New Hooks Worked

[JKTrevecca]

The fishing was slow on Saturday but I did land the only fish that struck. I bought an assortment of 4/0, 5/0, and 6/0 circle hooks, oct/circle hooks, and some 3/0 Eagle Claw L-042's. All of these are much bigger than the 2/0 BPS octopus hooks I had been using. I also upgraded to 50 pound mono with 40 pound leaders. I had been using 20 pound mono and leaders.

When this fish struck, it was nice to have the confident the line wouldn't break. And the L042 I had tied on was perfect. Great strong hook right in the jaw of the fish.

I think the stripers are moving down-stream already. The striper and hybrid club had their tournament on Saturday and nobody I talked to was catching much up-stream of Rome. One other boat that I talked to landed a 15 pounder. I lucked into this 20 pounder. I'd be curious to know what it took to win the tournament Saturday.

[tkwalker]

The fishing was slow on Saturday but I did land the only fish that struck. I bought an assortment of 4/0, 5/0, and 6/0 circle hooks, oct/circle hooks, and some 3/0 Eagle Claw L-042's. All of these are much bigger than the 2/0 BPS octopus hooks I had been using. I also upgraded to 50 pound mono with 40 pound leaders. I had been using 20 pound mono and leaders.

When this fish struck, it was nice to have the confident the line wouldn't break. And the L042 I had tied on was perfect. Great strong hook right in the jaw of the fish.

I think the stripers are moving down-stream already. The striper and hybrid club had their tournament on Saturday and nobody I talked to was catching much up-stream of Rome. One other boat that I talked to landed a 15 pounder. I lucked into this 20 pounder. I'd be curious to know what it took to win the tournament Saturday.

JK, nice fish... <'TK><

[Adrian]

JK are you saying they were catching between Rome and 231 Bridge?
I can tell you where they Ain't :) That's between 231 & 109. They were on Friday before the Tournament on Saturday. We caught a couple of 20lbers, but Saturday it was a Ghost Town!!!

[JKTrevecca]

JK are you saying they were catching between Rome and 231 Bridge?
I can tell you where they Ain't :) That's between 231 & 109. They were on Friday before the Tournament on Saturday. We caught a couple of 20lbers, but Saturday it was a Ghost Town!!!


I'm not sure where they are catching but I can say that the bite was essentially non-existant above Rome up to the Dam. Agelessone has been wearing em out downstream of Rom but it's been a couple weeks since I've heard his success stories so I'm not sure where they are right now.

There was zero current from about 5am - 9:30AM and it was DEAD out there. They started 2 generators about 9:30 and there were slight signs of life but mainly just nervous bait. I know that there were a bunch of Gar upstream. Several guys were spending a lot of time there. I had one slight pull down that peeled the skin off of my gizzard shad. Later, I saw the gar surfacing and figure that is what my pull down was.

[FloatNFish]

Nice fish Jason! Glad you got a good one to stick!

[agelesssone]

42 lbs 5 oz won the PPHSC tournament Saturday.

[tkwalker]

42 lbs 5 oz won the PPHSC tournament Saturday.

Merv, that fish would have gone close to 50 pounds in the Spring when she was full of roe, a rogue for sure. Just 23.1 pounds short of the state record of 65.6 pounds ...

Old linesides goes through a false spawn in the fall (I have mentioned before) When they venture up stream .... <'TK><:)

[Reel Tune]

Very good fish, and glad the new hooks were a success. Hopefully your future trips will result in the same.

[Lepomis]

I switched to circle hooks when I got halfway serious about catching catfish last year. At first I got Gamakatsu 2/0 and they were too small; the fish apparently sucked the shrimp down deep quickly and I didn't get the hooks back until I cleaned the fish. I then went to 4/0 and 5/0 and started hooking them in the corner of the mouth. The hook set (if you want to call it that) has a lot to do with circle hook success. Fight the impulse to set the hook in the traditional fashion, and just reel up the slack and give the fish a tug - that's all you need to hook them.

[A Hawk]

Why is such a heavy line required? Can you not ease up on drag, and play them on the 20 effectively? I am just asking as I am new to learning about striper fishing.

[StriperFan]

Why is such a heavy line required? Can you not ease up on drag, and play them on the 20 effectively? I am just asking as I am new to learning about striper fishing.

A couple of reasons, especially when fishing OH or one of the trophy fisheries. One, the chance of a huge 50# plus fish is possible. The river environment is ripe with snags, which they like to hang out near/in, and will be the first place they want to go. Second, the idea is to fight the fish to the boat as quick as possible to release as quick as possible. Stripers chance of survival goes down quite a bit if fought to the point of exhaustion. The hotter the weather the worse it is. Has to do with lactic acid build up. I witnessed another fisherman on here have a big fish break off 65# braid because he was set to zero drag, but if he wasn't he would have lost the fish to a log jam anyway. Might have even been 80# braid.

