i'm fishing for musky (for example) - a fish that i will release 100% of the time, i always go with heavier gear. it is not particularly hard to catch big fish on say 12lb mono (done that by accidentally catching them while fishing bass), BUT it is way, way harder on the fish. the fight on the lighter gear really wears out the fish. when my goal is to release big fish, i always use heavy gear (80lb powerpro is my standard musky line).

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Line and tackle weights

I'm sure you already know this but if you just keep tension on him with the rod tip most of the time they'll turn and come back out the same way they went in.

I've tried that before, but I've never had a big striper come out. I sat on one for easily 1/2 hour, maybe an hour, and it wouldn't budge.

 

[Jlawsen]

Re: Line and tackle weights

I've tried that before, but I've never had a big striper come out. I sat on one for easily 1/2 hour, maybe an hour, and it wouldn't budge.

"On any given day" LOL.. That's why we love fishing so much, you just never know what to expect. Just when you think you have it figured out, you get blown out of the water.