why handlines?

[dogsbody]

Going to fish a little patch of reef next sat for a week ;) and advise i have got from some is to take a handline. So my ? is what advantages does a handline give me over using a rod? Your enlightenment appreciated.


Dave.

[krazyfisher]

the idea is that you have more power and bigger line. this is of course only if your rods are not big enough. just use the right rod.

[finga]

More sensitive. Might be a real dodgy bottom or finiky fish

[trueblue]

depends on what sort of fish you are after.

If you have fish that will brick you by swimming into a hole in the reef (Like Coral Trout) a heavy handline can stop them in their tracks if you are on the ball. (Hurts a bit sometimes though!!)

Sometimes just the amount of line given to a fish by loading up (Bending) a rod is enough for them to brick you if they took the bait just outside their hole.

Just give a handline a go... and remember to never respool the line onto the roll until finished with it, just pul the line up and let it settle on the deck at your feet. Much quicker to get a bait back in the water and also stops line twist.

Its something you will have to decide for yourself if you like the technique. You can either use a double Paternoster or alternatively just a big single hook with a running sinker directly over the hook.

You typically don't want to use a handline for soft mouthed species as you will pull hooks quite easily as you have considerable power over the fish.

Carry a knife on your belt though because if an unstoppable takes the line and you get tangled in it you need to cut yourself free pretty quickly. 100 lb plus lines don't break very easily.

Definitely don't give a heavy handline to a kid as they could be pulled overboard by a big fish if they get tangled.

Cheers

Mick

[dogsbody]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Mick fishing the Swains so lots of redthroat, coraltrout and the like i hope.

I will add a handline to the mix and a bit of hand protection.


Dave.

[mariner_22]

Hey dogsbody

Mate i know they are a pain but throw in the handline. I have fished the swains a couple of times mate and handlines definately out fish rod and reel in the dory. This is because you are fishing really shallow water and need to be on the ball. However, for everything else I use rod and reel much more fun and much more sporty but in the shallow stuff right up in the lagoons a handline is the way to go just use it accompaned with a beley trail of pillies and float out an unweithed or lightly weighted pillie in the trail and bobs you uncle plenty of trout and sweeties.

[cammac]

Theyre Cheaper, Theyre Simpler, and Theyre Better !!! - Too easy !!:o ;D

[aw65]

I have seen some that have handlines with bungee type cord tied on them, Why? and how?
aw65

[mariner_22]

Aw65 these are used for trolling lures

[trueblue]

Now we are getting into handline specialties...

Ok. Trolling lures with a Handline for mackeral. A method used by pros quite regularly when they know exactly where the fish are (Typically up north where they use a spotter plane to find them)

Anyone who has tried trolling a spoon lure will have found that they spin like buggery and give massive line twist sometimes. What can be done to counter this is to rig up a handline with heavy chord or rope as the main line, spliced down to a wire leader and then crimped onto the spoon lure. (Wire doesn't work where you have spooky fish obviously and can be changed for heavy flurocarbon leader).

There must be a rubber bungee chord tied from the back of the boat to the chord allowing a good shock absorbing function.

Just troll till you get a hit (5/0 to 8/0 VMC hooks in a spoon lure depending on the fish size) and then just haul it in hand over hand. Without the bungee you will tear the hooks out, but using the bungee it is rare to drop the fish once you are hooked up.

I know this sounds radical, but next time you are in a good tackle shop, look for the heavy handlines with rope instead of mono line. This is what those units are for. Many will actually come rigged up with a spoon lure, but few people know what to do with them.

I have not done it for years since I lived up north, but I have contemplated it again recently when I kept getting snipped off by snappy teeth in the northern bay and if I used a wire trace they just buggered off. Maybe I'll give the spoons a go there next season. The big advantage of spoon lures is that the macks usually have a big gob full of lure and hook and don't get up to the trace to snip it off if the lure is big enough.

I don't know why, but macks up north seem to take a much bigger spoon lure than any slug being cast at them.

If not using wire and you get snipped off, you can try increasing the spoon lure size until you don't get snipped off anymore.

Cheers

[Brett1907]

If you're fishing over the side with a hand line and heavy mono, put a 1in legnth of bycicle inner tube over your index fingers. This will help stop the line from getting to know your finger bones!

Up north we have pulled in 8ft sharks and BIG Mauri wrasse on hand lines. I remeber when I was 16, it took 3 of us to get this one shark up to the boat. Had very saw fingers, and not from the sharp teeth.

Brett

[aw65]

Yes it is for trolling, still unsure how? do I just tie the bungee cord on the reel and then onto the line?
aw65

[saurian]

DOGSBODY , I use 80 pound braid for reef bashing , I break 9/0 hooks before anything else.
I use a rod and gimbal.
Some of the blokes that have been with me use handlines and get cut hands, fingers, even broken handspools.
I even use 200pnd braid as a leader.
Anyway handlines are "KISS" Keep It Simple Stupid.
Sometimes I agree.
Buy some lightweight rubber safety gloves as used by concretors,tradesmen etc (on safety over- concious job sites )if you are going to use a handline.
They are the new age bike tubes , save your hands and still feel bites..
Cut one digit finger end off to feel bites .
They are black in colour and are sort of like a mega thick black condom with dimples...
You can get them from most mainstream safety clothing/apparell stores.
Ta

[dogsbody]

A big thanks for all your advice people. I love this site.

I will take a handline and get some of those mega thick black condoms with dimples. ;D 2 days to go :)


Dave.

[cammac]

As a kid we almost always used handlines- in the boat for bream and Jewies and down at the Narrabeen lagoon in the real early days we used the old Coke bottles !!! Really hard to beat the old handline for feeling the bites.
Local identity George fishes the beach here with a home made carbon fibre hand spool for Sharks - the commercial spools werent strong enough - he uses 50 and 80lb with live mullet for bait. Think his best catch is 8 foot bronzie !!
The humble handline is still alive and kicking!!

Cam