# surf fishing gear



## jcallaham (Dec 13, 2009)

I"ve been targeting sharks for a while now,but only shore casting. I'm too old and out of shape for kayaking baits and a really big shark would just whip me. that being said my hookups have been pretty good. 7/0 circle hook 90lb test wire leader, been making them about 6'long, 40lb test shock leader 17lb test Pline . reel is an Akios 600ctm. (bait caster )has about 200 yds of mono and about 150yds 20lb test braid. Rod is 13'6" CTS S8 surf. the best way to describe this rod is to say very stiff, It takes a big fish to bend this thing. I can cast a 3oz pyramid and an appropriately sized bait about 70yds. 
I have tested this setup with a scale. With the drag all the way down and pulling as hard as I can it will only pull 7 lbs.

so this morning I get a really good hookup,I can see the dorsal fin out there,it's a big one. I let run till I am pretty far down into the braid backing, and then start tightening the drag. I started gaining line back, in fact I had mono coming back onto the reel then it broke. Dang. so as I am bringing it back in wondering what failed ,it was the line that broke about 75 to 100feet out. spool was full there is about 1/4" showing now.

So the question is if the rod will only pull 7lbs on a scale how can I break 17lb test pulling on a fish. 
by the way the line had been fished once.


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

Any number of things could still cause the kind to break. Abrasions occur during fights from both the fish and the other stuff in the water. A short, fast burst of speed can cause enough shock to break it before the drag can react as well. I could prob go on and on


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## lowprofile (Jan 6, 2013)

you'll pull double the drag with half a spool than a full spool. plus you tightened it down. 

but anything can happen. a small knick in the line will wear through pretty quick under tension. a bluefish could have hit it as well as the dorsal of another shark. it could have also rubbed on the sand bar.


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## jcallaham (Dec 13, 2009)

thanks guys. perfectly good reasons for loosing that fish. Low profile I had completely forgotten about the fact that the reel will pull more when down on line. 

now that I have had a chance to sleep on it my inexpierence didn't help either, I got exited and put too much drag on thinkin I was gonna get spooled. I'll remember this next time.


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## foreverfishing (Nov 30, 2012)

is the reel pulling more drag when low on line true with all conventionals?


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## jcallaham (Dec 13, 2009)

foreverfishing said:


> is the reel pulling more drag when low on line true with all conventionals?


 yes it's true

dang happened again today! this time I had two choices, get spooled or tighten the drag. when I tightened it the fish slowed down but the 20lb test braid backing broke. It could have been the connection between the backing and the mono, but there was no sign off that, just a clean break. Gonna have to come up with a different strategy

you guys are right on when you say this stuff can be addicting. I have never felt the power of a fish like this one,it took off headin straight out like a submarine. I might have been thinkin I was fishing for a small shark,but you never know what may grab your bait,that was a powerful fish.


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

The increase in drag is pretty dramatic as well. I didn't highlight it in my response though, because you sad you stated you were well into your topshot which shouldn't have increased drag by too much. Then again, I don't know how long your topshot is so...


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

I would go with a lot heavier line. I just come down for a week a year. Last year I used 30# mono, but this year I will likely use 70# braid with a topshot of 50# mono. I got caught last year with my pants down and unprepared for some pretty big sharks. I will be better prepared this year with longer, stronger line and drag.


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## sharkwrangler (Sep 29, 2013)

johnf said:


> I would go with a lot heavier line. I just come down for a week a year. Last year I used 30# mono, but this year I will likely use 70# braid with a topshot of 50# mono. I got caught last year with my pants down and unprepared for some pretty big sharks. I will be better prepared this year with longer, stronger line and drag.


I agree with johnf. Use a minimum 65# braid.


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## Ugly 1 (Feb 8, 2013)

I lost a few monsters when I first started because I would increase the drag while the shark was running and then the shark would stop or run towards me and the drag would lock down considerably once the reel stopped moving and then when the shark ran again the drag was way to heavy. The best analogy for me was thinking about your truck moving at 25MPH and using your E brake to bring it to a stop and then once you are completely stopped try moving your truck again and see how that works for you. Good Luck!!! UGLY


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Make sure the reel is up to it as well. The first monster that I hooked into was like I tied my line to the bumper of a bus. It started pulling line, never speed up, never slowed down. I tried to lock him down but he was too big and my line too strong. The drag got real hot and then the gears in the reel turned to gravel! When the reel locked up, the line finally broke.

