Fishing with the Right Line

There will always be challenges whether one decides to fish either in the river or in the open sea. The important thing to remember is to have patience waiting for the fish and doing the best to catch it when it appears.

To be able to fish, a person would need to get a fishing license since this is requirement by law and the regulations regarding fishing varies from one state to the other.

Getting the right equipment for fishing is also an important factor in making that experience a memorable one. Using the wrong kind of fishing line or one that is made of poor quality will cause many problems such as tangles and lost fish.

There are 4 kinds available in the market. These are monofilament, braided, fused and fluororcarbon.



The Monofilament fishing line is the most popular of the four since it has been around for a very long time. It also works well in different fishing conditions. The problem with this line is that it has “memory.” This means that it has a tendency to keep to a certain shape if stored for some time. If a person does not fish often, it is best to purchase a line that is not very long and it is advisable to change it every time one goes out fishing.

Braided fishing lines are the strongest of the 4 available. These lines don’t stretch and are quite easy to see since the woven nature of the line makes it float. The bad part about this line is also about its strength that causes abrasions on other things like one’s hands, the fishing rod and the line that guides the reel. As such, one should have the right hardware around when using it.

Fused fishing lines are similar to braided fishing lines. The only difference is in the manufacturing process where fused lines are glued together with a coating applied over it instead of woven. This makes fused fishing lines share some of the difficulties with braided fishing lines such as making it difficult to cut without a sharp knife or scissors, its tendency to slide around a bit on the reel spool and its visibility to fish which will make catching fish a bit challenging.

Fluorocarbon fishing lines are getting more popular these days since fish are not able to see it in the water.

Knot Tying Instructions for Super Braid Fishing Line

Spectra Fishing Line Facts

Spectra fibre woven into superbraid is the ultimate fishing line for both kite fishing and deepwater jigging for hapuku, bluenose and bass. Many people ask how strong are nylon fishing lines compared to spectra? Incredibly spectra is only around one third the diameter of nylon for the same breaking strain, an important fact to consider when selecting fishing line for deepwater fishing or kite angling.

For example, a kitefisher using a pocket sled or flexiwing fishing kite rig can get three times as much spectra line on their fishing reel and fish three times as far offshore.

When using spectra lines kite fishers using dropper rigs will reduce the work the kite has to do to tow the rig out and keep the line clear of the water by two thirds. This is because the superbraid has only one third of the windage and weight of conventional monofilament or dacron fishing lines. Light wind performance is greatly enhanced.

Spectra braid is also kinder to fishing reels as it only has a stretch factor of around 1% while nylon can have a stretch factor of up to 30% (even dacron fishing line has a 10% stretch factor). Spectra is often called no stretch fishing line, superline, super braid fishing line or spiderwire to reflect it’s small fishing line diameter to strength ratio and low stretch.

When using more conventional fishing methods, such as deepwater fishing from boats for bass, hapuka and bluenose or other deepwater species. Unlike nylon fishing lines, bites can easily be felt even at great depths because of the incredibly low stretch of spectra and its ability to transfer every detail of the bite instantly to the angler.

It also works the other way round, those jigging in very deep water can easily impart real action to the jig or lure even at depths down to 200 metres and beyond. Obviously when the angler strikes, the strike is instantly and positively transmitted to the point of the hook ensuring maximum penetration and fewer missed strikes.

Probably the biggest benefit to deepwater rod and reel fishers is the spectra physics that come into play. Because it is so thin for it’s breaking strain you will only need a third of the amount of lead weight to hold the bottom in deep water or strong currents compared to those who use nylon fishing lines.

FOR FISHING WITH KIDS

Avoid the kid’s stuff

A quality ultra-light bait cast or spin cast rod and reel combo is usually easier for kids to use.

Small hooks = big catches

Avoid hooks larger than size 10 (hook sizes run backwards - size 12 is smaller than size 10). Fish won’t readily take large hooks unless they are feeding voraciously. Most of the time, a subtle presentation is needed to catch wary fish. Tiny hooks also allow small fish to “inhale” the bait, rather than nibble the bait of the hook. If a fish swallows the hook and you want to return it to the water, simply cut the line as close to the hook as possible and release the fish.

Lighten up your line

Light line will do the job, preferably 6-pound test line or less. Unless you’re targeting monster catfish or marauding muskies, light line is your best bet.

Bag the big bobbers

Bobbers (or floats) are used to suspend your bait in the water and to alert you when to set the hooks. The harder the bobber is to pull under, the harder it will be to hook a fish. Small floats will help convince the fish to take your tasty bait and run. “Slip” bobbers work well for kids. Slip bobber rigs cut down on the amount of line needed at the end of the rod and are easier to cast. Small ice fishing bobbers can provide a light touch any time of year.

