reels

[BillyTine]

What kinda of reel do you use: single speed or two speed ; Penn, shimano, or another company

[LETSRIDE]

i just got back from a 3 day swordfising trip in the keys and i will tell you now 2 speed is the way to go. we hooked into a fish at 12:30am and was all most spooled 3 times on a international 50tw(1speed) what a bitch to crank in high gear in a inch war!! needless to say at 8:09am we broke off at the wind on to mono connection at the boat!! est 300Lbs easy

[Deep_Sea_Gull]

Originally Posted by LETSRIDE

i just got back from a 3 day swordfising trip in the keys and i will tell you now 2 speed is the way to go. we hooked into a fish at 12:30am and was all most spooled 3 times on a international 50tw(1speed) what a bitch to crank in high gear in a inch war!! needless to say at 8:09am we broke off at the wind on to mono connection at the boat!! est 300Lbs easy

I agree about 2 speeds being the way to go. I mainly fish tuna. I know what a Mexican stand off is. Put it in low and go.
What broke? was it a knot? I love to use spectra backing and a windon that is connected loop to loop. Never seen a failure.

[kai akua]

bummer thier lestride!

i am still a leader guy, give me a 30ft leader any day over a windon with all the connections. keep it simple is my way of looking at it..... just get a good crimper and thats it....

better luck next time...

Robbie

[CaptKen]

Originally Posted by kai akua

bummer thier lestride!

i am still a leader guy, give me a 30ft leader any day over a windon with all the connections. keep it simple is my way of looking at it..... just get a good crimper and thats it....

better luck next time...

Robbie

I agree,everyone has a horror story with wind on's,Keep it simple,I guess im from the old school too ,I have a new one in my box I was going to try,After hearing yet another wind on horror story,I think I'll give it away.
Ken
Ask your buddy Kerm about His wind on story.

[LETSRIDE]

kenny you know who i learned from so i have all that hi tech B.S. in my head and i had 2 wind on's on 2 rods and 2 rods were "simple".........thats why its fishing not catching

[Litetackleredneck]

Most people out here fish 2 speed reels, but i stick w/ single speed. Less to break easier to repair. As far as a stand of go's and single speed reels, just start playing the angles. Never had a problem w/ that.
For brand, 50w's and lower Shimano Tiagras/TLD's, or even the Avets. 80 and up penn, just because od the rod clamps that they come with that the Shimano's dont.
I stick w/ kai akua about wind-ons. I prefer the leader, less to break and simpler, i also like to pull on em one-on-one.

[Deep_Sea_Gull]

Instruct me...
why do you all like leaders compared to windons?
Never seen a windon fail.
I understand a good crimp made with correct sized pliers. Bench type is best.
What am I missing?

[Mike]

I used to like long leaders about 30ft after the swivel. Leadering a fish is fun but also dangerous I suppose...

I recently switched to wind-ons for saftey reason and other personal reasons. I don't think I'll ever live to see a wind-on fail. I buy them from Basil www.bhptackle.com They are as good as it gets.

I use a long line clip or rubber band to attach my light or glow stick about 20 feet back from the bait and take this off when tight on the fish and can reel the fish all the way to the swivel. At the swivel I have a short leader about 5 feet. The fish is in gaff range and no hand-lining necessary really.

Long leaders have done me well when I first got started though. I guess its just a matter of person preference.. both are effective.

Mike

[kai akua]

Majority of the SFl. guys use windons, dig through the forums, and you will read about half a dozen windon failures this year. i personaly dont like them, not becuse they are bad, but that i perfer a long 30ft leader and about 6ft of double. i trust my bimmini connections alot more than some glue and a lashing. its all i really fish, so i am biased.

leaders are much simpler, however not as safe..... personal prefrence, i guess..

how many big marlin boats do you see using windons???? not many thats for sure. a billfish is a billfish........ i go with the tried and tested before technology.

Alohas

Robbie Brown.

[RiskTaker]

I was also curious to know the wind-on failure. See the post I just sent on another topic, I think the 11/27 reports post.

All my rods that have the large roller guides are 100% wind-on equipped now. I have developed my style in this direction. If you do them right, they will not fail, in my opinion.

So once you have mentally chosen whether it is OK to have any swivels anywhere close to the bait, that will determine whether you are a wind-on candidate or a traditional Marlin fisherman using the long hand leader approach. But the wind-on does not stop you from hand leadering a fish up to that 6 ft. mark, so I think you can go both ways with wind-ons.

