Light Gear fishing

[Mick81]

Righto, Well i'm all pretty much new to this plastic and light gear fishing, i've done alot of outside fishing and know trying something different. Iv'e done a little in the past but.. not real sure on the tackle side of things. The main question is what is the best size mono line and brand (i'd rather use mono than braid im used to using it) to use in the bay eg. morton bay, mud island etc...Is the new penn range good or the platypus range? i'm pretty much goning towards the abu garcia C172 spinning reel, have owning a abu spinning real for outside, i love useing it's very smooth and the drag system is top notch too. I have a rod but probably going to get another, what sort are you guys using these days for the smaller stuff?

[Far_Canal]

For the bay and around mud island id probly use around 12lb platypus line, Theres some big snapper around mud island so i wouldnt take many risks. If your gunna hit the shallow reefs around peel there then you may aswell use something like 6lb line, good light fun.

[Scott15]

Give the braid a go for the plastics, a lot more feel than mono. you'll soon get used to it. what fish will u be targeting? i use a shimano raider 3-5kg rod and find it handles ok, If you do decide to use braid go 6 or 8lb

[Mick81]

Well, hopefully i will be targeting snapper and sweeties for most of the time :)

[Scott15]

go up to 12lb then

[Mick81]

Thanks for your advice

[Thud]

Depends what you call light.
I would start on maybe 4kg line, then move to 3kg and ultimately 2kg.
If you have well maintained gear and patience, you will land a lot of fish on light line... bear in mind that you will also lose a lot.
Fish up to 10kg plus are within the realms of the average angler usung 2 kg line but you must be sure that you reels drag is in peak condition or you will lose big time.
I never thought it could be done, but 2 & 3 kilo are my favorite line classes now.
Be patient and good luck (you need that)

The attached fish was on 2kg line.

Cheers,
Tim.

[Jeremy]

Mick,

go the mono, nothing wrong with it. As Thud said, you can catch plenty of good fish on light line if you have skill and patience and quality tackle (don't agree about the average angler bit).

I have been using 3 kg pretest mono for snapper at Mud and my best so far is 5.17 kg. Also have a 1.4 kg snapper on 1 kg line. ;D

I would suggest 4 kg line for starters. Make sure you tie a good double and use a quality leader around 12-14 lb fluorocarbon.

Have fun.

Jeremy

[Mick81]

nice fish there Thud, Thanks for your advice Jeremy and Thud i need all the advice possible to make my fishing days a little easier. Sounds like i'll give the the 4kg line a go first, and see how i go, Is the Pretest Mono available anywhere Jeremy?

[land-lubber]

hey, just to add to the cassarole ::) ive found when fishing plastics with mono, i dropped a lot of fish, esp flatties etc as the hookup didnt happen due to the stretch of mono giving the fish too much time to spit the rubber. as soon as i tried braid, my hookup rates improvesd due to the instant strikepower that u have, even if u dont strike, the lack of stretch is enought to set the hooks. as above, prob. start with 12lb until u get the hang of the gear. if u fish braid, u may be able to drop that a little. i hope this helps in ur selection of gear.
may that new rod bend often :D

[Jeremy]

Mick, I don't think there is anny particular reason to use pretest mono, unless you are ANSA or IGFA and chasing records or fishing comps. There is another thread going around re best mono line and several people have said Platypus platinum. You should be able to pick up a 500 m spool for $15-$20 to spool your reel twice.

Are you in Brisbane? Why not join the BSFC and meet lots of other like-minded people. We have the Platypus pretest line available at $5 per 500 m spool for members.

Land-lubber, most fish I have caught on plastics have been close to the boat. Unless you are using large jig heads, casts are restricted to 40 m or so anyway, so the stretch factor isn't that much. I would think that the way you fish your plastic - avoiding slack line and keeping in touch with it at all times - would be much more relevant to missed strikes than the stretch in mono.

Jeremy

[Mick81]

Thanks again fellas :) I may just start out on mono for starters to get the feel for plastics and go from there. I have used the Platypus stuff before for outside and it is awsome stuff i would asume it would be good for the lighter stuff. Also i have tried the Penn mono range and it is pretty good stuff i have used it on my bigger abu spinning reel for macks and stuff and went awsome. Has anbody else had any experience with Penn mono line?

[2_kilo_killa]

mick,
i exclusively use 2 kilo with a penn 4200 ss reel on a diawa procaster x rod in the estuaries here on tthe goldie/tweed and i love it. i pretty much use it for the bread/butter species and agree, that if youve got your drag set right, there's no reason you cant haul big fish on 2 kilo., the outfit is so light you can see the bites on the tip of the rod before you feel them. it's great.