Too many spoolings - upgraded tackle suggestions please

[tiotony]

Since (I expect) declaration of the net free zone, the size of fish at my local beach spot has been increasing year by year, to the point now that I am regularly bringing a knife to a gun fight and getting spooled often.

Typical example was yesterday evening where I was spooled twice (both times I was lucky enough to break off at the fish end and not at the (emptied) reel end. Other than two obvious shark biteoffs (or possibly mackeral), managed to hold onto one that was manageable:

 This was released at the water's edge (as you can see its being washed by waves) after a quick measure at 97cm and a quick photo. Was by myself so dehook while keeping it in the water (as per the rules) would have been impossible. Do note I'm chasing salmon/ queenfish etc. and not closed season barra (until February anyway).

So I'm basically using 3-5kg 7 foot SP type rods and 2500 Diawa Sols on which I have gone from 6 up to 10 pound braid, live mullet or fairly large strip baits on a long 30lb leader and as light lead as I can get away with whilst still getting a decent cast.

So, can anyone suggest specific rod, reel, braid brand etc. that will allow me to lob out a live mullet or strip bait a decent way, on lets say 25lb braid and often casting into the wind?

I'm thinking maybe 4000 size Shimano Thunnus baitrunners with 25lb braid, on possibly an 8 foot rod to compensate for losing casting distance with the heavier braid. Possibly also biting the bullet and upping lead size but I'm not keen on that.

Thanks in advance  

[ellicat]

Never used it myself, but @Breaming with brohas stumbled on a line called "Gliss" that has a thin diameter for its strength. Maybe check that out.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hey tiotony

I know it's close season but excellent work on that barra. That's pretty big!

I would fish with something around the 4000-5000 mark, with 30lb braid. That can handle and pull up large salmon rather quickly, but you'd be hoping you had lots of line for a big mackerel. I would pair it with a 10-15KG Ugly Stik, and while I've never used them a Live Fibre Blade and Tails is supposed to be a great rod. A baitrunner would be good as well - extra features make easier fishing. 

The main thing I think you'd want is lots and lots of line. That way when they go for massive runs you still have a chance to stop them. It'll be exciting to hear about some captures.

Cheers Hamish

[Ed.]

Personally I am not a fan of WTF Gliss line, I bought a few spools of 18kg gliss, put it on my reels and decided to test it one day, it wouldn't even pick up a 2.5kg weight off the floor without snapping so I binned the lot. Others here have much better success with it, maybe I got a bad batch, who knows?

As for reels I prefer Penn spinning reels mainly in the live liner version such SSVI4500LL, it is a strong but heavier reel than comparable brands for the size and has more than adequate line and drag capacity. The SSVI2500LL is a smaller size but slightly larger than what you have so probably not an major improvement for you.

I recently bought a Abu Veritas 3 9'2" 6-10kg 2 piece which will fit it and they do make smaller sizes in that rod model, it seems like it a reasonable rod and should do the job for break wall and rock fishing and such, giving me extra reach from the rocks but as yet I haven't had a chance to physically try it out.

Currently I have the SSV4500LL on a Ugly Stik 7', 2 piece 6-10kg USG-SP702GP rod and I have  a spare spool. On the spare spool which is loaded with 40lb Powerpro line and the other I have a thin diameter 18lb mono. As there are heaps of other models of rod and reels that will suit, it makes it hard to choose as personal taste  will dictate what you like.

[Brodie_S]

Yeah gliss is a excellent thin line I haven’t had any fraying issues yet and I’ve used it a fair bit now . Basically it’s just like braid but a lot thinner and also has a slightly different feel to it . It has excellent casting but because it’s so thin it isn’t that abrasion resistant but as long as you tie a leader you will be fine . I’m gonna test out the 42lb gliss soon on sharks i can easily fit 300m of it on a 5000 sedona because it’s so thin . I already have Gliss on a sienna 2500 with 13lb and the 10lb on a Stradic 1000 . The 10lb line is more like 6lb braid and the 13lb line is more like 8lb braid in terms of diameter . I’ve only had 1 wind knot so far but I’ve put heaps of hours on the stuff and haven’t had any issues just be sure to check you’re  leader connection knots before you use it . The Gliss around 25lb would easily fit on 3000 size reel I’ll check and see if you can fit 300m of 25lb line on a 3000 size also it’s very cheap going between $10-20 depending if you get 150m or 300m. Personally for reels I like reels that have a good gearing system if I’m chasing larger fish I would go with something like a Stradic FL they have a excellent drag and the larger sizes have carbon washers. it has a aluminium drive gear with a worm gear oscillation system its a very strong reel that doesn’t flex with big fish I could go on and on about features of the reel but basically it’s just a very good reel for the price .for a rod I like the atomic series rods with many different models there is basically a rod for most applications but like aus-bne-fisho and ED said those ugly stiks are excellent rods for bait fishing I haven’t used them but I’ve seen a lot of big fish landed on them I also like the aird x and aird 20 rods by daiwa excellent rods with great pulling power used the 2-4kg model for mangrove jack and my PB queenie handled those fish nicely 

