Under or over gunned

[NAGG]

Hey all

Just out of curiosity - when you go fishing , do you go prepared for that situation where you might tangle with something XOS or you just gear up for your target species ?.

For the early part of my serious fishing - I fished silly string …. & I landed some good / great fish - lost plenty & had a ball. A 98lb Dogtooth tuna on 20lb is still my most memorable capture …. & to this day amazes me that this fish was landed.

These days - I'm probably less inclined to be under gunned & I'll fish 20 / 30lb for snapper ….. particularly if floating a bait down a cube trail ……. A 1.3 m cobia or 30lb king certainly stretches even 30lb in relatively shallow water . My trip to Evans head back in February certainly showed that

Anyhow - Curious to hear how everyone else approaches gearing up for offshore fishing

Chris

[Noelm]

It's a bit of both for me, down here where fish like Snapper are not that easy, I tend to "under" usually around 6KG, maybe 8 at times, you tend to get more bites, making a feed of fish more likely than thick line, on a shabby looped Paternoster "tourist" setup, if I'm fishing with my mate in Southern QLD I go up to around 10-15kg because of the added chance of Cobia and the like, in hard fished locations, a well presented bait on decent sized line will usually get fish (stating the obvious I guess)

[EdBerg]

Generally for my fishing I go heavier than what is required as I usually try fishing in areas where big fish visit. Don't catch as many fish but those that do get caught are memorable.

[NAGG]

It's a bit of both for me, down here where fish like Snapper are not that easy, I tend to "under" usually around 6KG, maybe 8 at times, you tend to get more bites, making a feed of fish more likely than thick line, on a shabby looped Paternoster "tourist" setup, if I'm fishing with my mate in Southern QLD I go up to around 10-15kg because of the added chance of Cobia and the like, in hard fished locations, a well presented bait on decent sized line will usually get fish (stating the obvious I guess)

I'm hearing you ...Since the introduction of braid Noel - you still feel that you need to go so light ? ……… Back in the day I used to fish 12lb mono for my light snapper fishing (shallow water & finicky fish) - if 20lb braid (& some 30lb ) is thinner than 12lb mono what disadvantage is there ?
I fish 20 & 30lb braid side by side - usually with the same leader configuration for floaters (2m 40lb FC joined with an FG - a small lumo bead & swivel then either 1m 30 ,20 or 16lb FC ) I've honestly not seen one outfit outfish the other . I've sought of come to the conclusion that when bait fishing fish like snapper don't seem to be spooked by heavier braid & that they are not that leader shy either ( within reason) 30lb FC is my go to. That's my observation over the last couple of years fishing the central & northern NSW shallow grounds.
Every now & then I'll fish 12lb braid for a bit of fun or if the fish being caught are those pan sized fish ……. but every now & then that unstoppable comes along & shreds braid / leader as it runs through every bit of kelp or rock that it knows.
Even 30lb snapper gear in the shallows feels undergunned when fish like this want to get in on the act 118cm King (2).jpg This was the only one landed out of the 5 or 6 hooked

Chris

[Noelm]

Strangely enough, and I don't know how it happened, but all my Snapper gear (except my plastics outfit) has got mono on it, over the years I have replaced line and gone to mono only, don't really know why, I have three favourite outfits, 2 with 6KG and one "special" with a US Spinfisher on an old Ironglass rod, 10kg line, that's my best ever Snapper setup, love taking that out.

[EdBerg]

Strangely enough, and I don't know how it happened, but all my Snapper gear (except my plastics outfit) has got mono on it, over the years I have replaced line and gone to mono only, don't really know why, I have three favourite outfits, 2 with 6KG and one "special" with a US Spinfisher on an old Ironglass rod, 10kg line, that's my best ever Snapper setup, love taking that out.

You possibly missed the stretch of the line!

