Controversial opinion: Use the rod/reel/line for 95% of the fish you catch

[boon]

This has started some very interesting conversation which was mostly the goal of it

A few observations from what people have said - It's fascinating to look at the different methodologies/philosophies from around the world:

We almost never fish from "party boats" in this part of the world, most of our boat fishing is from small boats with a maximum of maybe 4 anglers, and most of the fishing for larger models is done on the drift rather than at anchor so it is fairly easy to follow the fish and stay directly above it if needs be, and to keep the fish just out from the transom corner so propellors and the hull are less of a consideration. I have fished a "party boat" with relatively light gear and it was fine but we weren't catching large fish.

Typically I don't worry about abrasion resistance on my mainline; I note that many setups people post use a lighter topshot than the mainline whereas that is almost never seen around here. It's not uncommon to fish, say, 30lb braid with a 50lb or 60lb mono/fluorocarbon leader and to let the leader deal with the abrasion issues. If a fish takes my braid into the reef then I'm already having a bad day 

There are a few fish that this doesn't quite apply to, they are the ones that fight dirty like Yellowtail where there is gnarly terrain involved and you may need to lock up on the fish. Even then, there's not a whole lot of rods (or anglers!) out there that can put enough pull on a fish to break quality 50lb, let alone 80 or 100lb braid, in a straight fight. If I'm over sand, 300 yards or so of 30lb braid should be enough to land all but the largest fish I'm ever likely to hook. There was a very astute observation made earlier that often with Yellowtail (and many other fish) they only pull back a little harder than you pull on them, so if you're in a situation where you can gently coax one up then that's ideal

The long and short of this is that I generally like to pretend that abrasion resistance isn't a consideration for the mainline; I figure that even fairly heavy braids (80-100lb) will pop if they contact anything vaguely sharp under pressure anyway. Then I just look at the rod and reel and choose a line to suit - if the rod is going to snap in half on a 15lb deadlift then there's no point in fishing much more than 20lb on it as you won't be able to make use of the line strength anyway. Likewise if the reel can only manage 15lb of drag then I can't see the point in spooling it with 50lb braid.

But that's just my 2c anyway. As above, use what works for you. I just enjoy having the conversation and seeing other people's perspectives on it.

[Cor]

@ Boon.
Not sure but think you are in NZ where the fishing is a bit similar to ours in S.A. but you have many more species then here.

Yellowtail is my main target in summer and that is what 95% of my catch consists of.
In winter I fish for a small local bream like fish which is at average less then 17 inches in this part of the country, called Galjoen.

I attempted to fish much lighter at one point in my life, but as I already indicated it was just not viable for most shore fishing.

When boating and in fairly deep water you can usually get away with it.

I once cause a whole debate when I made the statement that the terrain you fish in dictates the type of tackle you use, not the kind and size of the fish!    Like everything fishing this is of course not 100% true in all situations.

The only shore location where I manage ever to catch Yellowtail on light tackle was a beachy area where I knew the fish could be found early in the morning.   I used to get there before light in dead calm conditions and cast lures while standing knee deep in the water.    I had the most amazing action some mornings with the fish charging my lures in ½ meter of water.   There was no structure and the fish were generally in the smaller class.   I sadly got discovered and no longer do this as the place now gets overrun by inconsiderate anglers!

Otherwise shore Yellowtail are caught from very high ledges or at some lower spots, but everywhere you have structure to contend with, lots of kelp beds, rocks you name it and of course the various tax collectors like sharks and seals.

The Galjoen live in very rough shallow white water extremely close to shore amongst rocks.   Because of the strong swells and big waves you usually need to keep your distance from the water.

This necessitates accurate cast and sometimes a fair distance.

Nearly every cast you make your sinker gets stuck and you somehow need to try to dislodge it for which you want strong line.

When retrieving you sinker, or with a fish on it you need to try to keep it away from the rocks for which a stiff and long rod is required.

Your line quickly gets abraded on the rocks, to overcome this use strong line and again a long rod.

As I usually want my bait and sinker to remain where I cast it I would use a 4 or 5 oz weight requiring strong line and fairly powerful rod.   When retrieving your sinker it is necessary to wind fast and nearly always pull it over open rocks in front of you where you also get snagged up.

I persisted with a light 8ft rod for these fish for two years but became so frustrated that I had to give it up.    The worst to me was that I could hardly land any fish that I managed to hook.    They nearly always became snagged up on a rock where a longer and stronger rod could lift them over.

FORGOT TO COMMENT
I use leaders much lighter then my main line for galjoen fishing.
Yellowtail minimum 50lb mainline with 80 lb leader.
We don't have "party" boats like our US friends.
For shore Yellowtail I always fished with a locked drag.   Once he gets his head there is no easy way to stop him.
Abrasion resistance is important for me.  From much casting the line quickly gets little nicks reducing the breaking strain from 50 to 30 lb!

[happyhooker]

Generally with you, Boon.

I, too like to fish light, within reason.  Not attracted to fishing where the goal is to catch the biggest fish on the lightest line you can.  Couldn't agree more with your logic about the fallacy of gearing up for the largest fish you MAY catch; do that and you'll lose a lot of smaller fish that you're much more likely to run across.

