Quote:
Originally Posted by MVP
Many of the better tog fisherman and Pin hookers use mono. Most tog fisherman fish a tight lines and graphite rods. When you add braid to the equation, you now have no stretch. Not a good thing. In reality everyone talks about I want my rod to be super sensitive, as I want to feel every little bite. Well guess what to much sensitivity in my opinion is a bad thing. if you can feel everything the fish can also feel the same thing. When he feels that resistance being you have no stretch or belly in the line he will back off your bait most of the times and not finish off the crab or give you the right bite to swing at unless they are heavy on the chew. If fishing braid you need to fish it properly and add some top shot of mono I like about 18-20 ft. The reason for using such a long leader is that monofilament is thicker in diameter and also has more buoyancy than braid, so it creates a belly in line. I also like fishing a more parabolic rod when fishing braid to give me some extra cushion when that big fish starts bouncing. you will loose allot less big fish from pulling hooks by fishing with braid and fast action rods if you fish it in this manner listed above.
When fishing straight mono a medium to fast rod that shuts off mid way is probably is better suited for mono fishing as the line provides the cushion you are looking for.
Fishing with a belly in your line causes you to fish with slack in your line.
While slack line probably goes against everything you’ve read that says fish with tight lines, my experience has shown that a belly in the line means less resistance in the line, so the fish does not feel the resistance and will not back off the crab and give you something to swing at. On certain days, blackfish shy away from resistance in the line, and the bite is touchy. That is when those guys that fish straight mono seem to catch while others are just stroking it. Aslo on bad weather days with big seas I have seen the mono guys outfish the braid guys as they are able to keep their sinkers from bouncing all over the place.
My preference is 50 pound braid with 20 ft 50lb mono shock leader where I then tie my rig of preference on my Austrailian old school fiberglass rod.
I have gone back to a mono set up on occasions in the last 2 years. I am not as confident as I am with my set up above but have put extra fish in the box with mono under certain conditions. Fished one day last year on 17 in some crappy conditions with my buddy. We both fished our regular braid setups and he dead sticked his mono rod. We both caught OK that day but the deadstick mono rod outfished us both.
There is really no right or wrong answer to many of these questions. What is the best rod, braid, mono, rig, size hook, size braid, size mono for blackfishing. Talk to ten guys and you will get ten different answers. What it comes down to is being confident in your setup and understanding the bite and when to swing. Most guys swing way to much. It is not by accident that guys that put the better catches together and catch the bigger fish have confidence in their setups and can interpret what is going on with their tackle and have developed the touch to swing on the right bite. This is not something you can learn by reading an article or post. It comes down to putting your time in at the rail and keeping an open mind and watching what the guys are doing on a specific day. Once you think you have it all figured out and you think you are the Man the Buck Tooth Bandit will totally change thing on your next trip and put you to shame. That is just one reason that they keep us coming back and have us fishing in the middle of the winter in some pretty shitty conditions. The Challenge of figuring out the bite is what keeps us coming back for more punishment and new lessons to be learned.
With that being said Gerry you should stick to your day job and running fishing website and leave the catching to the 20% of fisherman that catch 80% of the Fish or even better ask the wife for a new set of golf clubs for Christmas lol.
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MVP, good post and lots of insight and opinion to consider there! Be it mono or braid you gotta feel and know the bite - yea when we figure that one out? Some times they just scratch and some times you just know! As said, in a heavier sea, the stretch in mono helps keep the sinker on the bottom - another topic of discussion. Also the stretch of mono may help in shallow water.I like the sensitivity and am mostly a braid guy, usually carrying three set ups with one being mono. I mostly fish 65 lb braid, with 15 ft 50lb hard mono top shot and use 40 lb pound flouro rigs and sometimes 50 and 60lb floro depending on the structure and depth. While the braid gives the sensitivity, the larger diameter (of the 65 lb vs less) has more resistance in the wind and current to help keep a slight belly in the line along with the 15 ft of mono. With these concerns a good pitch from the boat keeping a better outward angle has its benefits. I also think having a well balanced outfit helps. My combos are balanced and light enough that with my one hand under the reel, it rocks up and down with the boat. I will agree tog can be leader shy. Last year on a trip, and in very clean water, the capt of the boat was getting bit and I was not.I thought I just wasn't on good bottom He invited me to mug along side and still no bites. He was using 30lb mono and catching while I was using 50 lb fouro. I downsized only 10 lbs to 40 flouro and and kaboom!.... bites every drop. As you said every application has it day. When we all figure all this out, tides, temps, baits, depths, locations, tackle and.....and leaders we will no longer have the allure to be Togaholics!!
12-02-2014, 07:45 PM
Re: Blackfish leader shy?
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