[A Hawk]

Wow interesting, thanks for the explanation. I've experienced similar to that fishing for snook off of docks. They go straight for the pilings.

[JKTrevecca]

I upgraded my line strength because I had been losing/breaking off some fish up there with 20 pound line and drag set to where it would let the fish pull line, but not effortlessly. I just got sick and tired of spending an entire day fishing, and landing 1 fish to every 6 that pulled drag. Most were lost due to hooks not being large enough but some were broken off. I'm sure the striper run straight for structure and it doesn't take near as much abrasion to break off 20 pound line compared to 50.

I've only fished with the 50 pound line once now and I do have some concern with the larger line restricting the bait more and/or being visible to the striper. But.... If I can catch hybrids on an umbrella rig that is extremely hardware heavy with coat hanger size wires and a mess of lead on it, I'm not so sure the line diameter will prevent a strike. Who knows...?

[agelesssone]

Merv, that fish would have gone close to 50 pounds in the Spring when she was full of roe, a rogue for sure. Just 23.1 pounds short of the state record of 65.6 pounds ...

Old linesides goes through a false spawn in the fall (I have mentioned before) When they venture up stream .... <'TK><:)

Some clarification is in order here.

A two fish TOTAL weight of 42 lbs 5 oz won the tournament.

I don't know what won the big fish of the tournament.

[tkwalker]

:)I upgraded my line strength because I had been losing/breaking off some fish up there with 20 pound line and drag set to where it would let the fish pull line, but not effortlessly. I just got sick and tired of spending an entire day fishing, and landing 1 fish to every 6 that pulled drag. Most were lost due to hooks not being large enough but some were broken off. I'm sure the striper run straight for structure and it doesn't take near as much abrasion to break off 20 pound line compared to 50.

I've only fished with the 50 pound line once now and I do have some concern with the larger line restricting the bait more and/or being visible to the striper. But.... If I can catch hybrids on an umbrella rig that is extremely hardware heavy with coat hanger size wires and a mess of lead on it, I'm not so sure the line diameter will prevent a strike. Who knows...?

JK, Read all my posts again ... You worry to much .. This isn't fly fishing . <'TK><;)

[tkwalker]

A couple of reasons, especially when fishing OH or one of the trophy fisheries. One, the chance of a huge 50# plus fish is possible. The river environment is ripe with snags, which they like to hang out near/in, and will be the first place they want to go. Second, the idea is to fight the fish to the boat as quick as possible to release as quick as possible. Stripers chance of survival goes down quite a bit if fought to the point of exhaustion. The hotter the weather the worse it is. Has to do with lactic acid build up. I witnessed another fisherman on here have a big fish break off 65# braid because he was set to zero drag, but if he wasn't he would have lost the fish to a log jam anyway. Might have even been 80# braid.

SF, You must have read every post I've made on this site about our trophy fishing in middle Tennessee ... You are right on !! especially the Lactic acid, you must work that tail repeatedly sideways so she can get the acid out of the muscle ... Also I am glad you brought up the size of tackle.. Some point in time every striper fisherman will wish he or she had a broom handle for a rod and cloths line rope for a line especially when old scaly face sounds and heads for the submerged log, but the primary reason is to get the fish in the boat ASAP for the survival of the fish .. ... Good Job ..<'TK><:)

[StriperFan]

[QUOTE=tkwalker;67134]SF, You must have read every post I've made on this site about our trophy fishing in middle Tennessee ... You are right on !! especially the Lactic acid, you must work that tail repeatedly sideways so she can get the acid out of the muscle ... Also I am glad you brought up the size of tackle.. Some point in time every striper fisherman will wish he or she had a broom handle for a rod and cloths line rope for a line especially when old scaly face sounds and heads for the submerged log, but the primary reason is to get the fish in the boat ASAP for the survival of the fish .. ... Good Job ..<'TK><:)[/QUOTE

You were the first I ever heard to wag the tail to help release the lactic acid and I've done it ever since. And I feel we get good release success rates, at least they swim away.

[JKTrevecca]

haha... thanks tk. do you think using the 50 pound on priest to fish for hybrids would have any adverse impacts? i'd hate to have to change line on all my rods when switching fishing spots.

[tkwalker]

haha... thanks tk. do you think using the 50 pound on priest to fish for hybrids would have any adverse impacts? i'd hate to have to change line on all my rods when switching fishing spots.

All of my guiding was done for trophies on the OH river chain .. I have fished JPP for Hybrids and stripers .... But I caught smaller schoolies on OH about the size of JPP Hybrids and stripers with 50# ... I don't see why not ... I did well On Priest ... with it ... <'TK>< :)

[FloatNFish]

haha... thanks tk. do you think using the 50 pound on priest to fish for hybrids would have any adverse impacts? i'd hate to have to change line on all my rods when switching fishing spots.

I use the same rods for Priest as I do on OH with 50lb Big Game to a barrel swivel then 30lb fluoro to the bait. They don't seem to mind it a bit...