Once you go wind-on, you immediately change gears and now your baited leaders are only 5-8 ft. long compared to 12-20 ft. from the "swivel interconnect" to the bait. For me the snap swivel is the way to go, but I have seen numerous anglers that will not give up the minimalist double ringed swivels and two crimps. I am not fishing for big money so I just find it extremely more convenient to snap on a fresh bait rather than having to make a new crimp with my ringed swivel. Yeah, I still have a couple in my tackle box, but I haven't used them in years.

Besides the Safety aspect of using wind-ons, you may also gain an extra hand. The last time I was on a fish, being the reel man, we only had two people on the boat. With the wind-on I was able to reel the line up close. We put a small flying gaff in place, I grabbed the bill with rod still attached to me and Bob grabbed the gaff line and tail end to get the swordfish into the boat. The entire situation would have likely been reversed if we had a 15 ft. leader. We would have needed a third person to be gaff man if we had this setup. Or else I would have needed to disconnect the rod, place it in a rod holder and switch positions to be the person pulling the gaff and/or tail end of this fish into the boat.

So there are many choices on how you do things, many of which are practiced by professional anglers. Whether it is the right way or the wrong way depends on who you hang with, but both are considered correct by someone you respect. RT

P. S. Robbie - Technology is always at the fore-front of the tried-and-proven concepts we utilize. Sometimes the technology completely revolutionizes the way we go about our business: sometimes it is merely a fad or a no-advance. Since I am RT, by default, you can only guess where that puts me in the line-up. And it usually takes some time for people to adjust to a new-fangled method, even if it seems compelling enough to switch right-away. Alohas

[Deep_Sea_Gull]

Originally Posted by Mike

I used to like long leaders about 30ft after the swivel. Leadering a fish is fun but also dangerous I suppose...

I recently switched to wind-ons for saftey reason and other personal reasons. I don't think I'll ever live to see a wind-on fail. I buy them from Basil www.bhptackle.com They are as good as it gets.

I use a long line clip or rubber band to attach my light or glow stick about 20 feet back from the bait and take this off when tight on the fish and can reel the fish all the way to the swivel. At the swivel I have a short leader about 5 feet. The fish is in gaff range and no hand-lining necessary really.

Long leaders have done me well when I first got started though. I guess its just a matter of person preference.. both are effective.

Mike

H e double hockey sticks yes, Basil makes THE best top shots and windons.
Period. He's the best.
Basil Pappas work is par none.
See them fail?? show me!!
That is why I asked my question about why everyone seemed to liked long leaders.
I'll reread these posts. Try to see what I've missed.
Lemme know! I wanna catch a sword too.
I'm happy to change... Jus need a reason

[Deep_Sea_Gull]

Originally Posted by kai akua

Majority of the SFl. guys use windons, dig through the forums, and you will read about half a dozen windon failures this year. i personaly dont like them, not becuse they are bad, but that i perfer a long 30ft leader and about 6ft of double. i trust my bimmini connections alot more than some glue and a lashing. its all i really fish, so i am biased.

leaders are much simpler, however not as safe..... personal prefrence, i guess..

how many big marlin boats do you see using windons???? not many thats for sure. a billfish is a billfish........ i go with the tried and tested before technology.

Alohas

Robbie Brown.

I gotta respect what you are saying.
YOU HAVE BEEN THERE n done that. Knees dug in. Hold that leader at all costs.
Wow!, I'm sure that it was a rush.
(wish that I had found blue water fishing before I had children and associated responsibilities... LMAO)
I still gotta inquire... what makes the longer leader system so great?
I've been on the angler end of windons. It weren't a tournement fish. That said, catchem up n let em go. Get em done!
Ain't the release easier on a windon?
Tell me where I'm wrong.
Yes, I need a picture...

[kai akua]

well said RT.

one think to think about with that windon and a big fish is this.

"wire man takes 2 wraps, 20ft away on a big fish that wants nothing to do with the boat.... he now has 3 crimped connections to worry about and a snap swivel. As a seasoned marlin mate he has seen many snap swivles fail at loads under 200lb (pull straight as a pin), and has seen crimps fail at 60% strength of the leader....... "Oh $h!t""

more connectiosn betwwen and the fish is a BAD thing period. you are taking 4 times the risk with a windon that has a connection for a short leader on it, than compared to that of a standard leader with one conection betwwen the wire man and the fish. i dont gamble so i am gona go with a standard setup......

