When I was out of the west coast, the party boat captain out of fishermans warf insisted that 15 pound test mono for striped bass fishing was, in his opinion, the way to fish for Striped Bass.
Sp, this week I was out of the water, fishing with his recommend 15 pound test on my Seeker and the old Pen 3210 GT reel. First I hooked up a 30+ inch Blue on the line, the live using a fish finder and gamachi octupus 6/0 hooks... and SNAP, gone went the line after a 3 minute fight with the fish.
I was really bummed but, hey, blues eat through lines.
So later in the day, next I pull in and fight off a 30+ prized striped bass, right to the boat and SNAP went the line. Now I'm really ticked off!! What is this with the love affair on underwieght monoline!!
I spun it all off and its going back to the 40 pound test line, and even that can be light.
Ruben
For stripers I've been using 17 or 20lb mono for a long time. My leaders are usually steel, but not crazy about them, I prefer a heavier mono leader.
Your drag was not properly set for 15# and possibly your rod was not right.
Quote from: Keta on July 30, 2014, 02:40:13 PM
Your drag was not properly set for 15# and possibly your rod was not right.
I agree with this assessment. You should have had only 5lbs of drag on the reel. How stiff is the rod? All things being equal you should have been okay with 15lb test. However, fishing from high up on a party boat does not give you the luxury of playing 30lb fish with 15lb line. Dominick
Quote from: Dominick on July 30, 2014, 04:57:03 PM
fishing from high up on a party boat does not give you the luxury of playing 30lb fish with 15lb line. Dominick
Bingo!!!
Check to make sure there are no cracks or nicks on your rod's guides. Cracks in the guides will spell broken lines every time!
I agree with Dominick . The most fish I have seen break off are almost always at boat side and always seem to be big ( you should have seen the one that got away type) . I use 20lb for stripers and 40lb on blues over 10lbs and on my own tackle a 40lb fluorocarbon leader. Doug
Doug, how do you separate the two ??? I usually don't know what's going to hit my line when I work the birds. you'll be surprised to see what a 20lb line can bring in, my largest was 44lbs.
There are lots of things to take in consideration, Dominick had a good point.
I usually lift the tip of my rod and let it share the load, you can't do that on a party boat.
Lee and Akfish also had a good point. Also, sticky drags will also snap your line.
Sal Good point. I usually fish the prime seasons spring for stripers, summer fluke, fall blue fish. Granted there are stripers around during the fall run but the darn yellow eyes are so predominant its hard to get passed them to the stripers. I usually use a jigmaster or surfmaster and have extra spools with 20 30 and 40 test. If I happen to catch something big on light line the drag becomes even more important. Yet another reason why your work on the drags has helped all of us. Doug
Daug, how do you like that surfmaster? I put a few together for that purpose, but haven't used them yet. I do use jigmasters and always have a couple of ss spinners, usually 550 and 650. I started fishing on spinners and just can't give them up ;D.
Sal I have a 100 and a 150 that I upgraded one has Bryans 5+1 drags in it. I love them for drifting and short range casting bait but not so much for jigging , they seem a bit too slow but still a lot of fun to use and strong enough. I also sometimes use a 550ss or even a 750ss. Recently I was looking to pickup a 710 for stripers , before I was about to buy one someone at my local Elks Lodge gave me a box of junk reels.
In that box was an old 704z and 720z . I cleaned them up and have not been able to use anything else since, go figure these reels are old tech and are most likely over 30 years old and I just love fishing with them. The 710 z I have not used on stripers I got it too late or the spring run but I have been using it for jigging fluke and of all things on a cheap 10-25 lb Ugly Stick. Doug
Haha!! nice score ;). don't underestimate the Ugly Sticks, that's all that I use and love them.
Tell Ritch of the Marylin Jean Charter that he could catch striper with 20lb line as well ;).
Quote from: mrbrklyn on August 01, 2014, 08:21:38 PM
The Seeker is a B-30 (25-40 range) and the 15 pound test popped like a button on a jacket of a fat man.
The drag was set very low, even less than 5.
It's a 30# rod, if you wish to land fish with 15# get a rod rated for 15#. Use this rod for 25# minimum.
Many factors can come into play as to why you may be breaking off fish. The line rating to rod stiffness may be one but if the drag is set correctly as you state it was in my mind it would be one of the lesser causes.
The number one cause I would look at is the knots use. Number two would be the line it's self such as was it damaged from knicks or abrasions or has the line seen many hours of direct sunlight? Number three is the hooks, do they have any burrs or can the line get caught in the gap of the hooks eyelet/ring as a 6/0 is a pretty big hook for 15 lb test? Number four would be a sticky drag in your reel. Number five would using 15 lb line in the first place. The lighter the line the less damage it can take before failure and the lighter the drags the longer you will be on a fish, maybe longer then needed where only bad things can happen.
For me these would be the first things I would look at.
EDIT: Also right at the top of the list I should of stated was the line you are using in fact breaking at 15 lbs? I have seen mislabeled line before and bad line comming strait from the manufacture. Even very good manufactures have a bad spool of line get away from them from time to time.
Quote from: mrbrklyn on August 01, 2014, 08:21:38 PM
15 pound test also popped on the lift.
Ahhhh - do not lift with light line (not sure how you could lift if you drag was set as loose as you post anyway?)
