Blackfish leader shy?

[bulletbob]

I was reading the reports here and was drawn to the words of capt Bobby from the OE.. He stated in his report that the guys that did best on a recent tog trip used light leaders... In all the years I have been blackfishing that was something I had never heard. I was under the impression from years of fishing articles, years of fishing with great captains and great tog fishermen as well as personal experience that blackfish pretty much disregarded the leader.. I mean after all, they bite barnacles and mussles off of tangled wreckage, cables, and root small crabs from jumbled rocks covered in old fishing line.... I remember the days when blackfish hooks came with leaders made from tarred Cuttyhunk, and they worked great..

Has anyone found better fishing for tog when fishing light leaders?

I have used 50 Lb mono for years for my bottom rigs, including tog, but Capt Bobbys statement has me thinking about going to 30 lb Flouro... I am out of the loop being so far away, and the fishing has changed a lot since I left NJ.. The pressure is relentless compared to what I knew 25 years ago.
Maybe thats part of the reason why my bottom fishing trips past few years have been pretty uneven.. Never really thought that a mono leader would spook bottom fish, but I certainly would never argue with a very good head boat skipper. He sees more blackfish caught in one good day, than I have caught in my entire life.. I would love to hear some opinions /experiences... bob

[kmaty]

Yesmostly the leader going to hook im a youngin when it comes to blackfish as ive only been fishing hard for them say for the past 5yrs and i have experienced this a handfull of time where we went down to like 15lb floro...you may loose more hooks but if thats what makes you hook fish or get bites thats what i will do. works for all species really. If i go through a few patterns while striper fishing next thing i do is drop leader if nothing again drop it again it can make a huge difference when the tough times are upon you!

[Drifting and Dreaming]

It matters at times... but I believe the bait being used (i.e. white vs green crabs, etc.) plays a bigger role... I would hate to lose a pool fish bc I was using a lite leader.

[Ismellfishy]

I would NEVER go below #30 in the ocean. If I want light tackle togs ill hit the canal. However, on days when the bite is very sluggish amd there are only a few guys catching, pay attention to what theyre doing. I personally had a monster break off on #40 and was ripping a locked drag. This was in my early blackfishing, only been at it 6yrs, but after then I upgraded verything to #60 mono for my leaders and top shot. I have been out on slow days but it was slow for everyone. There are a lot of things I would change before I downgraded my leader. Id change bait, how I hook the bait, how I cut the bait, my hooks, my weight, my rod, my shoes, my boxers, etc... Before I drop down in leader size cause whenthat JUMBO comes along I want to be sure I have enough juice to bring him up. Im not saying it wont make a difference but FOR ME, I will stick to the big stuff. Getting caught with leader too light is like getting caught with your pants down running backwards through a cactus farm!!

[frugalfisherman]

Don't matter what leader your using if the captain is putting a select group over a small piece.

[Bobby Kojak]

It's my opinion that if you use a light leader(below 30lb) you'll probably only bring in the little ones. First of all it's also my opinion that flourocarbon leader material is a must and that a minimum of 40 lb leaders are a must. If you think that a 15 lb leader will bring in that 20 plus pounder we all dream about, then you really are dreaming.........