# King Mackerel: Questions about Wire Leader



## Fishymcfisherman

Hey guys, I have been hearing rumblings that the King Mackerel are going to be coming in soon. I have heard many people say that I should be using wire leader for them, I have never worked with wire leader before. I started messing around with some 58lb wire (dont want to lose any fish ) and I have been having trouble removing the tag when I am finishing up the hay wire knot. How do you get that little "lever" to rotate and just snap off the tag so it doesnt leave a sharp edge. Any tips on how to work with wire would be great.


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## Nopierpressure

Just bend it straight down then straight back up the main line... it will break off completely hidden!


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## Jaybird

Keep in mind that wire will reduce the number of strikes if the water is clear. For the smaller summer kings, I've had great luck trolling gotcha plugs on 20# mono with no leader. Stand a great chance of getting cut off but that's better than no strikes at all.


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## Jaybird

Keep in mind that wire will reduce the number of strikes if the water is clear. For the smaller summer kings, I've had great luck trolling gotcha plugs on 20# mono with no leader. Stand a great chance of getting cut off but that's better than no strikes at all.


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## captainblack

my bro swears by 40# mono leader but still has a cut off or two, ive always use around 30-40# wire, ive always used small crimp sleeves though (im sure thats cut down my strikes even more) so never had an issue with sharp edges after wrapping wire around. the few ive made for spanish with really light wire and did a twist on i just snipped it off as close to the mainline as i could then sort of pinched it down with pliers though.


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## DHB699

We use 27# coffee color wire breaks clean and if your trolling I have not seen any differents in # of hits but have a lot less lost rigs with wire


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## Fishymcfisherman

Well I have 58lb wire in my possession as well as some 30lb and 50lb leader. So I guess i'll have to try both out


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## firstshot

For pier fishing, if you are using single strand, 32lb is about right. With sevenstrand wire use 27 or 30lb. Anything larger and you wil get far fewer bites. With live or dead bait from the pier you do NOT want to use a mono leader. Some of the previous posts mention trolling but since this is posted in the pier section, trolling could be difficult.:thumbsup:


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## Fishymcfisherman

Thanks guys, I had one of the guys on the pier check out my rig. I have a cork, 90lb swivel (I have yet to find a way to tie wire directly to the 60lb braided line without it cutting) about 18in of wire hook, and a stinger. Now I just need to find me some kings. Someone caught a 25lb one today, but apparently the season has really yet to begin. Cant wait to start reeling in the biggies . The 20inc Spanish though are nice. Thanks for all the help guys!


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## Mullethead

Since this is in the Pier & Bridge section I am assuming you are King fishing from the pier. 
Livebaiting, a leading is a must as a big boy will engulf the bait - 

How about a mono top shot - even a short one - rather than braid to swivel to leader ? Long enough to put your cork on the mono section 

On a Pier I like # 4 wire rather than #6 - Live baiting ofsore I had to scale up to #6 to keep larger kings from biting through the wire -but on a pier # 4(about 40 lb test) should be enough - 27 is good stuff for spanish and schooly kings - 

And once you figure out how to break the wire off - its easy - get some to show you how - about a two minute lesson at any tackle shop - but use a complete haywire twist - marry the two strands then finish with a barrel wrap - a simple barrel wrap will come undone! 

Good luck and look forward to your posts ....


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## Fishymcfisherman

Now what knot would you use to tie your wire directly onto the mono or braid. I have yet to find a knot to do so without it cutting. If I could do this I would rather prefer to use it directly tied then to a swivel.

Also this would be useful for the larger Spanish mackerel coming in and cutting my 50lb leader. If I tie wire to a swivel to my main line, it seems they go after the swivel instead and cut my main line, and forget the gotcha lure.


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## Fishymcfisherman

Now what is number 6 fishing wire and number 2? I got 30lb wire, and 58 for kings. So how would you tie the leader to the wire so you have braid, leader, wire lure for spanish mackerel. I this also a good idea for kings?


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## Fishymcfisherman

Do you guys use treble hooks, circle or just regular hooks?


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## Chris V

I use #3-#4 single strand and #4, 4X Mustad trebles or a stinger with a #1 single hook in front with a #4 treble. I attach the wire to the mono main line with either as very small swivel or an albright knot.


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## Fishymcfisherman

what is a #3-#4 strand, is that weight or what?


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## Todd

#3, #4, etc mean the same thing as 31 and 40 pound breaking strength wire. You can go to malinco.com and see their list in the hardwire section.

Use two treble hooks for live bait rigs. They are very easy to make and I would be more than happy to show you how. You will say, oh. that's it? Same with breaking off the tag end.

My favorite is slow trolling live bait for kings and watching the bait get nervous and try to run then to stare eye to eye with a big king that busts 5 ft out of the water trying to kill the bait.

You can do the same thing on the pier with a big pier rod set up kind of like a kite line. A spider weight goes on the end of your line and chucked as far as can be. A simple shower curtain ring sent down on that line with your bait line keeps your lil fishy splashing on the surface. Fun stuff


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## Mullethead

Fishymcfisherman said:


> Now what is number 6 fishing wire and number 2? I got 30lb wire, and 58 for kings. So how would you tie the leader to the wire so you have braid, leader, wire lure for spanish mackerel. I this also a good idea for kings?


