Braid backing?

[Bryan Young]

Wow, 75 - 100 yards of mono topshot?  That is like a trolling set-up, and defeats the chunking purpose as mono tends to float.  If you need 75 - 100 yards of top-shot, I would recommend fluorocarbon because it sinks.  I'm not sure who makes 75-100 yards, but I know you can get 50 yards.

Sounds like a challenge.  Good luck.

[SoCalAngler]

Do you think the grouper you have on the east coast are that much different the the ones I fish in Baja? Sure grouper pull hard but if you want a real challenge try to get Pargo out of their rocky homes sometime. I'm not trying to knock the type of fishing you guys do or methods used but for me Pargo lb for lb are some of the hardest fish to move away from structure I have ever caught.

The Bod Sands knot I have used up to 60 lb toppers, some long as stated and others as short at 4-6', for larger topshots like 80 lb and above I like other connections using hollow spectra.

On most of my rods I have moved away from roller guides and have went back to ring guides and have no problems with the connection passing through them easily.

[SoCalAngler]

Bryan

The 75-100 yard toppers for my setups are for the rods I cast often like surface iron or plastics. I cant cast that far most of the time from boats but the longer topshots allows me to cut out damaged mono several times from boat rub, fish rub or other lines during the end game, without having to tie on a new topshot.

[mike1010]

modified Albright.i run 25 to 50 yards of mono on top of my braid to give it stretch. the Albright is stronger then the Bristol and the no name.

Whatever works for you, of course, but I've never heard that before.  IGFA rates the Bristol/no name as among the best.

[broschro]

Bryan

The 75-100 yard toppers for my setups are for the rods I cast often like surface iron or plastics. I cant cast that far most of the time from boats but the longer topshots allows me to cut out damaged mono several times from boat rub, fish rub or other lines during the end game, without having to tie on a new topshot.

I also like to use long top shots for my vertical jigging set up so I can cut and re tie several times.

[broschro]

modified Albright.i run 25 to 50 yards of mono on top of my braid to give it stretch. the Albright is stronger then the Bristol and the no name.

Whatever works for you, of course, but I've never heard that before.  IGFA rates the Bristol/no name as among the best.

I like the Albright because it goes trough the guidei better,and it's super strong.

[BMITCH]

SoCal the reason for the looooong top shot is for party boats. First reason is for safety. The mates who untangle lines(yes we get tangled on offshore trips here) could get seriously injured if a fish was to grab hold while getting the modified Bimini knot out of the seven lines that inevitably WILL happen. Second, I know when I'm at the rail I'm paying full attention to where my line goes and make sure so that there isn't any slack or "funny" things happening. If I had a dollar for every time I watched someone dead stick go inside grab a nap or bite to eat, let's just say I would have a lot of dollars. Third, and most importantly, stretch factor or the ability to make mistakes. I see a lot of folks "high sticking" their rods, drop them down quickly while reeling. Lots of fish would be lost with the hook dropping out. The cap't almost always gives a little speech before heading off and I have yet to hear one of them tell people how important it is to be smooth and fluid while fighting a fish. Herky jerky don't put meat in the box. With all that being said, these guys in season make the trip every day to the canyons when the bite is on. I think mono for chunking in this situation is the way to go. Jigging is done with braid but only in the pointy end of the boat. And hopefully the two should never meet.
  Case in point, last season I had a decent fish on for 10-15 min. Finally got him in the death circle(ccw circle, but that's another thread) guy next to me decided the rules for no-braid didn't apply to him. Lines crossed and the rest is history. Ya know.."the one that got away". This guy WAS experienced, not his first rodeo. Just didn't pay attention to where his line was. Mate was pissed, I was pissed not a good ending. I'm not saying had he had mono that that fis would have been in the box. I'm just saying that after 5 or 6 other tangles with people using mono the fish was still on the line.
  So unless these boats reduce the number of fares to say like 10 or 12 instead of the 18 to 24 that most take the mono rule will and should be taken. East coast fishing PB style. And on most trips you will not see the braid as most fish are handled in that first 100 yds. If you start to see the braid this is a good thing
  As far as casting is concerned.... If you start casting overhand on these boats your likely to have that rod put into a place that will be VERY uncomfortable. I would love to cast overhand and have to control that urge on almost every outing. But for safety reasons it is strongly frowned on. Usually, depending on the boat, you have enough freeboard up in the bow to initiate a decent under hand cast. This gets the job done.
  So the chunking setup is, for now, going to be 100 or so yds (give or take 25) of mono on top of a braid backed spool. The braid is just in case you get a TRUELY large specimen and for jigging braid all the way with a 10 to 15 foot mono/floro shock leader.
  I think I need to start looking at hollow core braid for these applications. I think the transition knot will be smoother and easier on the guides and thumb.

[SoCalAngler]

I understand the reluctance of the of the boats not wanting people to use braid, it was the same here many year ago. But, the use of braided lines has become common practice here and the dechhands have adapted to it. Their able to get out tangles and such but as you know tangles in braid may be many times harder to remove and may mean cutting braid. That gets costly and people quickly start to learn to stay out of tangles the best they can, but it is still party boat fishing and some tangles are to be expected that's just the way it is.

Casting from a party boat one must be very careful as you know and the same goes here as far as going to the bow for this. People do cast from different places on the boat but if someone starts to cast over other lines your going to hear about from those you just cast over. Or if their casting in a dangerous manner and the deckhands don't catch this right away, trust me others on the boat are going to let the person what their doing wrong.

I don't want to hijack this thread, part if it this is about connections and I just stated one....that's all. Someone said it would not work for the fishing they do and that's cool too. In my mind it was just a knot and I was just pointing out that it works for me in similar fishing applications.

[Keta]

Someone said it would not work for the fishing they do and that's cool too. In my mind it was just a knot and I was just pointing out that it works for me in similar fishing applications.

Every knot has a need.  I'm a "knot head" and like to know as many knots as possible, I use 3 or 4 of them 95% of the time though.

[MarkT]

Bob Sands knot can't handle a 60# Grouper?  It'll handle a 200#+ cow tuna so I think it'll handle a little Grouper!  The Bob Sands/Tony Pena is often used on long range boats fishing large tuna. That's the knot the guys on the Excel like to tie.

I usually fish a 3-4' mono or fluoro leader with spectra for the rest.  That's true for bait and yoyo.  I hardly ever use more than that except with surface iron where I like to throw with mono so I'll have 50-100 yds of mono over the spectra.  Baitcasters have the short leader so the knot doesn't go through the guides.  I'll put a drop of superglue on the knot for insurance but isn't really needed.

[Tiddlerbasher]

Before you settle on a knot(s) check this site (he is a professional tester):

http://www.paulusjustfishing.com/4knotreview.htm