4-15-06 report

[Disco Lady]

CONO!!!!!!!!!!! HANNA TELL ME 15 OR :?: ON THE DRAG.

[Randy]

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Randy, first I am no engineer but I have heard or read or thought I heard or read that with x drag setting on a full reel, when that reel is half empty you can double the original drag setting. So with a 50wide reel set at 15lbs, if a fish takes off 300-400 yds of line your looking at 30lbs of drag at the hook. I set my 80's at 20 with the thought that once I set my baits, send out my floats I can usually add another pound or two. When a fish runs I back off from there depending on how much line is out and how agressive the fish is acting


Ya lost me Jerry , I know initial hit requires more pressure to start the spool spinning then when it's running. ( I can watch that on the scale while im setting the drag) I dont understand how you say the leverage on a spool half full of line where it's say 1-2" thick (half empty) is easier to turn then the spool then when the line is full say 4" thick. Doesnt The line have MORE leverage when the spool is full. logically as the spool gets more empty and the leverage decreases the drag increases . If thats so and im at 13 lbs and it goes x2 as you say above at 300-400 yds (Yikes) AND the spool is down to 1-2" Am I to understand im actually 26# + the increase from the loss of leverage on the reel ? Am i misunderstanding something here ? Ive been known to do that buddy. I keep gettin stuck on I know it's easier to move a BIG gear (low gear ratio) then a little one.(high gear ratio) The reel full is more leverage and the smaller diameter of the line when it's half full is less leverage . Something isnt adding up. Little help ! Am I missing something ?

[quack quack]

Think like its a chain and sprocket.The little gear has to turn much more than the big gear.Or like in a leverage situation the bigger the pole the more leverage.I hope this makes sense The bigger the screw driver the easier to turn a screw.

[catching]

Sorry for the late chime in fellas, but went to the doctors for my allergy shot this morning like I do three times a week had an ugly reaction to the serum today :shock: Went into Anaphoric Shock almost passed out due to lack of oxygen, Two Epinephrine shots, Benadyrll, Steroids, all in the upper leg, that is killing me and I can barely walk, couple of breathing treatments, two hours on O2 and I beat Mr. Grim again \/ Needless to say I will not be getting any more allergy shots any time soon, just hope all this stuff wears off so I can get out Friday night. hb

Trying to catch up on this thread but now I am all confused :???: or it could be all the meds in my system. Can’t we just all get along :roflmao: all I wanted to do is post a fishing report. After reading all of the drag setting threads looks like I am back to square one and need to really tweak my system of catching Sword’s.

[Randy]

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Think like its a chain and sprocket.The little gear has to turn much more than the big gear.Or like in a leverage situation the bigger the pole the more leverage.I hope this makes sense The bigger the screw driver the easier to turn a screw.
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Exactly ! thats what i think . I think when theres little line its a small sprocket and harder to turn and when theres buku line a big sprocket. it only make since . Im gonna take a reel i have here i need to spool up and put 15 yds of line on it ,attach my scale and set it at 10 lbs then continue filling the reel till its filled to capacity and see where the drag pulls then. My bet it'll pull considerably less then 10 lbs when full. Only makes since as the line is pulling from farther out , more leverage. Im gonna check it out. Catchin , everyones "gettin along" . This is fishin talk .

[quack quack]

Maybe you just misread jerry because that is what he said :???: Post the results of your test ok

[catching]

What all of you are saying makes sense it is just so unnatural to sit back with the line stripping off the reel then to back off the drag and watch the line peel off quicker. That is going to take some serious self control, Mind over matter of facts.

Tight lines to all and to all a good night

[jerry]

Randy, I may not write well or clearly enogh, But thats exactly what I was saying. If you get down to half your spool you have increased drag X 2. If you get down to almost nothing you have increased drag X 4. At least so I have read and understand.
Catching, yep its a stange feeling to back off drag while watching your line disapear but If you dont one of these days your gonna break off especially if your setting a good drag to begin with. If your fishing 50lb line and start out with 8-10lbs of drag you wont have much to worry about. However if your starting out with 16-18lbs then as the fish gets you down you have to back off on a big fish especially.

