What line to get for a Penn Inter 50 VSW

[Robboj]

Hi Guys
Ok so ive been looking for a good line to suit my new Penn International 50 VSW reels and think I now know less then when first started. Reviews and opinions seem to vary a lot. My first thought was to just get some good quality Momoi 80lb on them but reading forums ect, I have formed the opinion that I will not get enough on the spool. So next I started looking for 50 or 60lb line which the reels are really aimed at anyway. Research into this soon presented a different problem in that should I go 50lb IGFA rated line or the 50lb non IGFA rated. Example of what I am thinking of is Momoi 50lb Hi Catch Diamond which has a avg breaking strain of 83lb (why they dont just call it 80lb I dont know ). This line is a little bigger then your normal 50lb stuff butt still smaller the 80lb so I can still get a good amount on the reel. Only draw back on this line I can see is that because it is a very hard line it is pron to kinking if not look after. Also getting this stuff in Australia isnt possible I dont know why. Is there something about non IGFA rated line in Australia thats frowned upon? Im not worried about records or anything like that. Any thoughts input welcome. Cheers

[Jarrah Jack]

What are you expecting to catch?

[Robboj]

I will be targeting Marlin and tuna when marlin arnt about. Also failed to mention I want to try and keep things simple so not going the braid with mono top shot option.

[fish'n'chippy]

You don't "have" to top shot Dacron, it just gives you a little bit of stretch.
Top shots are very simple, depending on use you may redo the top shot once a season, or it may be every second or third.
If you can't do it yourself, pay someone who can....

If your not fishing tournaments/club points, etc. it doesn't matter if it IGFA rated or not.
Spool it with Dacron/braid, or trade it in for an 80W

[Schulzy]

I just use penn igfa 50 great line

[Horse]

Chippyis on the money so just fill it with 130lb braid (or Dacron) and add a topshot of 100m of your favourite mono. Dacron or JB hollow braid give a neater/stronger connection

[Robboj]

Ok thanks guys I will Have a look at the Dacron option.

[Midnight]

What size Marlin and Tuna are you targeting and where?

Spooling it with straight 50lb mono will see you right for Marlin up to 4-500lbs and Tuna to 150lbs easy enough.

[Stuart]

If you go with Moneo the top brands are as follows

1 Hawk
2 Momoi


Dacron by western filaments, the world leader who by the way, make most other brands.

[scuttlebutt]

I've got a 50VSW, and for what it's worth I put 600 yards of 80lb Jerry Brown Hollow on as backing spliced with probably 300 yards of 80lb greenspot braided dacron on top. Originally I was going to just fill it with Dacron, but it was flat-out fitting 600 yards on and I started imagining getting spooled by enormous monsters of the deep.

In reality I'll be amazed if I ever see the backing again.

cheers,

Steve

[Midnight]

Mono topshot spliced into the dac Steve?

[scuttlebutt]

Mono topshot spliced into the dac Steve?

No I've just got the dacron then a mono wind-on leader. Various folks told me a mono topshot wasn't required over dacron, and it is nice being able to splice a seemless double in the mainline. Plus as I already had the Dacron I wanted to use it.

I know I fell into the trap of over-thinking things. If I was doing it again I'd still use the JB hollow but just have a mono topshot.

[Midnight]

Yeah cool. I know a few old fellas that liked dacron all the way to the swivel and then the 30ft of leader. I prefer the wind-on like you are using.

Cheers

[Robboj]

Just update on what ive gone with for this season (or till i get spooled) :) I found the Momoi 50lb Diamond Avg 83lb breaking .75 Diameter 3000yds spool in Australia after a lot of looking for $99.99 with free postage. I have had put this on 3 50vsw reels and have a bit left on the spool so I am thinking I get about 750 yds maybe a bit more on each. Im not saying this is better or worse then the topshot option its just what worked out for me. Finished these of with a Bimmini twist. This took a lot of trys to get it right but once I got it right once its really pretty easy. Would have been nice to have someone show me first off and saved me a couple of hours of frustration. I have put 100lb windon leader to this but not sure if this is about the right size. Will do most my fishing from Ulladulla to Bermagui for Marlin and tuna.