[MNfisher]

I witnessed another fisherman on here have a big fish break off 65# braid because he was set to zero drag, but if he wasn't he would have lost the fish to a log jam anyway. Might have even been 80# braid.


It was 80#. I've never had a fish pull like that one did! Still haunts me!


Mike

[StriperFan]

It was 80#. I've never had a fish pull like that one did! Still haunts me!


Mike

Heck I know, It still haunts me having seen it.

[agelesssone]

MN Fisher and Striperfan,

I just had a very unsettling experience in my garage this morning.

Opened a new pack of H2O Express 80 lb braid and spooled up a new rod and reel setup.

I cut off three feet of the line and wanted to test a snap swivel to see how much weight it would take to open up the snap swivel.

I tied a palomar knot to the snap swivel, wrapped the other end of the line around a wooden stick. Attached the snap swivel to a piece of 250 lb. planer board line which was tied to a 37.5 dumbell which had a 15 lb dumbell attached to it for a combined total of 52.5 lbs.

Doing a straight up slow lift, I didn't get the weights off the floor either time I tried. None of the knots gave way or broke, the snap swivel didn't open. The line broke both times between the two attachments. Not at the knots, but between the two points of attachment.

So what am I doing wrong? The line snapped before I got 52.5 lbs off the floor.

I have a 1500 ft spool of Power Pro 80 lb test line coming in the mail. Sure hope it tests out better than the H2O Express stuff did.

[SAMBOLIE]

Doing a straight up slow lift, I didn't get the weights off the floor either time I tried. None of the knots gave way or broke, the snap swivel didn't open. The line broke both times between the two attachments. Not at the knots, but between the two points of attachment.

So what am I doing wrong? The line snapped before I got 52.5 lbs off the floor.

I have a 1500 ft spool of Power Pro 80 lb test line coming in the mail. Sure hope it tests out better than the H2O Express stuff did.

Merv, have you ever tried tying the line to a digital scale that is secured to something then pulling on the line to see what the weight is when the line breaks?

[tkwalker]

MN Fisher and Striperfan,

I just had a very unsettling experience in my garage this morning.

Opened a new pack of H2O Express 80 lb braid and spooled up a new rod and reel setup.

I cut off three feet of the line and wanted to test a snap swivel to see how much weight it would take to open up the snap swivel.

I tied a palomar knot to the snap swivel, wrapped the other end of the line around a wooden stick. Attached the snap swivel to a piece of 250 lb. planer board line which was tied to a 37.5 dumbell which had a 15 lb dumbell attached to it for a combined total of 52.5 lbs.

Doing a straight up slow lift, I didn't get the weights off the floor either time I tried. None of the knots gave way or broke, the snap swivel didn't open. The line broke both times between the two attachments. Not at the knots, but between the two points of attachment.

So what am I doing wrong? The line snapped before I got 52.5 lbs off the floor.

I have a 1500 ft spool of Power Pro 80 lb test line coming in the mail. Sure hope it tests out better than the H2O Express stuff did.

Merv, I am not sure that is a good test ... There is a lot of difference and dynamics in comparison with dead weight and active live weight ...

Example" I have a winch on my Jeep. The vertical weight it can lift is **1800# dead weight .. It is rated @ 5500# rolling weight (vehicle pull). I found when experimenting with Braids 20 years ago that I was breaking my line ... I went back to Mono that has a stretch coefficient ... no more breakage. Have you noticed on the Tuna Fishing show they only use mono do to the stretch, now they do break off usually near the terminal tackle.. <'TK><:)

(**rating for cable and drive line of winch)

[SAMBOLIE]

Merv, I am not sure that is a good test ... There is a lot of difference and dynamics in comparison with dead weight and active live weight ...

Example" I have a winch on my Jeep. The vertical weight it can lift is **1800# dead weight .. It is rated @ 5500# rolling weight (vehicle pull). I found when experimenting with Braids 20 years ago that I was breaking my line ... I went back to Mono that has a stretch coefficient ... no more breakage. Have you noticed on the Tuna Fishing show they only use mono do to the stretch, now they do break off usually near the terminal tackle.. <'TK><:)

(**rating for cable and drive line of winch)


What if it is rolling like a freaking locomotive in a direction opposite from what you want to pull? ;)

[XxthejuicexX]

merv, I have broke 65lb power pro on the hookset while flipping docks on G-ville. 12-15' of line out and on my hookset snapped it, twice I think. Now that's with the drag locked down and no give. It's a lot of pressure on that line so I know back it off so I have some give with the drag, no issues since.

[agelesssone]

I need to go online and see what the criteria is for testing line.
I think if it says 80 lb, it shouldn't break until 80 lbs straight pull is applied.

[tkwalker]

What if it is rolling like a freaking locomotive in a direction opposite from what you want to pull? ;)

What this means is that the load is static. dead in the water, stuck, etc...(Merv, I may need some help here?? .. It is capable of pulling this weight that rolls toward the Winch .... <'TK>< :rolleyes: LOL ..