01-04-2003, 05:21 PM
[cool] Unlike most members on this board, I am a light tackle specialist. I seldom fish a reel rated at more than 8# test. If you buy quality reels and lines, your only occasional tuneup expense will be new drag washers.
I have several "10-1" club fish...fish more than 10 times the rated line strength. These include both salmon and stripers over 40 pounds on 4 lb. mono...and the old Mitchell 408 lightweight reels. These days I fish lightweight Shimanos and seldom use heavier than 6#, unless I am fishing the salt for toothy critters that like to dive into the rocks.
There isn't a fish in Deer Creek or Strawberry that you couldn't whip on the 4# or 6# Silver Thread Excalibur line I use. I have taken fish over thirty pounds on the six and over twenty on the four, with no line or knot failures.
Like Dave, I do not spool up completely with the "working line". I start with a base of lesser line, about two pounds heavier rated than what I am casting. I join the two with a good blood knot and make sure the knot is at the bottom of the spool, up snug against it, to eliminate catching on the line as it peels off the spool. In most situations I will not have more than about sixty yards of fresh line on top of the base. By the time I have taken it back a few yards (tieing new lures, snag breakoffs, etc.) it is time to strip off the rest and put on a fresh batch.
Good line is not cheap, but simply topping off your spool with the good stuff brings down the cost. And, if we spend all that money on tooling up for a trip and driving there, why skimp on the final connection between you and the fish?
As far as line ratings on reels, in most cases they are more suggestions than absolutes. Manufacturers rate their gear to help fishermen get the best performance. Some of the pros spool middleweight spinning reels with superlines rated for 50#, when they are pitching or flipping into extreme cover. You have to match your tackle to fhe fishing situation.
PS, Road...you need to check the post office next week for FB2's box that Santa left down here for him. It went out Thursday. HO HO HO.
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I have several "10-1" club fish...fish more than 10 times the rated line strength. These include both salmon and stripers over 40 pounds on 4 lb. mono...and the old Mitchell 408 lightweight reels. These days I fish lightweight Shimanos and seldom use heavier than 6#, unless I am fishing the salt for toothy critters that like to dive into the rocks.
There isn't a fish in Deer Creek or Strawberry that you couldn't whip on the 4# or 6# Silver Thread Excalibur line I use. I have taken fish over thirty pounds on the six and over twenty on the four, with no line or knot failures.
Like Dave, I do not spool up completely with the "working line". I start with a base of lesser line, about two pounds heavier rated than what I am casting. I join the two with a good blood knot and make sure the knot is at the bottom of the spool, up snug against it, to eliminate catching on the line as it peels off the spool. In most situations I will not have more than about sixty yards of fresh line on top of the base. By the time I have taken it back a few yards (tieing new lures, snag breakoffs, etc.) it is time to strip off the rest and put on a fresh batch.
Good line is not cheap, but simply topping off your spool with the good stuff brings down the cost. And, if we spend all that money on tooling up for a trip and driving there, why skimp on the final connection between you and the fish?
As far as line ratings on reels, in most cases they are more suggestions than absolutes. Manufacturers rate their gear to help fishermen get the best performance. Some of the pros spool middleweight spinning reels with superlines rated for 50#, when they are pitching or flipping into extreme cover. You have to match your tackle to fhe fishing situation.
PS, Road...you need to check the post office next week for FB2's box that Santa left down here for him. It went out Thursday. HO HO HO.
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