queensland Spanish - Trace Or No Trace

[Benasi]

HI Guys

 

Lost a big Mackerel on the weekend and an expensive Rapala Deep Diver which is fine but I have been mixing it up lately to see the difference with Strikes and land rates.

 

Sadly this one seem to be cut or busted on the cloth part of the wind on leader but it was the only hook up of the day whilst we have another three with traces in the water that didnt get a strike.

 

Does anyone have personal trolling experience and not use Wire Traces with their lures.  

 

Interested to hear your stories and best success stories 

 

Cheers 

 

[Luke Landrunner]

Interested also on the opinions and preferred methods from the wise fishos on here. 

[Drop Bear]

I have lost too many lures so use a single strand wire trace. @tugger showed me how to use baits under a float and he also uses a wire trace.

One morning off Straddie they were everywhere. I did not have any steel trace with me and was towing diving lures. We managed to get in 4 fish but lost around 10 lures. 

I know a lot of people that wont use wire as they feel that the fish are spooked by it. Not me. 

Can you see the wire in this guys gob?

No mono that I have ever used would stand up to those fangs. 

Good luck mate I hope you get a stack. 

[Benasi]

Thanks mate.

 

That looks like about 80cm.

 

Is that about right ? 

 

 

 

[Doyley]

2 hours ago, Benasi said:

 

That looks like about 80cm.

 

Is that about right ? 

 

 

 

I’m guessing over the 1m mark

[Luvit]

Caught them on both and wire and still have not made up a my mind if one is better than the other.

2 schools of thought on the subject

1/ Always use wire so you don't loose your fish

2/ Mono get more bites but loose more fish and gear.

One time I used soft plastics for them they would not hit the one rigged with single strand wire in front of it. But I did catch one on fluro carbon trace. Not that would make any difference if the teeth touch any trace other than wire they will be gone. 

If you do hook one up on mono be careful to not go to hard it. Meaning they often fight side on to the hook and you can land them staying that side of them. Keeping the pressure on the hook at 90 degrees to the fish keeping the line away form the front of its mouth. If you go too hard on them they change sides to fight and as the leader switches from one side of the mouth to the other the teeth snipe you off.  

Same if you use a circle hook with a livie and one smashes it, this applies.

[Drop Bear]

5 hours ago, Benasi said:

Thanks mate.

 

That looks like about 80cm.

 

Is that about right ? 

 

 

 

I caught this one in January. Here is a report. 

[Benasi]

Luv it ?  Are you Wayne ? 

[Luvit]

1 hour ago, Benasi said:

Luv it ?  Are you Wayne ? 

Yes

[kmcrosby78]

7 hours ago, Doyley said:

I’m guessing over the 1m mark

Rob's a leprechaun, it was sadly not quite legal and had to throw it back .....

[Drop Bear]

On 16/07/2018 at 10:14 PM, kmcrosby78 said:

Rob's a leprechaun, it was sadly not quite legal and had to throw it back .....

You got me again. Here is the original photo....

 

[davostephens]

I always use wire.

And i still loose gear. Dunno how sometimes. All my line and leader and lures are smicko rigged. Not overdone i guess so still get bitten off.

I use 5 - 8 cm of wire in front of my soft plastics. say 40lb. They go it no probs usualy. the wire is albrite knotted to flurocarbon.

I also dont have dirty great big swivels anywhere. On my lures 15 cm of wire to  a small/ tiny 2 way swivel that is tied to my leader.. no coastlock swivel.

On my fishing gear that i live bait with or full pilly float i always use wire. But  i also put 3 foot of mono after the wire to the coastlock swivel usually. If and when i do use coastlocks there a small size.

Yes macs can be weary of wire..maybe more so down south compared to cairns. I dunno. They can be tough up here to at times. but keeping the dags and and thickness to a minimum, your rigs tidy  your swivels small (as they make bubble trails especially when trolling) and your in the game.

A mate swears by 150lb flurocarbon only for his livebait rigs. or lures. Reckons looses bugger all.

Another mate uses 400lb piano wire on his wog heads trolling with gar on paravanes. no rod.. just chord on bungee. But thats cooktown. I reckon there not to cluey up that way.

XRAPs at 27$ a pop.. id rather keep em attached with wire.