It is better for you and the fish to use the correct line for the job - get your self some 30 lb braid and a 25 to 50 lb shock leader
Can you land a striped bass on light line - sure, but it takes much longer and puts a lot of stress on the fish - you will probably kill it fom screwing around with it for such a ling time
30lb PP or Sufix - thinner then your 15lb mono - lasts forever
I have recaught several black bass that I used light line on in ponds. They never seemed worse for wear the second (or third) time around. There is a place in Port Angeles that is a private catch and release pond that has trout and steelhead that have been caught over and over and over with fly rods, many of wich were lighter than they could have been.
The way I see it, a light rig can't horse the fish, it may exhaust the fish but it clearly causes less damage. I fish everything as light as I can get away with. I always have and see no need to change.
Ron
Quote from: SoCalAngler on August 02, 2014, 04:49:01 AM
Many factors can come into play as to why you may be breaking off fish. The line rating to rod stiffness may be one but if the drag is set correctly as you state it was in my mind it would be one of the lesser causes.
The number one cause I would look at is the knots use. Number two would be the line it's self such as was it damaged from knicks or abrasions or has the line seen many hours of direct sunlight? Number three is the hooks, do they have any burrs or can the line get caught in the gap of the hooks eyelet/ring as a 6/0 is a pretty big hook for 15 lb test? Number four would be a sticky drag in your reel. Number five would using 15 lb line in the first place. The lighter the line the less damage it can take before failure and the lighter the drags the longer you will be on a fish, maybe longer then needed where only bad things can happen.
For me these would be the first things I would look at.
EDIT: Also right at the top of the list I should of stated was the line you are using in fact breaking at 15 lbs? I have seen mislabeled line before and bad line comming strait from the manufacture. Even very good manufactures have a bad spool of line get away from them from time to time.
Ruben: Here is very good advice. Socal is right on. Check these things and I expect you will find one or more of these problems since you are breaking off so often. Also like Capt. Ahab said if your drag was set at 5lbs the line should have slipped and not broken. You should do much better after following the advice in this thread. Dominick
I use 30# Power Pro with a fishfinder, 4-5' 30# fluorocarbon leader, 6/0 gammi or owner octopus hook. When Eeling in the fall, with bigger fish around I go to 40# Power Pro and a 40# leader with the same terminal tackle. Stripers like structure and one nick in 15-20# and you are done. Just my experience and opinion of course.
You would get away with #20 while chasing birds with the boat in the fall, the problem is that the blues will do a number on your line no matter what, unless you use wire leaders.
Since we do usually catch several a night and the limit here is one fish over 28" and a second if it is over 40". We end up releasing many smaller fish in the 30-39" range. My main reason is using 15# test would have a bass pretty much spent by the time you get him / her to the boat. We're trying to keep the unnecessary mortality to a minimum. Also, by the time you mess around with a 36" fish on light line, you could have let that 30#er swim by. If you just go out with light tackle to catch a striper and you keep that fish for the table, then yes, I can see using 15# line and gear. If you keep the rod in hand and set the. Hook quickly, the Blues get mouth hooked and don't pop the line. If a whole school of blues moves in and they hit the bait from all directions, I would go to a Steelon braided black steel leader. If y o u can get it through the Blues to the bottom for the Bass. It doesn't seem to spook them as much.
Hi
I fish big stripers on freshwater dams, it is a challenge
I noticed the fish is line shy, when fishing bait we had to drop down to 6# to get bit
Line is not a problem when trolling, or when popping and or reeling fast a swimbait
but with passive bait an clear freshwater, they just ignore our offerings,
we also have to hide the hook in the bait to get bit.
the fish tires quick, compared with other species I fish
so a little patience and they just float
hope that helps.
eddie
Quote from: mrbrklyn on November 11, 2014, 07:14:02 PM
If we had 4 fisherman from Sheepshead Bay on the water out of SF, they would have given a good lesson and brought home a few more fish, I think.
Wow
I grew up fishing Fire Island, Montauk, Sheepshead Bay, etc. Yes, there were many excellent fisherman, including two wonderful old pros who taught an eager youngster (me) how to surf-cast for blues. But being the well-mannered gentlemen they were, they never would have claimed to "fish circles around" anyone, especially other anglers.
As for Indian Joe, li'l Ant & Co., let's see them pull on a 350-pound Clarion Island cow and see how long it takes them to dissolve. :D
~A~
Although I've caught plenty of fat stripers on 12 - 17 lb mono, there's really no reason to use 15 lb line while vertical jigging on a party boat. 25 and up is about right. They are usually not line shy in that situation. Back bay, shallow water is another story...
I'm with Bucktail on this. On a head boat there is really NO reason to go light. Not only are we trying to get the fish to the boat, but we are more than likely to have other factors involved (like other lines) on our fish. Heavier is better in this situation. That is if you really want to catch fish instead of just hooking fish. I'm usually using 30# braid with a 6 to 10 foot mono leader of 30# to 40#. If the braid is not allowed then usually I'm using straight 25# to 30# mono.
Bob
Most boats here use 40# for everything because they put it on the rental rods for the none Fishermen. Without these people there would be no PB's. The only boat that I know of that used lighter line was the Capt. Lou Fleet & we fished in the Bay all the time for Fluke & Flounder.
Mike