Sharphooks
Well-Known Member
Seven years ago I put the largest spring of my fishing career into a net. The size of the fish was one thing, but what was noteworthy was that was the first season I ever tried using braided mainline. And even more noteworthy was that this line (65 lb test Berkeley spider wire) survived that fish taking a wrap around someone’s twin Yamaha legs then peeling off 50 meters of line.
No way would I have put that fish in the net if I’d been using old-school mono. That’s braid’s upside. And of course feeling the bait going into a fish’s mouth and the head-shakes once you’re hooked up.
But I fish alone and have a bigger boat that has lots of sail built into the wheelhouse and using braid is now starting to downright spook me.
Last summer I fought a fish for well over half an hour in a 10 knot steady blow. Even with a 25 Hp Hi-Thrust Yamaha the fish got under the boat just as I was close to finally seeing color. Once he busted that move I saw I was way too close to the rocks to attempt a walk out to the bow to clear the line. He took off on another crazy run….the braid passed over the keel of the boat and finally hooked up on the edge of a GT-51 Thru-hull transducer and that was it. The fish broke off, the braid would not budge where it had hooked up and I had to limp into a bay where I cleared at least 20 meters of that nasty stuff off my trim tabs, my swim step ladder, my transom mounted transducers and both my Suzuki props. That night I did laps around the rosary beads thanking the good Lord for allowing the braid to spin fairly easily off the props and not damage the seals. I could see how close I’d come to disaster because I was literally in the middle of nowhere
So last night I was fighting a spring in a gong show of other boats. Like a major gong show. You know the type—-yakking on cell phones, oblivious to what’s going on around them; 50 footers in amount the pack with liquored up types moseying through the fleet as if they owned the joint. I don’t do the “fish-on!” shriek fest under those circumstance not do I start waving a net. For some of those guys, seeing a guy waving a net is like a red cape. Hey, let’s go over there …looks fishy!
I just do my best to keep my boat between these types and the fish I’m fighting
Trouble was I was doing this in a thick wad of lettuce. My line was hung with big fronds of it, the stuff was so thick from the incoming tide that when I got the fish up close for the net job I hesitated waiting to at least see what I was netting. That was a bad move. The fish immediately took off under the boat. Before I could fire up the Suzukis to try and back away from the fish of course, the braid once again found the leading edge of my through-hull and instantly stuck. The fish broke off and I had no way of knowing just how much braid was still hanging under my boat
Crossing my fingers I did a 20 minute run back to the dock. This morning I inspected the Suzuki props. They spun freely, no visuals of braid in there. But I had a nagging suspicion there had to be more braid stuck under my boat
I took a boat hook, extended the handle, ran it under the boat where I figured the transducer’s ugly face was hanging and boom, I struck pay dirt when I felt resistance. I got this wad out. There might be more and hopefully it’ll stay out of my prop until I get the boat back on a trailer
At this point I’m tempted to go back to old-school mono knowing how that braid could easily have spun up into the Suzukis and killed the summer
No way would I have put that fish in the net if I’d been using old-school mono. That’s braid’s upside. And of course feeling the bait going into a fish’s mouth and the head-shakes once you’re hooked up.
But I fish alone and have a bigger boat that has lots of sail built into the wheelhouse and using braid is now starting to downright spook me.
Last summer I fought a fish for well over half an hour in a 10 knot steady blow. Even with a 25 Hp Hi-Thrust Yamaha the fish got under the boat just as I was close to finally seeing color. Once he busted that move I saw I was way too close to the rocks to attempt a walk out to the bow to clear the line. He took off on another crazy run….the braid passed over the keel of the boat and finally hooked up on the edge of a GT-51 Thru-hull transducer and that was it. The fish broke off, the braid would not budge where it had hooked up and I had to limp into a bay where I cleared at least 20 meters of that nasty stuff off my trim tabs, my swim step ladder, my transom mounted transducers and both my Suzuki props. That night I did laps around the rosary beads thanking the good Lord for allowing the braid to spin fairly easily off the props and not damage the seals. I could see how close I’d come to disaster because I was literally in the middle of nowhere
So last night I was fighting a spring in a gong show of other boats. Like a major gong show. You know the type—-yakking on cell phones, oblivious to what’s going on around them; 50 footers in amount the pack with liquored up types moseying through the fleet as if they owned the joint. I don’t do the “fish-on!” shriek fest under those circumstance not do I start waving a net. For some of those guys, seeing a guy waving a net is like a red cape. Hey, let’s go over there …looks fishy!
I just do my best to keep my boat between these types and the fish I’m fighting
Trouble was I was doing this in a thick wad of lettuce. My line was hung with big fronds of it, the stuff was so thick from the incoming tide that when I got the fish up close for the net job I hesitated waiting to at least see what I was netting. That was a bad move. The fish immediately took off under the boat. Before I could fire up the Suzukis to try and back away from the fish of course, the braid once again found the leading edge of my through-hull and instantly stuck. The fish broke off and I had no way of knowing just how much braid was still hanging under my boat
Crossing my fingers I did a 20 minute run back to the dock. This morning I inspected the Suzuki props. They spun freely, no visuals of braid in there. But I had a nagging suspicion there had to be more braid stuck under my boat
I took a boat hook, extended the handle, ran it under the boat where I figured the transducer’s ugly face was hanging and boom, I struck pay dirt when I felt resistance. I got this wad out. There might be more and hopefully it’ll stay out of my prop until I get the boat back on a trailer
At this point I’m tempted to go back to old-school mono knowing how that braid could easily have spun up into the Suzukis and killed the summer
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