Blackfish leader shy?

[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.........

[Joey Dah Fish]

Been fishing all my life. One thing I know for sure. When the bite it difficult you pull out all the stops. I certainly have seen line shy fish no matter what the species .

[Reelron]

I'm no expert my any means but I know I would rather lose the bite of smaller fish than lose a big one to a broken leader. Last year I had a slob break my 40# top shot because I panicked and slid my drag up. I hear about that, not only from the Captain, but also from guys I don't even know.

The last two days I fished on a non-sponsor the mate and Captain were talking about their 25# rigs. I was just shaking my head. Captain said something like, it's cheaper to lose a hook than a sinker and a hook? I just kept using my 50# rigs. Caught 5 fish on thurs. & 6 only Friday. (No one else had a limit) Had plenty of shorts to toss back too. And only lost 3 rigs to the bottom.

Thursday I watched 3 fish break off at the hook and Friday a bigger fish was lost with the hook breaking off.