Date: December 12, 2001
To: PFIC Message Board
From: caffeinehigh
Subject: line setup for sharks
So what's a good line setup for sharks?
Name: pierangler8787
Sliding sinker rig, or an 18-in. dropper loop 24 in. above the sinker tied directly to the line. Palomar the hook on.
Name: crazyguy
When I fish, I’ll use a rod with a high/low rig (Surf Rig). Although some might contend that if you hook a fish, the free hook or sinker might snag something, I haven’t lost a single ray or shark to a snag yet. For big sharks and rays, I like 25-30 pound line on my reel. The hooks can be from 1/0-6/0. I like to use 4/0 and 5/0 Octopus hooks by Gamakatsu. Strong hooks that hardly rust. And cut squid as bait. If you’re after big sharks such as 7-gill, leopards, and threshers, use a sliding set up with a wire rig. For bigger sharks, I like to use whole squid stuffed with a piece of anchovy or mackerel. If you happen to catch a croaker, fillet the sucker and cut the fillets into 1” wide by 3” long and use this as bait. I've caught smoothhounds and leopards using cut white croaker. It works as well as squid sometimes. Good luck
Name: Chum Buddy
I know that fluorocarbon is superior to mono against abrasion, visibility and has certain properties for why it can be stronger than mono altogether, but I think that the leader should be considerably stronger, i.e., 30-lb main line should have 40-lb leader and not 15-20lb (even if it is fluorocarbon).
Name: ORB
I’d agree the leader should be heavier than that. I use 40-60-lb wire leaders for sharks and rays myself, but you could use heavy mono/flouro 30-60-lb. 15-lb-20-lb seems too low for where I fish at least.
Name: gyozadude
Not if you use braid... With braid costing so much, I run lighter leaders than the braid test. That way, I get my line back if the fish runs. I have 30-50-lb braid on my reels, and for abrasion resistance, I go with uncoated 30-lb stainless wire leader. In a recent test, snapped the hook off the leader, as well as broke the plastic sinker slide and lost the sinker on a compound snag and got all my braid back, plus the main swivel! - Gyozadude
Name: chum buddy
Or if you fish rocks on light tackle. Yes, good point. I used to do that with my cheap mono when I fished in rocky environments with light tackle. Here’s why: I used to use 12-lb test on the main line and 20-lb on the leader for fishing rocky environments for calicos and cabezon. I now use the opposite and have the heavier line as my main and the weaker line for the leader. Now I don’t spend all day re-spooling line out on some jetty instead of fishing
The 20-lb test would normally be an overkill with my light tackle only being rated for 10-lb, but with rocks and weeds scratching and fraying the line that 20-lb test was more like 10-lb test. I also noticed that if I got a fish on when using a stronger leader that if the fish hugged the rocks or wrapped my line up in the rocks that my line would usually break above the swivel (leader).
Since the fish running me into the rocks accounted for only about 1/2 of the times I would get my line snapped, I started thinking more about the other 1/2 which involved no fish. The other 1/2 of the time my baited hook, sinker, or lure would get snagged, but since I had a stronger leader than the main line my line would, again, usually snap behind the leader. I soon realized that in this type of fishing it was not advantageous for me to have a stronger leader.
If fishing a high/low rig near rocks, than you can tie a swivel to the end of your main line (after the hook) and a weaker line attached to your sinker from the swivel. Adjust the amount of line used for your sinker depending on how far you want to fish from the bottom. More times than not, your sinker will get snagged and break off instead of your hook or main line and this should save you precious fishing time.
I use those rigs in rocky areas mainly when I fish light tackle. When using heavy tackle, I guess one could just try to muscle everything around with stronger line, but I think if the fish is big enough, you'll be screwed anyway and lose it all!
Name: ORB
Yep, 30-lb is still within the right range for leaders for sharks and rays, although that thin wire you were using did seem a little kink happy for my liking. Did you find a way around that yet?
Name: gyozadude
Kinks in steel leaders... I never figured out how to get rid of them, so I just avoid them in the first place when I tie them and if they kink, I cut and re-tie when I’m at home. Fisherman’s Warehouses sells 300 feet of uncoated leader in 30-lb class 0.015" diameter for $9.99. It was the last spool, so I'm not sure if it was a closeout. But the coated stuff looked like it was $20+ for that size. At the cheaper price, I can afford to re-tie more often.- Gyozadude
To: PFIC Message Board
From: caffeinehigh
Subject: line setup for sharks
So what's a good line setup for sharks?