Sink it with shot

Sinkers help get your line down to the fish. They can also create “zero buoyancy.” Ideally, you want your bobber to just barely float on the top of the water. Squeeze small BB-sized split shot sinkers onto your line one at a time until your bobber early sinks from the weight. Since there is very little resistance when the fish takes the bait, it is more likely to bite the bait and run.

Great big gobs of worms won’t do

There’s no need to use whole whopping-big, writhing night crawlers on your hook. Keep the bait approximately the size of your hook. Live bait such as worms, beemoths or crickets work best. Cut the bait to fit your hook.

Line Size

You can Catch More Fish on Smaller Line

How many of you out there use the same tackle with the same line for all of the fishing you do? You never change equipment or line size to accommodate a different fishing situation. Line size, in particular, does make a difference.

I'm not talking about the obvious fact that the big game tackle needed for marlin would not be used for inshore flats fishing. I'm talking about the more subtle differences that a lot of anglers miss.

Fishing offshore last week, several of us were looking for a big catch to supply an upcoming fish fry event. That necessarily meant looking for a lot of average size fish rather than baiting and fishing for th4 one or two good catches we normally pursue.

We anchored over an artificial reef some 28 miles off of Saint Augustine, Florida, and immediately began catching fish. Vermillion snapper and black sea bass were all over this wreck and showed up on the depth finder in great numbers.

The vermillion (we call them beeliners) were up in the water column as usually. With a double hook fish finder rig (a six ounce sinker on the bottom and two branches of leader and hook above) some of us were dropping all the way to the bottom where we lost our baits to small pinfish and grunts. We went right down through and missed the school of snapper.

Several cranks up off the bottom put the bait in a good strike zone where the beeliners were holding. While we caught some of the beeliners with this method, I knew we could do far better.

Beeliners, and snapper in general are wary fish, and the larger ones did not get to be that large by eating every bait in front of them. I have studied snapper underwater in my diving days and watched them approach a bait. Generally, the bigger the fish, the less likely he was to get caught. The bigger ones seemed to lay back and watch the smaller ones tear and run at the bait. Only after they seemed to believe that it was safe would they attack a bait. The trick was - and still is for snapper - to make the bait appear as natural as possible.

The seas were running about three feet with a pretty sporty northeast ground swell. The sea conditions meant that the baits suspended off the bottom would rise and fall, sometimes abruptly, as much a ten feet in either direction. This certainly was not a very natural presentation, and the catch rate was proving just that.

The fish we were after would top out at five or six pounds. There was no need for the 50 pound test line and 100 pound test leaders we were using. So. I took out my eight pound spinning outfit. I tied a twelve inch, twenty pound test fluorocarbon leader to the line using a surgeon's knot and tied a 3/4 ounce. 2/0 jig head to the leader.

The jig head was big enough to get my eight pound line down to eighty feet or so to the fish, yet light enough to actually let the baited jig drift down at a slower rate. As the boat lifted and fell with the seas, I adjusted the line leaving my reel accordingly.

It was pretty easy to watch the line slowly disappear from the surface of the water, and when it quit sinking, I set the hook. A big beeliner had grabbed the naturally sinking bait without hesitation. The great part was that the bait never had a chance to get down to the junk fish. Beeliners were jumping on it before it ever got that deep.

Two things were very apparent to me on this trip, and I believe they will make a difference for you as well. While I didn't catch the biggest fish that day (Jason stumbled onto a nice 20 pound gag grouper), I consistently caught more and bigger fish than the average size being brought aboard.

First, I believe the line size made a difference that took the wariness away from the larger fish. Second, I believe the bait presentation, being more natural because of the line size, was more appealing to the fish.

I watch people every day fishing for small fish with an arsenal that would theoretically catch a whale. They watch me and my parties catch fish right next to them and shake their heads. They simply don't get it! Fish are cold blooded and may not have the brains to think = or so we think. I believe that the right line size makes a major difference in catch rate and overall success.

Best of all, the lighter tackle makes catching them a whole lot more fun!

Putting fishing line on your reel

Before I start this tip I just have to say if your tackle store is happy to spool up your reel and has a line winding machine let them do it! This is by far the most efficient method.

When you're spooling up a reel, put a pencil/pen, through the center of the line spool and have someone hold it to keep some tension on the line. Tie the line to the reel with a (Uni-knot or Arbor knot) trimming off the tag end and make sure the knot is snug to the reel spool. One person should reel while another holds both ends of the rod, applying pressure as the line is reeled onto the spool. Keep the line away from anything that could cause abrasion and remember to never overfill the reel.

If you are using monofilament it may twist. If it happens while fishing from a boat, play the line out with nothing on the end, trolling behind the boat for a few minutes. Then simply wind the line back on the spool under pressure. A ball bearing swivel can be used to avoid line twist.

Adapted from www.fish4fun.com