 

[GregN70]

Spanish is one of my dream fish to catch. Will be heading to SEQ after Christmas with my new boat to try find myself one.

[GregN70]

or even over the border into NSW, apparently they are thick down there in the summer time

[Drop Bear]

7 hours ago, GregN70 said:

or even over the border into NSW, apparently they are thick down there in the summer time

Yep they were taking live baits off Wooli last easter. They should turn up around here very soon. 

Good luck they are a great fish to both catch and eat. 

[Drop Bear]

On 12/11/2019 at 12:51 AM, davostephens said:

I always use wire.

And i still loose gear. Dunno how sometimes. All my line and leader and lures are smicko rigged. Not overdone i guess so still get bitten off.

I use 5 - 8 cm of wire in front of my soft plastics. say 40lb. They go it no probs usualy. the wire is albrite knotted to flurocarbon.

I also dont have dirty great big swivels anywhere. On my lures 15 cm of wire to  a small/ tiny 2 way swivel that is tied to my leader.. no coastlock swivel.

On my fishing gear that i live bait with or full pilly float i always use wire. But  i also put 3 foot of mono after the wire to the coastlock swivel usually. If and when i do use coastlocks there a small size.

Yes macs can be weary of wire..maybe more so down south compared to cairns. I dunno. They can be tough up here to at times. but keeping the dags and and thickness to a minimum, your rigs tidy  your swivels small (as they make bubble trails especially when trolling) and your in the game.

A mate swears by 150lb flurocarbon only for his livebait rigs. or lures. Reckons looses bugger all.

Another mate uses 400lb piano wire on his wog heads trolling with gar on paravanes. no rod.. just chord on bungee. But thats cooktown. I reckon there not to cluey up that way.

XRAPs at 27$ a pop.. id rather keep em attached with wire.

 

Great stuff thanks for the info. 

[davostephens]

11 hours ago, GregN70 said:

or even over the border into NSW, apparently they are thick down there in the summer time

Yes and no

 

depenending on currents pushing in close, cold greener water, forget it.

fish rock off south west rocks goes well. Troll live slimy slow. One surface and one down rig or paravane.

can be very picky on bait.. yakka last resort apparently. Whole bonito or  Good quality rigged gar go well to.

a mate even does well on those z man chatterbaits with a pilly on hook and a small treble in tail.

[MarkA]

On 16/07/2018 at 10:51 AM, Drop Bear said:

I have lost too many lures so use a single strand wire trace. @tugger showed me how to use baits under a float and he also uses a wire trace.

One morning off Straddie they were everywhere. I did not have any steel trace with me and was towing diving lures. We managed to get in 4 fish but lost around 10 lures. 

I know a lot of people that wont use wire as they feel that the fish are spooked by it. Not me. 

Can you see the wire in this guys gob?

No mono that I have ever used would stand up to those fangs. 

Good luck mate I hope you get a stack. 

What weight wire do you run on your hardbodies mate? I lost a rapala to metal fatigue once but can’t remember what wire I used now. 

[davostephens]

56-65 pound.usualy does it..

however after a fish sometimes its curled.. or pigtails so replace then.

Also I found a few lures or rigs have just popped. May be due to rigs sitting for extended period and some salt on haywire twist section.

one just popped on a cast, the other on a reasonable fish but with no excessive weight on the rig,  beats me?

il just replace wire more often.

[GregN70]

Surely these fish head up to Qld occasionally?

[ellicat]

They sure do. Summer species fairly prolific around the Goldcoast.

[GregN70]

54 minutes ago, ellicat said:

They sure do. Summer species fairly prolific around the Goldcoast.

Dam, I'm all the way up at Yeppoon, :-(

[davostephens]

15 minutes ago, GregN70 said:

Dam, I'm all the way up at Yeppoon,

U get em more so winter north  qld. You should stills have em round now in Yeppoon.

i still get a few round summer depending on how much fresh water about with wet season in cairns. But way more June-oct..

[GregN70]

1 hour ago, davostephens said:

U get em more so winter north  qld. You should stills have em round now in Yeppoon.

i still get a few round summer depending on how much fresh water about with wet season in cairns. But way more June-oct..

Never hear of them being caught around here much.