[quack quack]

PS I do not back off the drag myself :shock: The way I think is the more line off the more the drag increases on its own.The self control comes when you start to see less than a 1/4 spool left thats when you feel like putting down the hammer I use control for about 10sec after that it is stop em or pop em I think a good crew is very important to have when you hook a fish that is dumping you.You need to start chasing that fish as soon as you can.If everyone has to be told what to do you loose a lot of time.When ever I hook up, big fish or small I start the motors and have some one on the wheel from the start.Many of my little fish got big quick and you have to be ready.Most of the time you can start to chase a fish without clearing all the lines to start with.They can be cleared while chasing a fish.If you have a 1/4 spool off the real to start with and wait to clear the lines or wait to start chasing a fish you will be in a losing position.You have to be ready to get on that fish quick or you will get dumped :!:

[catching]

We have the reels with 60 pound test set at 14, and the reels with 50 pounds set at 12, So far no break offs but then again we have only had four chances to fight these fish to the end. We are pulling a lot of hooks but I guess like Ollie stated better to loose in 5 minutes then to loose after two hours.

As far as the fighting goes yes motor is started and idling once fish is hooked and we cruise along side in the direction the fish is going while others are clearing lines, and stowing gear out of the way while we are setting up the direction of the boat on the fish. Once we get this accomplished just like playing tug a war with the fish. We get some line; then it gets some line seems to work really well on most of any of the big fish we have caught and had to chase down. Only once did I have to get in the front of the boat, and get the boat planed out to keep up with that big Hammer that ended up breaking the leader :twisted:

[quack quack]

OK next :?: how are you rigging your squid?

[catching]

Originally Posted by quack quack

OK next :?: how are you rigging your squid?

with hook and line I think :???: maybe a bit of floss or saftey pin to keep it from riding down the hook :lol:

We are still experimenting and learning QQ no certain way yet. Store bought, home made, Getting hits on every different rig we throw out. The only thing for sure is a green light works the best. Still have not figured out the right depth since we are getting hit a every depth, moon phase, tide, wind direction. Need to do it a bit more to figure out what is the best thing to do.

Like NF said a while back maybe it is just better to be lucky then good

[Captain Ollie]

Yes I agree that we should all just get along. I never meant anyone any harm, just made an observation and seem to have started a storm.
Catching, the allergy thing is unreal. I thought I had it bad, but I just gotta pop some Claritin and I'm good. I'm glad your okay.

Now back to the business......Hannaman is right 15 pounds is squat to 300+ fish. I realize your in it for the sport and thats great because your fishing WAY lighter line than I am. You are probably also fishing mono. I just hate light tackle and I also don't care for mono much for THIS type of fishing. I'm fishing 130 to 200lb test Power Pro and Jerry Brown with 500lb wind on leaders. Hooks are LP carbon steel 9/0. I rig my sqid long line style, pin rigged, I guess you'd call it. I fish 4 to 6 lines. Most of the time they are all zombie rigs, as well, depending on how much live bait I have at my house or have time to catch.

Fishing gear that heavy I can pretty much super glue the spool to the reel and let the fish drag the boat around. All I gotta worry about then is my rods and my rod holders being able to handle it. So far so good. Sometimes you gotta take the rod out of the holder, however, and I have almost gone skiing on several occasions. I've had fish drag me right down the side of the boat with me sliding on my heels. Believe me, when that happens you have no problem backing off.

But as was pointed out before we all have different reasons for being out there. As long as we get back in the same condition, with fish in the cooler, and with all the same gear that we left the dock with, I consider the trip a success.

[catching]

Ollie,

You might have started a storm but I think other Newbie's like myself that read this thread will get a lot out of it. The hardest thing to figure out is what to do with one of these great fish is once you get them on the hook and what to do next. First one I hooked on the first trip out was fought for twenty minutes with the drag at about 30 pounds of pressure and I could not stop it and the hooks pulled out :twisted: that is why we keep it a bit on the lighter side now and so far we have a better catch rate of at least one a trip if they bite. Thinking after reading what the engineers added on this thread going to bump the strike up to 20 pounds and if the line is peeling off the reel back it down to 14 pounds as more line comes of the reel.

Tight Lines
Catching

[Randy]