Don't you hang ut in tackle shops for hours? 
*Per Malin catalog:*

*Stainless Steel Leader*
No. Lb. Test Diameter Feet/Lb.1 25 .010 3,7232 27 .011 3,0983 31 .012 2,6044 40 .013 2,2185 43 .014 1,9136 61 .016 1,4657 80 .018 1,1578 93 .020 9379 108 .022 775


Take Todd up on his offer :thumbsup:


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## Fishymcfisherman

Thanks guys for all the information! I went out on the pier and the guys said I got a good setup. I didnt use a treble hook though for the first hook, I could though. So for cigar minnows and small spanish with a treble hook, do you just hook one into the nose? I saw people doing it that way, and am guessing that is correct. Thanks again for all the help!


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## bigrick

I would never use 20# mono for kings, lose a couple $20 lures and I think you'd agree. The best all around rig for live baiting kings is to run a small swivel, I've seen 70# swivels the size of a pin so I don't think it will spook fish. Tie your wire to the swivel and run about 3 to 4 feet of wire back to a #4 trebel depending on the size of the bait( in general bigger bait=bigger fish) Then run another peice of wire about 4 to 6 inches back( again according to the size of the bait) and then use another treble. The best way to hook a bait up is through the nose like you stated, I usually stick the back hook into the tail of the fish, some people just let it hang. Back in the day when I fished on the peir most people would only use a single treble , but you will definately get more hook ups with the stinger hook, the kings ( usually smaller size) like to bite the tail of the bait first to disable the bait then turn back for the rest. The stinger hook will get them the first time.


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## sig226

i had a couple stretchs cut off with 60 lb fluorcarbon, no more mono for me use 30 to 38 lb wire, still catch limit almost every trip when they are running


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## Buckyt

I was probably lucky this morning when I caught a 30+ lb King on a stretch 30 with no leader.


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## guam_bomb80

sig226 said:


> i had a couple stretchs cut off with 60 lb fluorcarbon, no more mono for me use 30 to 38 lb wire, still catch limit almost every trip when they are running


 Ive never had a problem getting cut off with Stretchs.... I just use a 220# snap swivel to the split ring. However, sometimes they open the snap

Wondering why everyone is using such long wire leaders?? I was showed a long time ago that a 6-10inch leader works as well if not better for kings and spanish than a 2-4 ft wire leader. I can understand a long leader when shark fishing, buy not for kings or spanish......... Maybe someone can explain?


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## Catchinem

Ever been "tail whipped" ?


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## guam_bomb80

Catchinem said:


> Ever been "tail whipped" ?


Of course... But with 30lb line, ive never had a problem with getting cut off from anything but sharks from the tail end. But who knows... I could be getting lucky.


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## Fishymcfisherman

So do you guys think that 20-30lb braid with a medium rod could hold up to a King? I got a big rod and then 3 set up with 30lb braid, and wondered if it was worth risking throwing it in with a chunk of a Spanish Mackerel on it. 

And about using longer leader, I recently had a very very nice spanish, may have been a small king cut me off about 2 feet above my swivel, which had about 12in of 50mono, and then 10in of 58lb wire. I was very unhappy rofl.


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## bigrick

Catchinem said:


> Ever been "tail whipped" ?


 
Exactly, you want something longer than the body of the fish your targeting. A kings tail will cut through your 20# mono quick if you have a 4 inch leader. Maybe you'll get lucky but I've learned to do everything to put the odds in your favor when fishing. Lose a fish doing something wrong and you'll never do it again. :thumbsup:


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## FishAddict

For pier fishing ditch the cork, use 15lb mono, a 50-75lb small swivel, 18-24" of 27lb uncoated Sevenstrand, and a #2 treble. For the wire you can tie a figure 8 knot on both ends or granny knot and wrap. You need 250-300 yds of line, especialy for these early season studly kings........Occasionally you still will get the 27lb bitten throuh, but you get more bites. Good luck...


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## tofer

FishAddict said:


> For pier fishing ditch the cork, use 15lb mono, a 50-75lb small swivel, 18-24" of 27lb uncoated Sevenstrand, and a #2 treble. For the wire you can tie a figure 8 knot on both ends or granny knot and wrap. You need 250-300 yds of line, especialy for these early season studly kings........Occasionally you still will get the 27lb bitten throuh, but you get more bites. Good luck...


:thumbup: That's the way to do it! I end up with the 30# sevenstrand since I have a hard time finding the 27 but like he said you can tie it with the sevenstrand which I learned is much easier. I like to snell the hook with the sevenstrand though. 

Check this video: 




That's how you do it from a pier, be sure to pull the wire kind of tight on the hook because it likes to unravel a bit, it still holds most of the time though even if it does come loose. I've even added a little super glue just to make it really tight on there.


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## Fishymcfisherman

Thanks guys for all the help, I got my first King yesterday and it was estimated at easily 30lbs... problem was the hook I was using was too small and it came out (-.-)p  Someone was willing though to give us a 10lb chuck of King which we have been happily munching on. Thanks again!


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## sig226

i use 30 to 40 lb wire. usually catch limit quick, just caught two big uns last fri. had some bite off 60 ld mono, to much to lose at 9.00 to 15.00 for stretchs


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## sig226

ive had them cut a leader on long run like single strand about 30


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## sig226

*fishy*


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## sig226

*more fishs*


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## TheonlyMariner

Someone was posting on here about a knot to tie braid/mono to wire or heavier mono, try this one, I use it all the time esp for spanish to avoid a swivel. Would not recommend it with a spoon.

http://www.animatedknots.com/albrig...ge=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com


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