suicidal or is it just me?

[barkerboi89]

hi everyone! havent been on here for some time!

i have a question to ask. would it be suicidal to chase giant herring with a 4wt and 200 yards of backing or would i be better off with a 7wt? i really do not want to kill the fish and yet give the fish some chance. so i decided to ask for advice. help help!

also, what flies to use? the standard clousers, charlies and gurglers?
what would be the leader set up to use? 1 straight piece of 16lbs 8 feet long?


Thank you very much!!

AR!

[barkerboi89]

oh yeah... forgot to mention, the fish are up to a meter long.

[wessel]

Shore based, it will be a drawn out affair and the fish will probably not survve afterwards

Boat based, you stand a better chance, but I have the same comment as above - the fish will probably not survive. As the saying goes, size matters

If there are others on the boat, then it is really not fair to stand there with a long drawn out battle while they are forced to watch you having fun.

Any baitfish profile fly should do. Try to match what is available in the area or what they are crashing into at the baitballs.

I will think about a single wire strand, about 20 pounds should do you fine, to prevent bite offs.

Dont forget the pictures

Wessel

[barkerboi89]

thanks for the reply!! i've never used wire before, what colour should i use? coffee?

THanks!!

An Ren

[wessel]

Coffee colour is what we use.

Just check out a couple of website as to how the wire is attached to the leader. Some guys cheat and use a very tiny swivel

Wess

[barkerboi89]

Trip went well! had lots of chases and a few takes but couldnt set the hook. i noticed that they only take when there is a direction change. any ideas on how to make one? i tried sweeping the rod then giving a "trouty" strike which didnt work. the hook went flying outta the fish's mouth on its second leap. thanks for all the help!!

[rivermanau]

Mate , like Tarpon they have a hard mouth, better to "strip strike". You retreive the fly with the rod pointing at the fly, when the fish takes strike by pulling the line with a hard strip. You can then lift the rod as the fish takes off, but I always fight them with a "down and dirty" approach, which means holding the rod horizontal or slightly raised and using side strain. It can help to change direction of the rod to unsettle them also. I have only caught smaller ones but have seen them up to a metre (Queensland australia)
Robert