Frank

[Benni3]

 There is monsters down there you never know what your going to hook be prepared for anything  I was just lucky he didn't take the rod with 8lb test on it 

[steelfish]

There is monsters down there you never know what your going to hook be prepared for anything  I was just lucky he didn't take the rod with 8lb test on it 

amazing catch for 8lb line, but someone will never catch a YT or grouper the size of that catfish with 8lb test line, on normal conditions of course, not like those "records" where a guy catch a marling on 10lb test line with the boat following the fish during 6hrs and miles of line.

if you want to feel a good fight, try to catch a 5-6# triggerfish on a 8-14lb rod with 6# monofilament line, those fish pulls like bull and give a memorable figh on UL or L rods.
those are the rods I used to setup for my kids few years back, it was normal for them to catch a triggerfish on a rod I prepared with trout hooks with a pinch of cut bait to catch sardine or anchovies for bait.

[Benni3]

There is monsters down there you never know what your going to hook be prepared for anything   I was just lucky he didn't take the rod with 8lb test on it  

amazing catch for 8lb line, but someone will never catch a YT or grouper the size of that catfish with 8lb test line, on normal conditions of course, not like those "records" where a guy catch a marling on 10lb test line with the boat following the fish during 6hrs and miles of line.

if you want to feel a good fight, try to catch a 5-6# triggerfish on a 8-14lb rod with 6# monofilament line, those fish pulls like bull and give a memorable figh on UL or L rods.
those are the rods I used to setup for my kids few years back, it was normal for them to catch a triggerfish on a rod I prepared with trout hooks with a pinch of cut bait to catch sardine or anchovies for bait.

this cat hit on the torque 5 with 30lb braid and gave up the best fight it was difficult,,,,, and i catch and release 99% of the time,,,but trigger fish   thay tastes to good!!!! 

[boon]

amazing catch for 8lb line, but someone will never catch a YT or grouper the size of that catfish with 8lb test line, on normal conditions of course, not like those "records" where a guy catch a marling on 10lb test line with the boat following the fish during 6hrs and miles of line.

The national record for YT on 8lb here is a fraction under 70lb So it can be done.

I've talked with some of the guys that do the extreme light tackle stuff, I used to think like you did, that surely there was some gimmick to it, but in reality it's a master class of skipper, angler, wireman, and equipment all working together in perfect symphony. The drags have to be absolutely perfect. They can't just trail out hundreds of meters of line because the resistance of the belly in the line through the water will break them off. Yes they do a lot of reversing down after fish but one tiny tiny mistake and it's lost. At the lightest classes they can't even use the drag when the fish takes the bait; they have to freespool it and use a feather light touch on the spool to prevent it overrunning.

It's not my cup of tea personally, but having learned a little more about it I now appreciate the absolute mastery involved in those catches.

[Three se7ens]

I started kayak fishing and using artificials almost exclusively together not quite two years ago.  In the process, I had to unlearn so much of what I had used for bait fishing from a boat prior.  In that time, I have replaced nearly all of my gear with significantly lighter setups.  The lighter setups cast better, especially with very light lures, and dont wear you out making hundreds of casts a trip.  Ive had my Quantum Cabo 40 out a few times hunting big fish, but after 10-15 min of casting with that tank, Im back to the rigs that weigh half as much.  200 yds of 15 lb braid has been far more than I need to catch about anything in kayak range here.  And I can cast a 1/4 oz lure a very long way with that same rig.  That lets me cover a lot of ground, and get on the fish even when they are moving. 

Its all shallow fishing here though.  I can understand the need for more drag to drag a fish off a reef/wreck.  And in deep water, you can actually apply a good bit of pressure to a fish, even in a kayak.

[Navidad Nutcase]

Great discussion going on here. Seams like everyone agrees that the ''situation''  and personal choice should  - or could - dictate the gear.

I spent the first 50 years of my life fishing Arctic Greyling, rainbow and brook trout in river waders. We also had a few Salmon trips  thrown in when we got close to a salmon bearing river. My late father and brother and I never used anything bigger than a #3 fly pole and 2/3# leader On the Arctic Greyling and trout. It was great fun. When you got a big rainbow or Brooky you sometimes lost your footing and got wet running up and down the river in those old rubber waders.  They were sure heavy things. The other 2 guys would laugh and joke - until they did the same thing.. Man those were good days. Nobody on the rivers or if there were  we were spread far and wide.  On the salmon it was still a fly rod but a #7 and 20# line.I realize the places have gotten crowded and in most areas, this won't work anymore. Especially on the week ends.

I started fishing billfish about 10 years back. I Can't run anymore. Those river rocks grew longer arms. Seems they can snag ya from a yard away .... Now it's Only me . My Dad and brother are gone. I bought the 50's and 80's and have had some great catches with them. No Monsters, but some nice size Blues mixed with the sailfish, and stripped marlin. It is great fun too - just a different fishery.

I just got back from fishing striped marlin in a place where you cast to them. Bait casting. Only me and a buddy and a Captain. The reels were Okuma Makara's , but not the big reels your picturing . There we a couple of 8II Se's a couple 10's the same, and a SLX's 15CS I believe it was. I really questioned what we were going to accomplish that first day. Wow. My skepticism was short lived.   I've never had so much fun ! 40# line. Some braid. some straight mono, some braid with a topshot. iron hooks but surprisingly we broke off very few fish. I was thankful Okuma puts harness lugs on those little reels. I did have to use a full harness after the first 2. I'm not as young as I once was. My buddy used only a Gimbal belt. (he's 10 years younger - still a pup ) I would have never thought to fish marlin in this way. I loved it.

Of course this won't work in all places or on all marlin fishing trips, but it works here, and once again reminds me that your never to old - or wise - to learn something new.
Greg