[BigE]

Just for another point of view, I tend to fish heavier when using mono , but have a definate preferance for "good quality line " over a cheap line of the same breaking strain. IMHO you can get same strike rate from a supple quality line in the 15 - 20 kg range as using a 5 - 10 kg line but as you go up on line diameter the quality of the line makes a big difference to how it fishes.

not gosple but just my experience.
BigE

[scottar]

30 pound is light ..........isn't it . I do still carry a 12 pound outfit but most times I seem to get unceremoniously bricked where I tend to fish these days when I drag it out of the cab. Certainly for most of what we catch we are over gunned at 30 pound but we get are backsides handed to us often enough that 50lb is a pretty standard starting point for bait fishing. I fish 30 for jigging for snaps. We certainly used to catch some sizable fish on 6kg mono when we started offshore as that was all we had. Almost never fish mono now apart from trolling.

[NAGG]

Just for another point of view, I tend to fish heavier when using mono , but have a definate preferance for "good quality line " over a cheap line of the same breaking strain. IMHO you can get same strike rate from a supple quality line in the 15 - 20 kg range as using a 5 - 10 kg line but as you go up on line diameter the quality of the line makes a big difference to how it fishes.

not gosple but just my experience.
BigE

Pretty well as I have found it ……. None of the cheap braids have cut the mustard - a nice thin round braid for me every time. That said it's the diameter that often aids abrasion resistance - but that why I'm typically fishing 2.5-3m in total of leader .

Chris

[NAGG]

30 pound is light ..........isn't it . I do still carry a 12 pound outfit but most times I seem to get unceremoniously bricked where I tend to fish these days when I drag it out of the cab. Certainly for most of what we catch we are over gunned at 30 pound but we get are backsides handed to us often enough that 50lb is a pretty standard starting point for bait fishing. I fish 30 for jigging for snaps. We certainly used to catch some sizable fish on 6kg mono when we started offshore as that was all we had. Almost never fish mono now apart from trolling.

Fishing around coral reefs adds another dimension - even fishing for 3-5kg trout means going 30 & 40lb ….. oh & no baitrunners either

Chris

[tunaticer]

I have not fished heavier than 20lb main line or 30lb leader in nearly 20 years.
I can't remember the last time I was under gunned for the job.
I have lost a few good fish through pulling hooks though.

[Dignity]

I fish 20 & 30lb braid side by side - usually with the same leader configuration for floaters (2m 40lb FC joined with an FG - a small lumo bead & swivel then either 1m 30 ,20 or 16lb FC )

Chris

Interesting rig Chris if I got it right, braid to 2m of 40lb fc then the 1m of lower size fc.
I have a mate who has probably tried every combination around but has settled on braid to 8m of fc. He certainly brings the bacon home.

[NAGG]

Interesting rig Chris if I got it right, braid to 2m of 40lb fc then the 1m of lower size fc.
I have a mate who has probably tried every combination around but has settled on braid to 8m of fc. He certainly brings the bacon home.

I call it the " lazy nag"

The lighter FC leader below heavier means that a snagged rig breaks keeping the FG knot / leader intact - 75% of the times I can just tie my premade snelled double hook rigs to the swivel …. just adding the appropriate sinker . That's a 1 min re rig as opposed to 5 mins plus .

I found this invaluable when fishing with novice fishoes like my young bloke ,brothers son in law - who have no idea of how to rig .

The other advantage I can move up & down in hook sizes ( two hook snells) & leader classes .

I've found this rig has been the best over the last couple of years when fishing floaters

Chris

[NAGG]

I have not fished heavier than 20lb main line or 30lb leader in nearly 20 years.
I can't remember the last time I was under gunned for the job.
I have lost a few good fish through pulling hooks though.

A lot has to do with the environment fished & how you fish ……. shallow water & floating baits give fish a chance to run through the rubbish .

fishing places like Evans Head , Port Stephens & Crowdy head have me convinced that fishing light is playing Russian roulette ….. the big kings or cobes that frequent these places just love taking a whole floating pillie . …. plus they do hold the better than average red.

Chris

[Noelm]

I guess the lighter mono for me stems from the fact that I don't use a leader, just mainline straight to the hook, and a small ball sinker (very typical NSW Snapper fishing rig) this is anchored from a boat of course, when using plastics for Snapper, I use braid and a fluro leader about 10kg. For fish like Kingfish and Tuna/Marlin, I use 24kg game gear which at times might be over gunned maybe.