Breaking 40lb leader

[Gary Busey]

Took my dad out to Peel this morning and kept getting busted off.

I was on 15lb leader when I got the 1st big one. It took off and cut through the leader like butter so I quickly upgraded to 40lb (the heaviest I had on board).

Went quiet for a bit then both our lines went screaming within 2 seconds. Lost mine straight away and again wound in a bitten off leader. My dad got his close to the boat, then let it run 100+ meter. He was slowly and carefully gaining line for a while, then busted.

I put on one of those wire traces but only undersized squire would touch it. I switched back to 40lb and got busted again soon after.

Pretty frustrated that we had potential for our greatest day ever but lacking the knowledge to seal the deal.

So please help :dry:

What do you think was getting the better of us and how would we stop them in future?

Thanks.

Murray.

[Jords]

Hey mate was it a clean break, or was the leader frayed at all?

[PlasticFantastic]

Would most likely be sharks, there's not many fish in the bay that would do you over on 40lb leader.

Cheers

Mark

[fishingnut]

Tailor? ther are plenty of em out in the bay at the moment, can be a real pain in the arse!

[Bagless]

Would be good to know what bait you were using and where in the water column you were presenting it. There are many creatures in the bay that will make mince meat of your leader, either instantly or by a thousand cuts . Also the type of fight could be a clue, fast powerful line stripping runs or slow stubborn line dragging resistance. Depending on your answers to those questions it could be anything from a turtle, stingray, one of the larger varieties of toad / puffer fish, pike / moray eel, or most likely a shark or tailor, to name a few. Although I'd think Tailor would be less likely if you were fishing the bottom around peel. I think the toad / puffer fish have been responsible for many of my clinical bite off's, even biting through hooks. Although they don't tend to be too crash hot in the fighting department, still they can grow surprisingly large in the bay.

In terms of reducing bite off's the best tricks I'm aware of are either wire trace or using hooks that have a higher chance of hooking in the corner of the mouth, such as circle or wide gape (even long shank will give you a better chance of keeping the leader safe from the weaponry).

[Baptism]

sounds like some toothy fish.

I'd bring along some steel trace in the future. just for insurance

[madmullet]

Lost mine straight away and again wound in a bitten off leader.

being bitten off so quickly i would say shark

My dad got his close to the boat, then let it run 100+ meter. He was slowly and carefully gaining line for a while, then busted.

with this on as well i would say def not a toad or tailor unless you were using really light line for the length of run it had. i think u jaw hookid a shark and on its run turned it head so the line came across its face and it bit you off

quote]

[Gary Busey]

Thanks guys.

I think shark sounds the closest out of those suggestions.

Although there were plenty of dolphins around at the same time, including a mother and calf. And they seemed pretty relaxed.

We were using half pillies at the big red beacon, Nth Peel, baits sitting close to the bottom.

We had 2500 and 4000 reels with 10lb and 15lb braid. They were pushing our gear to the limits but we would have had a small chance if the leader held.

They were fast. really fast. A couple of them didn't struggle too much at 1st, but they must have seen the boat and they'd run, and run. not much fighting action like headshakes, mainly running.

Pretty much clean cuts each time. Maybe a couple of scuffs but straight through.

I've caught plenty of rays and these felt consistantly different to what I'm used to.

Speaking of rays... We found a 14meter dropoff at Macleay full of big rays and turtles. Saw a huge manta (I think) jump 3 foot straight up.

I haven't caught huge tailor (I think 40cm max) but these felt way to big to be monster tailor.

I'd feel much better about loosing sharks. I was hoping that I hadn't missed my chance at my 1st tuna or mackerel.

Cheers.

Murray.

[madmullet]

Thanks guys.

I think shark sounds the closest out of those suggestions.

Although there were plenty of dolphins around at the same time, including a mother and calf. And they seemed pretty relaxed.

quote]

dont let the old wifes tail about dolphins = no sharks. cause i have 2 spots i shark and if their are no dolphins around these areas, their are no sharks. they hang around in the same area for 1 main reason......food..... most of the time they can be in the same water as each other. the main preditors for the dolpin around hear are tigers or if a dolphin is sick then bull sharks will take advantage, but for the size of sharks you were hooking, they wouldnt be in the least worried.

[Guest]

unlucky mate? what did you recon it was?

[beckenry]

Tailor? ther are plenty of em out in the bay at the moment, can be a real pain in the arse!

There are still tailors out there? Man they are so fun to catch

[Bi_polar]

I had the same thing happen on Sunday at Peel ... I did see some big mackerel schooling up that looked like spotties or something bigger, maybe it was them.

[Hfisho77]

yeh mate i reckon some decent mackeral was what you ran into by the sounds of what the fight was like. But sharks are also a possibility

[tugger]

I'd lean towards mackerel and if you want to target them try using thin single strand wire but you do have to tie your own rigs

[Bi_polar]

yeah... they looked like spotties but bigger...Could have been a Hoo or a spanish.... a mate got one off Coochii the week before last.

Anything is possible this time of year

[Gary Busey]

Well I'll have to get some bigger gear and learn some mackerel rigs then

The 4000 is the biggest I've got.

I'll have a look for some info but feel free to post any links or suggestions on decent but good price reel/rod and mackerel rigs.

Cheers.

Murray.

[Terry H]

I'd lean towards mackerel and if you want to target them try using thin single strand wire but you do have to tie your own rigs

I'm more inclined to agree with tugger.

Two reasons are:

1. Sharks aren't fast. (Although with a 2500 reel size, almost anything would seems fast)

2. I wouldn't expect wire leaders to put off a shark, where they are more likely to put off a mackeral.

[battlescar]

big hairtail

[Bi_polar]

Dont think they were hairtail, these took off with an explosive run but hairtail have a very slow run at about walking pace.

[neal82]

i've had the same thing happen to me at peel mate and thats running 30lb braid on a saragosa 8000F with 40lb mono leader on a 7-12kg stick, couldn't slow this thing around at all even with the drag on pretty tight. It was a struggle to hold on at times. never saw what it was, but it owes me a hook.