North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

hey was just wondering what is to light? i am gonna be loading it on a 2500 - 3000 for mostly barra but wouldnt mind catching pelagic and other estuary fish with it?

most people say 30lb, but some same 20lb is enough.

what do the clever minds of FFF think?

or are they both wrong ?

i want to fight the fish, not skull drag but i dont want to be broken off cause i am out gunned

any and all info much appreciated

Cheers,
Nofo

20 lb is fine for fighting fish but I like to use 30 for barra because of snags and abrasions. I use 20 for tuna and skinnies.

What Seano said. If you want to stop a barra from going in the timber then you wish you had 30lb, but 20lb will cast further when chasing tuna. Lighter line will get you more strikes but not always more fish. I have 30lb on my barra rods and another with 20lb to cover my bases

30lb never know when ya gunna catch the big one....

So could do 20lb but 30lb is better to be safer ?

There is a school of thought that suggests you are wasting your time with a line that has a breaking strain higher than your maximum drag, I haven't given it enough thought to form an opinion but on face value the thought has merit.

Knots in braid reduce line strenght to a fraction of the original, 30lb offers a margin of safety, also on baitcasters the slightly bigger line diameter helps prevent the line digging in to itself.

Yep, agree Mako, can't argue with the line digging in, however if you are using a bimini at the end of your braid and connecting to a wind on leader theoretically you don't reduce any line strength.

Just to be clear I use 30lb on one low profile overhead and 50lb on the other. My 1000 egg beaters are spooled with 10lb and the 2500 with 20lb. I am therefore not arguing against 20 or 30lb braid but adding to the discussion.

Been using 8lb powerpro/20lb blackmagic,ABU 442 spin, 2-4 kg Ugky Stik Gold rod, and haven't had any problem, just takes a bit longer to play the fish in. 60lb on the Charter for bottom bashing/bluewater trolling, and 30lb on the Revo for barra. Got the Okuma baitrunner set up with 250m/ 20lb suffix/40lb blackmagic ,7' Ugly Stik Platinum,for livebaiting/casting off the wharf/rocks/beach..Comes down to your ability to use the drag and the smoothness of its operation..Got in the habit of cleaning me gear after every session and leaving the drags backed right off when not in use.
Every fisho gets bricked by an 'unstoppable' now and then, and the best gear/technique will fail..that's fishin.
We're all individuals and will ultimately use whatever we're comfortable with.
Forums such as this just broaden the scope of available options.

I started out using 20lb on the baitcaster but kept getting broken off over logs and rocks etc.
Moved up to 30lb but the distance suffered.
Moved back to 20lb and got spooled (almost) recently.


I bought a big reel (1200 yards of 30lb)of fins online recently so that will last me a few weeks or so.
I will use it on almost everything from pelagics to barra.

mako - yeah the digging issue does seem to be a problem, so do you think 30lb on a spin will reduce it? and i in knot books it says most knots reduce the breaking strain by at least 30 - 40 % ? or is this for only certain knots?

i heard you get alot more hits with lighter lines and lighter leaders, is this true? and why is ? cause the fish cant see the line? or does it change the action of the lures?

olfart - good post but 8lb!! thats a tad light! what do you use that for?

Flickin off the wharf.. best so far 85cm skinny. Can get really good action on flickbaits and cast the small stuff effortless. No different to the Revo in line capacity and just have to play the fish out. Heaps more fun than skulldragin everything. Save that for the lemons.

Got onto it when a trev grabbed my baitjig,had a ball till he ran me into the pylons..Started lobbing flicks at a school of skinny, and got hooked up..He got aerial and I took a good 15mins to get him to the gaff, from then on, you might say I was hooked.
Respooled with 8lb powerpro/ 20lb leader.
Currently using 2m leader to act as a shock absorber when a good fish hits, once he's on, it's simply a matter of wearing him down.
Definitely get more solid hits and hookups, this being largely, I feel, due to the finer line /leader being far less visible, and the almost perfect imitation of a wounded baitfish by the lure.
Get some strange looks at times, but then, I've never been accused of being conventional.
graham

poop that sounds like a hell of a good time!!! what reel do you use? i might load my 4000 symetre with 15lb - 20lb and then get a stradic ci4 3000 and load that with 30lb (for barra fishing)

Little(and I mean LITTLE) Abu 442 spin mounted on a 2-4kg Ugly Stik Gold 6'.. Origionally bought it for Mrs OF to chase whiting on. Had it loaded with sufix Magic Touch mono, 10lb, looks and feels like 2kg but wasn't up to anything with a bit of go in it.
Swapped to Powerpro Braid, couldn't get sufix in 8lb, and bobs me uncle.
More fun than a room full of monkeys when a good fish hooks up.
Not everyone's cup of tea, I s'pose, but that's fishin, and most importantly for me, I'm havin fun.
graham.