Cheers
Jordi

[Midnight]

Sounds good mate. Wind-on leader strength all depends on how hard you want to pull on the wind-on, if at all. Same with the snap swivels.

If you are tagging off the rod tip, then you can use lighter leaders compared to if you intend to leader and gaff a fish for example.

How long did you make your wind-ons?

[nathank]

One drama is.. one next connection is meant to be stronger than the next... 50 (83lb line) doubled into a 100lb wind on puts your leader as the weak point when tracing a fish... that said, you wont realistically be encountering 800lb blacks but more likely 100 to 200lb blacks with some 70 to 150lb strippys and if your lucky a 70plus yellowfin... you will be fine mate..
Good luck at the "kink"

[Robboj]

Midnight I have just gone with pre made wind-ons that are 23 ft. Should I shorten these? I plan on getting into making my own but need to buy the needles first. Just another thing on the ever growing list of items to get.

Thanks nathank makes sense what you say about the 100lb wind-on being the weak link. Probably should have went 150lb but will keep that in mind for next time. Does this also mean my snaps should be stronger then the 24-37kg ones I have now?

[Midnight]

Robbo,
It all depends if you want to fish to the igfa regs or not. If so, You are allowed 30ft of leader, so a 23 foot wind-on means you need under 7 feet length for your bait/lure leader.

What weight leaders are you running on your baits/lures?

If you don't intend to heave on the wind-on leader, and I mean "hang on trying to stop a Blue Marlin" type heaving, then 100lb is fine. It will offer some protection against it getting jumped on etc.

It all depends how you want to fish really.

Personally I run 4ft double, 18ft wind-on and 11ft end leaders. Wind-on, snap and end leader all of the same breaking strain. (150lb on 30lb up to 400lb on 80lb)

Also, no need to buy needles to make wind-ons. A bit of single strand stainless wire doubled over does the job. I will see if I can find a link for you.

Cheers,
Myles

[Robboj]

Myles
Not worried about igfa this year as not planning on going in any tournaments and can’t see myself and our beginner crew getting any records in the early days. But that said will be something to think about in the future.

As far as weight of leaders it varies a bit. I have purchased a Pukula Black Marlin spread which are pre rigged with 100lb line and also have a Pack from escaping that came with a couple of 11inch 8.5inch and 7inch lures as well as a stickface teaser. These lures are also pre rigged with the bigger ones being 300lb I think. Plus have plenty if tuna feathers ect around the 100lb leader size. Went the pre rigged option this year to try keep this a little easier during this big learning period.

That stainless wire idea sounds good always up for saving a few dollars especially as getting setup for this game fishing business is going well into the thousands of dollars already and I haven’t even wet a line yet :)

[Midnight]

Yeah mate, no need to buy the needle kit for wind-ons. If i can't find a decent link for it, I will pm my number to you and try to explain it.

All good re your set up otherwise mate. Just go out there and try to find a fish. "Do the miles to get the smiles"
Just gotta get out there and hope to run over a dumb hungry one :)
That's my aim every time.

My greatest tip is, to not to run too much gear. I.e, never more outfits than you have people on the deck. I never fish more than 3 lures/baits heavy tackle.
And if it means fishing only 2 lures when you are targeting big fish, so be it.
Less is more when it comes to billfish, tuna are a slightly different story.
but basically, for either, you don't want to be driving away from the bite for 500m to 1km, while you clear the 4 other lures plus teaser etc etc, that's how people get spooled all the time.

Good luck, get out there and get em on!

Cheers,
Myles

P.s where are you located? Think about joining the local Game Fishing Club for an awesome source of info and meeting a bunch of like minded people