It was a cheapo Calypso reel that I was using for whiting. It was a throwaway that came on a rod that I wanted. It definitely got thrown away! haha Point being, make sure your reel is up to the task of locking down 65lb braid.


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## Pompano Joe (Jan 28, 2009)

Ugly 1 said:


> I lost a few monsters when I first started because I would increase the drag while the shark was running and then the shark would stop or run towards me and the drag would lock down considerably once the reel stopped moving and then when the shark ran again the drag was way to heavy. The best analogy for me was thinking about your truck moving at 25MPH and using your E brake to bring it to a stop and then once you are completely stopped try moving your truck again and see how that works for you. Good Luck!!! UGLY


That's a good one Ugly! I'll use that one day. Are you in Cali?


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## Ugly 1 (Feb 8, 2013)

Pompano Joe said:


> That's a good one Ugly! I'll use that one day. Are you in Cali?


 Thanks Joe! That's the only way I could make sense of why I kept losing fish and stop doing it! Im still here with the kids. I did not want to miss my first hurricane. My son in law usually flys aircraft out of the danger zone for the storms and getting calls from my terrified daughter when Im in Cali and cant help her and my GD really sucks! Im going to stick around until the storm blows through and then head out. UGLY


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## Randall2point0 (Feb 11, 2011)

Wirelessly posted

I have lost some monster sharks due to the drag being to tight also. One I couldn't prevent, it was either tighten down the drag or get spooled and the other was my fault. First time having a big shark and he was having his way with me. He was in the middle of his first run and I tighten down the drag thinking I didn't want to get spooled, but for some reason I didn't say hey I'm using a 12/0 with 1200 yards of Dacron I'm no where near of being spooled. I was also using a 7/0 mustad j hook that straightened ever so slightly for the hook to pull. Fish and learn right...


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## Joraca (Dec 29, 2007)

A fast fish moving laterally to you will generate a lot more drag near the leader than at your rod tip, due to the added resistance of pulling the line sideways through the water. 

Faster fish, more line in the water, a bigger bow in the line, all increase the added drag.

7 pounds at the rod tip might be double that at the leader. If the spool is 1/2 down, it might be 10 pounds at the rod tip and double that near the fish.


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## Randall2point0 (Feb 11, 2011)

Wirelessly posted



Joraca said:


> A fast fish moving laterally to you will generate a lot more drag near the leader than at your rod tip, due to the added resistance of pulling the line sideways through the water.
> 
> Faster fish, more line in the water, a bigger bow in the line, all increase the added drag.
> 
> 7 pounds at the rod tip might be double that at the leader. If the spool is 1/2 down, it might be 10 pounds at the rod tip and double that near the fish.


Where did you get these statistics?


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## Joraca (Dec 29, 2007)

Randall2point0 said:


> Wirelessly posted
> 
> 
> 
> Where did you get these statistics?


It is seat of my pants, mostly learned from sad break-offs.

With my spinning reels, 15# Ande, I set the drag in the boat by lifting 4 water bottles, or a 2 liter pop bottle. So I know it is real close to 1/3 of the line strength. That works fine for snapper, triggers, cobia, etc. It is too much drag for big kings, mahi, sails or white marlin that take a lot of line fast.

I also know from dragging a flat line behind a fast moving boat to untwist it that just the water flowing against the line will generate enough pressure to spool you once enough line is out. In that case, it is the boat moving away from the line that is generating the tension, and it is greatest at the rod tip. Reverse from the situation of when a fish is on.

The more line that is out, the harder it is to drag through the water, and the more likely it is that a fish can break off near the leader.


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## jcallaham (Dec 13, 2009)

Joraca that makes sense to me. kind of explains things.How 7lbs at the rod tip can be a lot more 150 yards out. 
I think I have a lot to learn about light tackle fishing.


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## lowprofile (Jan 6, 2013)

Randall2point0 said:


> Wirelessly posted
> 
> 
> 
> Where did you get these statistics?


its a well known fact that as the spool diameter decreses the amount of pressure used to make it turn increases. hence why larger tires equal better MPG on the highway. 

easy way to get a good judgment, go look at the side plate on an everol. it tells you exactly what drag you have at what stage of spool your at.


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