10 minute read
TERMINAL TROUBLE
Sorting out the business end of your gamefishing gear
By Craig Stubbs
WITH no disrespect or prejudice intended,I have to wonder at the world of “marketing influencers”that has arrived on our local fishing shores in a big way.With the rise of social media, some anglers have become mainstream pundits of hooks, swivels,rods,reels and electronics,among other things.
I have no real problem with any of this,but when one starts to feel that you cannot catch a ’cuda without that brand new “special treble hook”costing R200 for a small box,or can’t catch a Natal snoek off your paddleski without a
R10000 lever drag reel,then it starts to concern me a little.
Don’t get me wrong,there are guys out there who have built great reputations and careers in our local angling world and really have done some thorough product testing over the years,and when they speak,I listen.However,there are also loads of guys out there who have become supposed “experts” and who share their opinions far and wide without much credible testing,all for the sake of a few “free”bags of hooks or a little discount on their purchases.
The point of this article is not to knock the people,products or brands that follow this trend,as it forms a critical marketing element for their businesses.Instead,I want to give some perspective on our “terminal tackle”and what we should be looking for – or avoiding.Given how expensive angling has become,how do we spend wisely and make sure our tackle boxes are filled with the right products rather than a bunch of wasted rands?
LINE CHOICE
This is the critical connection between angler and fish.
For nearly all spinning reel requirements,braided line is unbeatable and well worth the price tag.Its multiple advantages grossly outweigh traditional monofilament,so it is what I would suggest for your spinning reels.
Even though it does not come cheap,it can last a long time provided you consider a few things.Firstly,don’t overfill your reel.Overfilling will lead to nightmare casting knots and you having to throw away a lot of line.Secondly,make sure you spool your reel correctly.There are loads of Youtube videos and online tips,so watch a few before you spool up to make sure you are doing it correctly.
Finally,service the line roller on your reel regularly.It’s a simple enough task,but if your line roller stops turning freely your braid will quickly cut a groove in the roller and damage the braid fibres beyond use.
If you do these basics correctly,your braid will last years, giving you a good return on the outlay.
On multiplier reels,straight mono is preferred,and for general gamefishing I like to use 32- to 38lb line.I prefer natural coloured lines in clear,blue or greens,and stay away from those high visibility orange and yellow lines.On top of that “main line”I tie on a clear leader approximately 8 metres in length,sometimes of a slightly heavier breaking strain,but often the same as the main line.
When it comes to leaders,I used to swear by fluorocarbon,but that has changed over the years,and I now rely on a decent quality clear monofilament in its place.
There are a few reasons for this.Firstly,fluoro has become ridiculously expensive,and with the number of sharks around these days,losing metres of fluoro to them repeatedly is extremely frustrating.
Secondly,I began to notice that after I had caught a fish or two,or put any significant pressure on my fluoro leader,it became more opaque than transparent,and seemed to lose its much fabled “invisibility”.
I did some research on this,and it is now widely accepted that fluoro should be replaced after each fish if you wish it maintain its visual characteristics.
On top of this,I did not notice a drop in catch rate at all when I switched to mono,provided of course you don’t go slow trolling a 60lb piece of mono in gin-clear water.
Naturally I also use trace wire for certain applications like ’cuda fishing,but the market here is generally dominated by two brands,both very similarly priced.
HOOKS
The world of hooks has exploded massively over the last few years in terms of range,finishes,point technology,bend and shank shapes and price points.but there are a few things that are still more important than rushing to the shop to buy hook “X”that you saw someone using on Facebook and banishing your current hooks to the corner of your tackle box.
Firstly,buy the right size hook for your application.A treble hook the size of an anchor is not very appealing embedded into the side of your mackerel when trolling for ’cuda, and you don’t want a huge J hook impaled into your mozzie’s head when you’re drifting baits for tuna,so pay attention to that sort of detail rather than brand.
A 3x or 4x strength hook will be fine for your general gamefishing needs,so again there’s no need to go ridiculously heavy here.Size wise,when it comes to treble hooks something around the #2 or #4 mark will be just fine depending on your bait size,and for J hooks a 4/0 to 6/0 hook will work perfectly for most tasks.
Nearly all hooks these days are chemically sharpened,so they come out of the box or bag pretty sharp,but keep a hook hone on board to make sure your hooks are always razor sharp.For me,this is one of the most important fundamentals of offshore fishing,but it’s something I hardly ever see anglers doing.A few quick scrapes with the hone will definitely land you more fish.