Jerry , Not to worry , I had a feelin you were thinkin one thing and typin another , I do it all the time. I know what u really mean . Just threw me there a minute before i realized what was happening. (Typo fart) :lol: You been on here a long time and i know you wouldnt do that.
Ollie , It's all good , I hope your right about the big 400 slobs out there as thats exactly what im lookin for . Unfortunately Im watchin the reports and not seein any pics of any caught here off Lauderdale that heavy recently. I see bigguns in the last few months but no 400+. (what was largest fish in tournament ? i dont remember) As for drag what im comin up with at 500yds on 50# with 13#s of drag and the spool down 2/3 is an incredible amount of drag at the mouth. Im sure if i get a real solid hookup it's fine but every fish thats not solidly hooked is gonna pull off. Even at 13 we have A LOT of fish pull off now. As we cant control WHERE the fish hooks dont u think it may be good to set for the worst case scenario ? Just thinkin but maybe since u fish bouys and not rods you may not know how many fish pull off. I would surmise we have 1/2 pull off at 13. Listening to the radio and the # of lost fish I think others are havin fish pull off too. I hear it constantly. Might be different on bouys then rods.
Quack Quack , I do my own rigs. Heres how i do it . 15' of 300 mono , crimp on a 9.O four -five inches up (dependin on squid I like big mediums) crimp a small single bead (1/2") and then another single bead then another small crimp. This locks the beads. Next run a riggin needle up and out the squid pullin the tag end through until the squid hangs from the beads. Then sew the squid to the V between the two beads. This means the squid is locked and cant move. Next one hitch through the skirt around the hook shaft and the hook never moves. Now crimp your swivel in the tag end. Then roll the line starting from the squid so the swivel is the last thing stickin out. Wrap 3" of masking tape around and press the edges together to make a easy rip tab. Lay the squid straight in the bottom of a large freezer bag and drop in a drop of food coloring , squish it around . put the rolled leader in leaving the swivel sticking out and close the bag . Only the swivel is stickin out. freeze it.
When u get out there attach uour rod ,light , weight to the swivel before opening the bag , open the bag , pull the tag and throw it over , I fish the bow, pitch black , zero lights , I cant be untangling leaders , etc. in the dark.
When you next go simply cut off the tag end slide another squid down and follow above . 3 minutes ready to go again.
I also use 9.O big game stainless hooks and file my hooks sharp as a hypodermic needle and bend a slight offset in them before beginning .
sometimes two hooks back to back with a small wire tie on the shank so they stay opposite facing. Piece of cake ! :lol:
Feel free to just disrgard all this keepin in mind this is just comin from the Googan boat. :lol: Ps. Weather lookin better + better for weekend. We were already out 4/17 again also but i didnt post a report as bites were slow . Seas were 4-6 though with 25Knot howlin wind. Thats always fun !

[quack quack]

Try rigging your squid more like Ollie said.The main thing is to try and keep the hook high up on the mantel not in the head.I used to rig my squid with the hooks in the head.I have got lots of fish that way but with a lot of pulled hooks and tennis balls.Since starting to rig the hook high in the mantel my catch per bite ratio has gone way up and no more tennis balls.If you are going to sew the bait you do not need beads also.I think the bead could also pop the hook out of a fish's mouth if it hits the corner of the mouth before the hook catches.If you still rig with the hook in the head fish almost free spool on the bite and try to let them eat.When a sword swings at a squid it trys to knock its head off.If that is were your hooks is it will hit it.The fish will get foul hooked make a tennis ball or take longer to eat your hook.Look at the squid in your swords stomach how many have heads on?The bigger the sword the more whole squid you will find because they do not slash as much and just seem to know how to inhale a squid.But on smaller fish 60in and under they like to slash there food, just learning how to eat I guess.Like I said I have got tons of fish with the hook in the head but the new{old}way has done the trick for me lately.

[Randy]

HUH ? Quack My hook hangs below the skirt . It is always below the skirt against the head but not in the head. You cant make it go anywhere else. Its SEWN to the bottom of the skirt. I have never had a "Tennis ball" . It cant slide down .The only "tennis ball" hit squid ive ever seen was store bought where they were rigged using only rigging floss and those ripped out and fell. Ive also never had a squid with the head taken off to date that i can remember. Plenty slashed but the bait is still intact.. Im at average 4-5 right now on hookups . I dont understand what your saying, are you saying i should move the hook up near the point of the mantel ? Away from the head ? It seems contradicting what your saying. Ive seen the "store bought " and they all have the hook down at the bottom of the skirt where mine is. My hook is never IN the head . It's stickin out just below the skirt. I just dont understand what your sayin , You want the hook up in the mantel or down near the head ? I think as long as my hookup ratio stays as high as it is right now i better stay with whats working but i'll keep in mind what you suggest . Thanks for takin the time , Randy

[quack quack]

It is whatever you have faith in.I rig the hook high in the mantel.I think it was catching that was haveing a lot of pulled hooks so I thought he should try to rig a few like mine to see if that helps

Randy:Are all your fish hooked in the mouth?

[Tuna Devil]

I have faith in you Eric,

I will rig my squid like you suggest and if it does not work you will never here the end of it. Live long and prosper. :lol:

[quack quack]

On sun maybe we will pick up a sail and a blue to go with the sword for a slam :shock: Now that is something I have not done around here.I got one in mexico on a blue,white and sailfish combo.I have got blues and whites up north with some bigeyes thrown in does that count?