IMHO windons are great for the "charter boat biz" you can skimp on crew and increase your overhead with less leader material in teh long run. if you work for a private owner, boating fish is all you are concerned about.

windons are for mahimahi, not billfish. however it is what works best for you that counts the most, just dont coma a cryn when the big one gets away from a failed connection.

[RiskTaker]

Leadering has it's darkside as well.

Haven't heard too much about broken hand bones lately, due to the impulsive surges of a very large fish...

And the unfortunate story of a mate pulled over-board and meeting his maker in the briny depths of the sea. Not a bad way to go, if it is your choice. Otherwise, somebody else will be obligated to pick up the tab and face the judgement panel: either here or beyond, whichever applies most appropriately to your situation.

Just figure on having some form of safety plan, and everything should be alright. RT

[kai akua]

i saw a mate get pulled over last summer on a 200lb blue, the fish took him for a ride and hydroplaned him for about 25yds on top of the water till the leader broke off. alot of mates wont wire fish on mono greater than 400lbs for those same safty reasons you talk of. you can break off 400lb in your hand if you have too, it hurts but it wont break anything, just some good bruises.

the real crazy guys are the ones you wire big record fish on wire leader.... that stuff will crush hands on teh spot, hower it tends to release better than mono from the gloves if you need to dump the fish quickly.

i think if the florida sword fishery starts to see some bigger fish, like it is in the next few years, more peopel thier will convert over back to a standard leader.

i feel bad for highjacking this tread, sorry to the poster of it... ops:

Alohas!

Robbie

[RiskTaker]

Man, I feel like a reel mut tonight.

Not only pouncing on the REEL forum topic with wind-on verses Mono or wire leaders topics

But printing stale Jokes as well. But I will bet that somewhere out there: it is news. And perhaps funny for the very first time.

Thank God I have some sailing experience, as I can nagivate a wandering course.

No problemo.. Mon

But some of this is good stuff.

Kai Akua: Thanks for your dialogue, and experience on the Big Marlin adventures. It puts a lot of seasoning and perspective on the choices we make on how and where to rig the way we do for an anticipated angling adventure. You are absolutely correct: 3 links for a wind-on scenario. Have you ever had to make up your mind? Not only am I a mut but I am also a native Californian. Follow my bloodline and you will certainly see that I am no ordinary moment. Ask me what I have been doing in Virginia and we will have to start pouring the rhum: Haitian variety Barbancourt, aged 8 years would be a great beginning. Then it will start to get more interesting... Bing. RT

[kai akua]

OMFG, LOL.... i wonder about you sometimes RT.... :lol:

i think admin Mike needs a joke board fo you to post on!

[RiskTaker]

LoL, Yeah maybe I am spending to much time landlocked somewhere. LOL

I need to get out more often... on the high-seas or the high-altitude.

Oh, the atmosphere... where did it go?



LOL --- RT (P.S. - water level here is 3000m and I am even higher than that.)

[hannaman]

One point you guys are not thinking of is the differance between Marlin fishing and Swording. With the Marlin you are leadering a fish with a moving boat, keeping your fish behind you at all times. When we are Swordfishing we are fishing from a dead boat 99% of the time. So to grab hold of a long leader on a dead boat is asking for trouble as the fish could turn any which way, under the props... So 2 reasons for the wind-on to swivel to short leader 8-10 feet... the 1 man show can do it all and, control of the fish on the short leader right up to the gunnel. Works every time.

[kai akua]

very good point thier....

however, do you think that since you guys dont back down 99% of the time, it makes for greater pulled hooks? (esp, when alot of line is in the water). not your crew, but in general for the rec. sword fleet?

[hannaman]

I don't think the reason for pulled hooks is because alot of line in the water. Its all in the set and staying tiiiight.
Most guys like to put more heat on the fish when there reeling in and depending on the set will pull alot of hooks. This is also a deep fight hardly ever on the surface. They will surface sometimes on the strike but once the fight settles in they go deep.

[FinalPoint]

There are lots of boats out there that work the fish with the engines. However, fishing from a center console like most people out there, a wind-on and short leader makes sense. Fishing from a sportfish, I think windons are still a great idea, but it still helps to bring a fish up behind the boat with the engines bumped in and out of gear so that the fish can be landed from the back of the cockpit.

