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fishing tackle with an overview of rod and reels.
This month, after another brief respite in February to
complete our new roof and soffet and fascia
projects, we’ll pick up the discussion with a look at
fishing lines and leaders.
The Right Stuff
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The best
sources of information on the ‘right stuff’ for fishing
Charlotte Harbor are our local bait and tackle shops. Yes,
they want to sell product; it’s their business. But in all
fairness, virtually all of our local stores want to create
satisfied customers, so they are not likely to push a
particular product on you. Rather, they will take the time
to ask you about your plans and objectives. Based on what
you can tell them, they will offer you a number of
suggestions, along with the pros and cons of each approach.
That is pretty much what we hope to do. In our
last article, we |
| briefly introduced
three types of fishing gear that are
commonly used on Charlotte Harbor. These were spinning,
bait casting, and fly-casting equipment. In the main,
spinning gear is the most popular of the three because it is
relatively easy for beginning anglers to use and, with
modest practice, to become competent enough to be able to
concentrate on the fish and the fishing, rather than
struggling with the gear. Over time, as you gain skill in
spin fishing, you may want to try using bait casting and
fly-casting. Each has characteristics that may prove to be
advantages under particular conditions and in different
fishing situations. |
What’s My
Line?
In general,
spinning and bait casting gear typically use the same kinds
of fishing lines and leaders. Lines for fly-fishing are a
subject unto themselves, so we’ll not try to cover them
here. The most commonly used line materials for spinning
and bait casting are either a continuous single thread
polymer line known as monofilament or a woven line comprised
of small but very strong fibers known as braided line.
There are several manufactures for both type lines
There are a
number of factors that you will likely assess when selecting
your line. Among these is the strength of the line,
expressed in pounds that the line will support before
breaking. For local use, lines in 10 to 20 pound range are
usually quite adequate for our most typical local fish.
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Monofilament tends to
stretch as much as 20 per cent, whereas braided line
may only stretch as little as 3 per cent. The
stretch of the line is directly associated with the
ability to ‘feel’ a fish making contact with your
bait or lure. Pound for pound, monofilament is
larger in diameter than braided line. The
larger |
| the line diameter, the
less line you can load onto your reel spool. |
Braided line
strength is often expressed as a comparison between the
relative strengths of braid and monofilament of the same
diameter. For example, braid that has a breaking strength
of 24 pounds may essentially be same diameter as
monofilament line that is a 10-pound class. The spool of
braided line would designate the line as 10/24, i.e., same
diameter as 10-pound mono, but with a 24-pound strength.
Monofilament
is significantly less expensive than braided lines, by as
much as a factor of 10. It is painful to have a snook cut
your line off against the barnacles on a mangrove tree; more
so, if you lose $15 worth of braid as opposed to $2 worth of
mono. It might be reasonable to use mono as you start
into fishing. After you have gotten the hang of the
equipment and the environment, you can switch to the braided
line.
Now You See, Now You Don’t
I caught my
first fish with a bamboo pole, some twine, and bent straight
pin. That little ‘snapper’ blue fish must have been
exceeding hungry or suffered from extremely poor eyesight.
There was nothing ‘natural’ about my rig or my presentation
of the bait, since there was none to speak of, just a shiny
pin and big, clumsy knot. I’ve learned a few tricks since
then.
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Spanish Mackerel |
Now, whether
I use mono or braid, I use a piece of leader material to
secure my hook or lure to my line, rather than tying them
directly to the line. There are a couple of practical
reasons for using a leader. Fish, such as Spanish Mackerel,
Jack Crevalles, and a few other toothy critters can
easily cut their way through a fishing line. A
few feet of |
| 20 or 30 pound leader gives one a better chance
of getting these fish to the boat. |
There is
also an opportunity to make a more natural presentation by
using a leader made of a fluorocarbon material that is
essentially invisible in the water. When the water is
clear, as it tends to be in winter and spring, a
fluorocarbon leader is a great advantage. If the water is
murky, as it may be after a storm or heavy rains, as is the
case during much of the summer, fluorocarbon may not be
necessary, but in general, like chicken soup, it couldn’t
hurt.
Summing It Up
| The shear
number of products and decisions that are necessary in
selecting your personal fishing |
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system may seem daunting.
Take some time to visit on of our local bait and tackle
shops. They will be glad to help you work through the maze
of lines and leaders. We also invite you to join us, the
members of the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) at our
next monthly general membership meeting. The CCA FL
Charlotte Chapter membership meetings are on the fourth
Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM at the Port Charlotte
Cultural Center on Aaron Street in Port Charlotte. Meetings
are open to the public. The next several meeting will be on
March 22nd, 2005. Our guest speakers are
professional fishing guides and tackle experts who will
explain and show you methods and techniques to improve your
fishing. We also encourage you to join the CCA to help
protect our marine resources. You can sign up
at our next |
| meeting, or pick up a
membership form at any of several Punta Gorda bait
and tackle shops, or either call or e-mail CCA Florida at (407) 854-7002 or
www.ccaflorida.org. |
For additional information on Florida
fish and wildlife, check
www.marinefisheries.org, the website of the Florida Fish
and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 
|
2004,
our intention was to do a monthly article on some aspect of
fishing in Southwest Florida. We started strongly with
consecutive pieces in July and August that, respectively,
discussed the local waters and the fish that inhabit it.
We took a little hiatus after our visits by Charley,
Frances, and Jeanne that lasted through December. Our
January 2005 article introduced the subject of 