[Brodie_S]

For a setup I would go with a daiwa aird rod 3-7kg matched with a shimano stradic FL 4000 spooled with 24lb gliss 

the 3000 size reel is just a little bit low on spool capacity for 300m of 24lb Gliss you could fit 150m easy on a 3000 but 300m is a bit to much for that size even though shimanos website is a little bit off you can usually fit way more line they what it says on the website I still think it would be to small and a 4000 size reel would probably match the rod a bit better to

[tiotony]

46 minutes ago, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

Hey tiotony

I know it's close season but excellent work on that barra. That's pretty big!

I would fish with something around the 4000-5000 mark, with 30lb braid. That can handle and pull up large salmon rather quickly, but you'd be hoping you had lots of line for a big mackerel. I would pair it with a 10-15KG Ugly Stik, and while I've never used them a Live Fibre Blade and Tails is supposed to be a great rod. A baitrunner would be good as well - extra features make easier fishing. 

The main thing I think you'd want is lots and lots of line. That way when they go for massive runs you still have a chance to stop them. It'll be exciting to hear about some captures.

Cheers Hamish

Actually the Thunnus I mentioned is a baitrunner style reel. I'm a Daiwa guy but the Shimano Thunnus seems to be the best bait feeder style reel on the market.

Baitfeeders are definitely handier for live baiting and I've still got a 2500 baitrunner and a 2500 Spinfisher liveliner; the baitrunner has a bit too rough a drag for light line on big fish and the problem with the Liveliner is the 'free spool' function isn't very free spool at all; pretty much making me drop a lot of fish when they feel the weight. As such both 'beach livebaiting' outfits I'm back on the 2500 Sols (which I actually use for SP's too).

Rod wise I'm looking a bit more high end - possibly Saltist Hyper M-OverS80-2/4; I generally stick to mid-high end Daiwa rods because they are excellent rods IMO.      

Line wise I use Sufix 832 a lot but it doesn't cast well. Have been trying Savage Gear Silencer in the 10lb; super thin and casts great, but I'm getting a great deal of unexplained bustoffs.

Think casting a 10-15cm mullet on a long leader as far as possible with as little lead as possible.

Due to erosion they've made breakwaters along the beach and are pumping in sand. It's apparent this has changed the nature of the beach completely (shallower in close) and the fish are definitely much further out than they used to be. This has also caused the creek mouth to be closed off to the sea for the longest I've seen in nearly 30 years fishing there - been closed for about 10 months now so I can no longer use the creek runoff to carry baits out and us locals think the creek may now only be open for short periods after cyclones. Also the beach south of the creek (Machans beach) basically no longer exists as the water comes right up to the breakwall now.

If a natural vegetation nature strip was left between the beach and the houses to prevent erosion instead of building houses right on the beach and making breakwalls, we wouldn't be having to mess with the natural state of the beach. Climate change is blamed in the press but studies on the Cairns northern beaches erosion problem (can be found on the internet) all conclude its 100% because of removal of the vegetation which anchored the sand.  

   

 

[Brodie_S]

Yeah my closet beach has a sand erosion issue to its a bit annoying because the river was shut off to the ocean for awhile and the fish near the ocean in the river were in very poor health luckily it’s opened up again

[Brodie_S]

Yeah that gliss stuff would be perfect for casting baits out far . You would easily fit 300m on a thunnus ci4 

[ggg]

Tony, I’ve got basically a heavier combo of what you use now. I’ve got a compact size 5000 Sedona SP and a Daiwa TD Black 7 foot, 6-8kg. The rod has a nice fast action and a nice tip. It’s super sensitive and casts lures well too. I run 30lb braid on it. I find this to be possibly too heavy at times but suits many fishing applications. I can still catch the little 15cm pickers taking my baits so I can’t complain about the sensitivity.