Also make sure you look after your hooks.Don’t get saltwater into your tackle box and expect them not to rust;keep your hooks well sealed and away from the elements and they should last quite a while when they’re not in use.
When it comes to brands,I feel like the well established Mustad and VMC ranges are pretty well priced and offer good quality for the price;they have also stood the test of time in our waters and for our fish.Some of the newer brands hitting our shores look really amazing,but given that you can go through a box of hooks pretty quickly when fishing,I simply cannot bring myself to pay a few hundred bucks for a handful of hooks.
If you can,then that is awesome,and I don’t think it’s wasted at all,but my point is that we do not need to spend that sort of money to catch a fish.
Swivels are also a pretty important part of your terminal tackle,and most will agree a “power swivel”is far superior to an old school wrapped swivel.I do,however,see that a lot of guys fish with excessively big swivels.I hardly ever fish with anything bigger than a No5 or No6 power swivel,and cannot see any reason to go any heavier except for big game applications obviously.
COMMON SENSE TIPS FOR FREE
Now let’s have a look at a few things that are really important to me that come relatively free of cost.
KNOTS
Learn to tie a range of proper knots – knots that seat tightly against hook and swivel eyes in a non bulky fashion,and some strong mono-to-mono knots and mono-to-braid knots.
There is tons of information available online on knots,and I recommend you do the following:grab two pieces of rope, string or heavy diameter old line and practice your knots until you can tie them proficiently.
GEARING UP
Look after your gear,especially rods and reels.Get to know your reels and,if possible,how to service them yourself.Make sure they are always smooth and functioning well.
Rods should be regularly checked for cracks on the guides as this is certain heartache of 1) lost fish,and 2) loads of frayed line that has to be thrown away.The best way to do this is to beg your wife (or most likely,grandmother) for a pair of her old stockings,and run a piece through each eye on your rod.A cracked eye will quickly snag and fray on the fine stockings.
On this topic,I recall a session off Aliwal Shoal where a little ball of candy floss rapidly appeared and grew on my tip guide when a dorado took off with my bait.This candy floss
was my line fraying on a nicked guide that I hadn’t spotted, and after a few more seconds the line parted.
A few choice words ensued,but then I noticed my balloon still hopping across the ocean surface a few hundred metres away.Realising there was still a fish connected to it,I rapidly gunned the engines across to the balloon,grabbed the last few metres of trailing line attached to the balloon,and began the process of handlining a now aggressively cartwheeling bull dorado.
Unfortunately there was no happy ending,and the line soon parted again on a weak point.Lesson learned!
BAIT
Get your hands on the best quality bait you can,look after it, and take some time properly preparing your baits before tossing them into the water to get them looking as lifelike as possible.
If you are limited to dead bait,buy the best you can find and keep it in the best possible condition onboard.Do not just toss a solid frozen bait into a bucket of water for a minute and,as soon as it is slightly pliable,stick some hooks in it and toss it into your wake.I guarantee that within a few minutes, as it thaws properly,your hooks will fall out.
Get your first few baits out the ice early while you’re on your way down to your launch site,ideally wrapped in a little moist newspaper,and let them thaw naturally so that the skin remains firm and strong.This will give your hooks something to grip into,and will give you the best possible presentation.
When it comes to livebaiting,don’t over handle livebaits during capture.If possible,avoid touching them at all.Gently shake them off over the livewell,or grab the hook,turn it over and gently shake your livey off into the well.
Make sure the livewell water is well oxygenated throughout the day,and when you rig them,do so in the most lifelike and natural manner you know.
PERSEVERE
You know that old saying that 10% of the anglers,catch 90% of the fish? Well,the truth is that the 10% of the anglers who seem to catch all the fish are the ones who are getting out onto the water and trying for a bite more than most.
Obviously we all know that limitless fishing time is not within everyone’s reach,but the moral of the anecdote is that people often look at these guys,their hooks,their rods,their reels,traces and tackle and social feeds,and believe they need to replicate that to get a fish.Let me assure you that these guys also have many fishless days,so the pics that you see aren’t always a true reflection of the status quo,and they will be the first to admit it.
To end off with,I reiterate:there is no need to fall into the latest and greatest marketing trap in order to catch fish.If you have the budget,then go wild because we all know how much fun a trip to the tackle shop can be,but get the basics right,and don’t get suckered into believing that you need to have 500kg of tackle to catch a fish.
See you on the water!
