Is 30lb Braid Enough?

[Gold_Coast_Chaser]

Hey Guys,

Me and Dad are looking to go out on another charter off mackay in June and im wondering if 30lb braid will be enough to handle the fish we will come across up there (Trout, emporers etc.) I realise that we will need to have a 80lb'ish mono trace so we dont get rubbed of on the reef. But our deep sea rods are fitted up with this new 30lb braid and im wondering what your thoughts are. We'll probably be using them more for bottom bashing as i think the charters tend to suply the trolling gear.

Thanks Guys

[SeaHunt]

It's going to cost a fair bit to upgrade so it is good enough until proven otherwise.
I have had 30 lb on mine for a few years and it has never broken, usually your knots, swivels or leaders break before braid or maybe your hooks straighten.

I only started with 125 yards of fireline and after tying a number of loops it is getting a bit short so I have just bought 300 metres of 50lb Finns, mostly because it was the same price as 30lb, so I thought why not, if it was dearer I would have stuck with 30lb.

[snagking]

My advice would be to use that untill you have problems, just like what SeaHunt said, but if you see a good deal on higher breaking strain, it couldn't hurt to grab it.

Snagking

[Gold_Coast_Chaser]

Hey,

Hopefully it will be suitable for a majority of fish that we will catch obivously it probabaly wont stand up to the size of some big trevally and mackeral but it should be alright for most of the trout and emporers.

i was making sure that i didnt go up there and struggle with a majority of fish but by the sounds of things i should be right.

Cheers Guys

[Scott nthQld]

GCC, having fished the reefs several times up here, I can wholeheartedly say that you will be undergunned against your target species.

50lb is the standard up here, big reds pull like freight trains and with 30lb you have little chance to stop them from getting to the bottom. Many dedicated red fisho's won't look at anything less than 80lb braid for these devils.

Something else you need to consider is sharks. You really do need the extra line strength to get the fish up off the bottom, then up and in the boat quickly. Despite what the EPA, DPI and greenies say, sharks are a real problem when it comes to trying to get fish up from the bottom.

I personally prefer mono on the reefs when bottom bashing, one because you will get busted off and sharked a lot. Last reef trip I went on, one bloke had a new reel spooled with 300m of brand new 50lb braid and came back with nothing but the mono backing. This was one one overnight trip. Because of this using mono works out oh so much cheaper. To be specific, I use 50lb platypus pretest. I also find that the stretch mono gives helps absorb the lunges the fish carries on with, which allows me to get on with the job of pulling it up from the deep.

80lb leader would be minimum, 100lb is generally used, but upto 120lb is also quite common.

Don't be afraid to use big hooks. I use 9/0 gamakatsu octopus pattern hooks, and still manage to catch small sweetlip etc (which end up as live or big strip baits)

[Tangles]

mate do a search on red emperor rigs, foxy and greg give out good tips on rigs, baits etc, like Scott says you will need to go heavier and many wont go less than 80 braid

mike

[Gold_Coast_Chaser]

Hey Guys,

Not what i was hoping to hear, If i used a longer, maybe 15-20m?, heavier mono trace (80lb-120lb) , would this help to avoid the loss of some fish??

Would i lose many fish or just those big ones you speak of?

I realise sharks are a big problem, and you dont want the fish swimming midwater for too long. But last time i was up we used handlines and it took me a while to get the fish up and never had the problem (although i think i was pretty lucky) I would think my retrieve would be faster with a rod than with a handline.

Thanks Guys, Im not real keen on buying new line so i may try using this to begin with, if you have any ideas please comment

Cheers

[Lucky_Phill]

Yes.... use a long leader with braid when fishing for the hard pulling deep fish.

You said " our deep sea rods are fitted up with this new 30lb braid ", you haven't mentioned reels.

This is important for if your reel will not handle the 50 or 80lb then no matter what your rod is, you'll strike trouble.

good luck...



Phill
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[Scott nthQld]

GCC, yes you will boat some fish on that gear, but even in the shallows there are some stonkers. The reef is truly one place where you never know what will take your bait.

Trout and the like will usually give up the fight in deeper water once you get them off the bottom, reds however will fight every inch to the boat, red emperor are the only species I know of that don't suffer from barotrauma.