Name: pierangler8787
Sliding sinker rig, or an 18-in. dropper loop 24 in. above the sinker tied directly to the line. Palomar the hook on.
Name: crazyguy
When I fish, I’ll use a rod with a high/low rig (Surf Rig). Although some might contend that if you hook a fish, the free hook or sinker might snag something, I haven’t lost a single ray or shark to a snag yet. For big sharks and rays, I like 25-30 pound line on my reel. The hooks can be from 1/0-6/0. I like to use 4/0 and 5/0 Octopus hooks by Gamakatsu. Strong hooks that hardly rust. And cut squid as bait. If you’re after big sharks such as 7-gill, leopards, and threshers, use a sliding set up with a wire rig. For bigger sharks, I like to use whole squid stuffed with a piece of anchovy or mackerel. If you happen to catch a croaker, fillet the sucker and cut the fillets into 1” wide by 3” long and use this as bait. I've caught smoothhounds and leopards using cut white croaker. It works as well as squid sometimes. Good luck
Name: Chum Buddy
I know that fluorocarbon is superior to mono against abrasion, visibility and has certain properties for why it can be stronger than mono altogether, but I think that the leader should be considerably stronger, i.e., 30-lb main line should have 40-lb leader and not 15-20lb (even if it is fluorocarbon).
Name: ORB
I’d agree the leader should be heavier than that. I use 40-60-lb wire leaders for sharks and rays myself, but you could use heavy mono/flouro 30-60-lb. 15-lb-20-lb seems too low for where I fish at least.
Name: gyozadude
Not if you use braid... With braid costing so much, I run lighter leaders than the braid test. That way, I get my line back if the fish runs. I have 30-50-lb braid on my reels, and for abrasion resistance, I go with uncoated 30-lb stainless wire leader. In a recent test, snapped the hook off the leader, as well as broke the plastic sinker slide and lost the sinker on a compound snag and got all my braid back, plus the main swivel! - Gyozadude
Name: chum buddy
Or if you fish rocks on light tackle. Yes, good point. I used to do that with my cheap mono when I fished in rocky environments with light tackle. Here’s why: I used to use 12-lb test on the main line and 20-lb on the leader for fishing rocky environments for calicos and cabezon. I now use the opposite and have the heavier line as my main and the weaker line for the leader. Now I don’t spend all day re-spooling line out on some jetty instead of fishing
The 20-lb test would normally be an overkill with my light tackle only being rated for 10-lb, but with rocks and weeds scratching and fraying the line that 20-lb test was more like 10-lb test. I also noticed that if I got a fish on when using a stronger leader that if the fish hugged the rocks or wrapped my line up in the rocks that my line would usually break above the swivel (leader).
Since the fish running me into the rocks accounted for only about 1/2 of the times I would get my line snapped, I started thinking more about the other 1/2 which involved no fish. The other 1/2 of the time my baited hook, sinker, or lure would get snagged, but since I had a stronger leader than the main line my line would, again, usually snap behind the leader. I soon realized that in this type of fishing it was not advantageous for me to have a stronger leader.
If fishing a high/low rig near rocks, than you can tie a swivel to the end of your main line (after the hook) and a weaker line attached to your sinker from the swivel. Adjust the amount of line used for your sinker depending on how far you want to fish from the bottom. More times than not, your sinker will get snagged and break off instead of your hook or main line and this should save you precious fishing time.
I use those rigs in rocky areas mainly when I fish light tackle. When using heavy tackle, I guess one could just try to muscle everything around with stronger line, but I think if the fish is big enough, you'll be screwed anyway and lose it all!
Name: ORB
Yep, 30-lb is still within the right range for leaders for sharks and rays, although that thin wire you were using did seem a little kink happy for my liking. Did you find a way around that yet?
Name: gyozadude
Kinks in steel leaders... I never figured out how to get rid of them, so I just avoid them in the first place when I tie them and if they kink, I cut and re-tie when I’m at home. Fisherman’s Warehouses sells 300 feet of uncoated leader in 30-lb class 0.015" diameter for $9.99. It was the last spool, so I'm not sure if it was a closeout. But the coated stuff looked like it was $20+ for that size. At the cheaper price, I can afford to re-tie more often.- Gyozadude