[kai akua]

glad to hear that some boats back down on swords. if the fish is hot we back down when swordin, if not we winch it while we drift.

you can very easliy work a fish from the side of a center console, its just as effective as a sport fish backing down.

[swordfish123]

i didnt want to start a new thread about this BUT... but for all you guys who make wind-ons out there.. i have a suggestion. I built my own wind-ons a couple days ago, more for experiment than use (especially since i didnt get to go swording. damn weather) anyway i know i did everything right and they were good wind ons... i used 130 dacron and 220 momois xhard leader. i know dacron is out of style but whatever you use i quickly discovered a very easy way to make the serving.

read the whole thing before you dismiss the idea...

Get some 2cm heat shrink tubing at home depot. it comes in a little clear packages with a red label for like 2 bucks in the electrical department. It will say that it shrinks to half its original size, it wont matter that it shrinks at 90C. after you have added a tiny drop of superglue(get some with a brush tip applicator) at the end of the dacron or spectra where it meets the leader, let that dry. next take a 3/4 to 1 inch piece of shrink tubing and shrink one half down with a cig lighter so the opening is just large enough to feed the mono leader through, then shrink up the other side just a tad. Slide the tube all the way down your leader up to the place where it meets the dacron. add another tiny drop of glue and slide the tube in place. The tube will already wrap tight around the mono and...if shrunk properly..should fit perfectly around the end of the dacron. This allows you to use to neat shrink tubing without damaging the mono with the heat.

I dont even have wind-on guides, just regular old rollers and it never once got caught up after many many passes through. my bimini knot with 50lb line is much more bulky than this. the serving is short and compact and very easy to make. I know they are not proven...but i really think ya'll should experiment with this. If i had pics i'd post em... sorry. hope this makes sense

Tell me what you think..

[INSPECTOR]

Hey Swordfish 123,

I like that idea with the heat shrink. I'm still building up my swordfishing weapons, but when I purchased a rod specifically for swordfishing a year ago, I did not do my due diligence. My roller guides are not proper for windons either. The connection point will fit thru my rollers O.K. but get caught in the guide's mounting legs. This may very well be the solution to my problem. WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT?

BTW - I'm on the side with the windons - easier to get the fish close to the boat without having to leader or handline the last 15 - 20 feet and risk losing the fish.

[kai akua]

and how do you risk losing a fish with a 30ft leader at the boat inspector?.......................?

and a sword can turn any which direction at any time either on windon or on a leader...

like i said though it is what works best for you, may you be a charter boat, or private boat, or just a recreational fisherman with out a boat. it is what gets the job done for the situation at hand. you jsut wont find me trusting a windon with a 300lbs fish connected to the other end of it.

when is the last time any of you guys calibrated your crimpers for the 3 crimps you use on a windon connection? and for the guys using windons with snapswivels, please change to a pig-tail swivel. I URGE YOU TO. i have never seen a pig-tail pull straight yet. i yould hate for you guys to lose a nice fish over a lousey made snap swivel.. IMHO it is just as strong as a swivel with 2 crimped connections to it.

also are you guys melting the tag end of the mono before you crimp? it helps reduce a pulled crimp if your crimps are night tight enough. pull about 5in of tag through the crimp, melt the tip with a lighter, and then tap it flat with the side of a knife to make a mushroomed or nailhead shape. then pull the tag end back to the crimp and adjust your loop size and crimp. its a little extra inshurance and takes an extra 10 seconds to do.

tight lines good connestions or in hawaiian "Hanapa'a"

Robbie B.

[hannaman]

HEY KIA, I like the idea of melting the tip, pretty ingenious. I guess it would work even if I left the tag end sticking out a few inches on my squid rig. As for my rigs I don't use snap swivels, just a heavy stainless ball bearing swivel crimped straight from my wind-on to my much shorter leader. loop to loop, crimp swivel crimp, crimp hook.

[kai akua]

the melted tip works great, my father capt. Bobby Brown, showed me that a while back. i havent seen one fail in 9 years of fishing with him.

hannaman, have you ever considered a pig-tail swivel? makes setting up a snap, no need to bust out the crimper every time it is needed to re-attach a new leader. they are preety beafy swivels. give one a try, you wont be disapaonted. thier like $8 a pop thouh.



Hanapa'a

R

[hannaman]

Yeah I actually have a few of those laying around. Peter Wright showed them to me once, Definately serves its purpose. I use that same swivel with the snaps cut off.