You're main battle, especially in deeper water will be getting the fish away from sharks. Even the likes of average sized bludger trevally will bust you off on 30lb no worries, by average size, I mean I am yet to catch one under 7kg, most have been in the 8-10kg bracket.

Like i said, you will get fish up on your 30lb so don't stress about not catching anything, but you will catch more and bigger fish using heavier line.

Extra long leadr night help out a bit, but if fishing over hard coral, once the fish gets there, you can just about kiss it goodbye.


What reel are you using, and is there a possibility of getting an additional spool for it? Failing that a cheap overhead like the penn 330gti (which I use and have caught plenty of good fish on), which I bought as a combo with a penn 24kg rod for about $150 a few years ago, will serve you well, you might be able to pick these up for aroung 60-70 bucks I reckon, plus your line whether you choose braid or mono, its upto you. Some swear by braid, others, like me, prefer the cheaper option.

Another advantage of mono is given that you will be busted off so much, whether by sharks or otherwise, you will be re-rigging plnty of times over. Mono will result in less line cuts when you are tying the perfect knot. I might also add at this point that knot strength is imperative, even if there's a hot bite, take your time and tie your knots properly, I've lost count of the number of fish I have lost due to knot failure because of this reason, being in too big of a rush meant my quality of work suffered and as such did the kreel.

But like you said, give your 30lb a go, and if you are undergunned, find something a bit heavier. I proably wouldn't go 25m of leader though, if you're going to go that length, just use heavy mono. Only use a single dropper on the 30lb though, a double header will not end well.

Tips on bait.....use red to catch red. Hussar, pinkies (if you can find them), anything red skinned wil see you pulling big reds.

[Scott nthQld]

Oh, you could just try giving the charter mob a bell and see if they provide rods for bottom bashing, they'll have 50-80lb on them for sure if they do. If you do any trolling, use the 30lb for that, it should be more than enough to tame some big spanno's

[Gold_Coast_Chaser]

Hey Thanks Scott Nth Qld


The rods and reels that both me and my dad will be using are;

1: Reel: Okuma Convector CN 45 L
Rod: Okuma Conquest 6' 12-15Kg
Line: Sufix 30lb Braid (Multicoloured each 10m)

2: Reel: Okuma Convector CN 45 L
Rod: Silstar Powertip LTD 6'6" 8-12kg
Line: Sufix 30lb Braid


And the Charter that we are going on is the boat Elizabeth E II and they have told us to supply our own gear and that so yeh, they said they may have some onboard. I dont think we will be doing a whole lot of trolling seeing the boat is 108ft.

I think i will try these rods to begin with and take a handline for backup, (My dad is keen on the handline as he used them on the Elizabeth E about 20-30yrs ago.

[krazyfisher]

I have been on the elizy E and it is a nice boat, we did a bit of trolling but not much. I fish this area and 30lb mono would be min but on braid I would go to 50lb. I have used 30lb but teeth and coral bust it off too quick. if you have to buy some I would go with 80lb braid. I use 50lb up to the shipping channel past the islands but from there out I use 80lb. just watch the rods if you put too much drag on.
But what you have will catch fish. as for the handlines not fun in the run and 80ft...

[Gold_Coast_Chaser]

I fish this area and 30lb mono would be min but on braid I would go to 50lb. I have used 30lb but teeth and coral bust it off too quick....

Hey, Thanks For that Mate,

I dont see how using 30lb mono is fine but using 30lb braid wont be?, because there will be no teeth near the braid because of the mono leader and the same with coral.??? So shouldnt it be the same?

[krazyfisher]

mono has more give with a hard hit braid will pop. If you are fishing a ledge and the bait is in 60ft that coral can be only 10ft under the water that makes for a very very long leader. With the gear you are using fish will take you into the coral. The onther thing I have found is 30lb braid and 80lb-120lb leader does not mix that well. But as I said what you have will catch fish

[Gold_Coast_Chaser]

Thanks Heaps Mate,

What setup do you think i should use to target these fish?
I would like a rig that I am able to create here and take it up there so all i will have to do is tie 1 knot.
What im thinking is maybe a 60-80lb trace with 1 dropper hook off the side and a sinker on the bottom, but im not too sure whether this is the way to go.
Also im guessing that soft plastics and other will be no good up there because you will lose too much money?

Thanks Again