Sharking.. Mono vs Dacron.....

[Jersey-Coast]

This is a topic that usually brings up some great pointers..... I prefer dacron over mono, with a wind- on leader about 20-30 ft.

Downside is the amount of line that can be spooled onto reel, but I have not lost a fish yet using dacron. I get 2 yrs usually out of a fresh spool, depending....

Lets hear it..... what do you guys use and why??

BTW. on the sharking topic: I am an absolute beleiver in the MAKO MAGNET!!! Took me a few yrs to jump on, but it works!

[sportfishingus]

i have not converted anything to hollow core just yet but i am sure as shizzle in the process. It is a big nut to drop on jerry brown or anything else for that matter.

I would go with 100lb Jerry brown hollow core with a loop to loop connection to a 20ft 300lb momoi mono top shot..

Right now i use 80lb mono with a 4ft -5 ft bimini.. Then i cats paw it to a wind on of 350 extra hard or sometime smaller with a 5ft shot of wire!

[giantfan]

Used the wind-ons from BHP last year and they worked great.

Did an Aussi braid on my mono main line, with a loop to loop to the wind on leader which is stranded cable (15' I think) to a snap. From the snap we did a 3'-0" single strand wire with a haywire twist for the snap to go thru, and another haywire twist to the hook. (I like the single strand.... they cant chew thru it like they can with the stranded cable... it goes between their teeth)

Worked like a champ..... you can reel it right up to the snap and only have 3'-0" which can take the leader man out of the deal if your short handed.

[wahoo]

giantfan why not just use 100lb braid, full real right to the swivel i think that if the fish were to roll he gets cut not the line.

[giantfan]

giantfan why not just use 100lb braid, full real right to the swivel i think that if the fish were to roll he gets cut not the line.

Personally.... I just don't see the need for that much line on the reel for sharkin.... From the sharks that I have caught (up to 500 lb class threasher) there really isn't the need for it. They don't take the long runs like a GBFT or a Blue marlin would take.

With the hollow core.... I would have to go with the Jerry Brown 80lb due to the fact that I fish a couple of shark tourneys every year and most of them don't allow anything over 130 lb line... that being said the breaking strength of the JB 100 lb can possibly be over 130 lbs if tested. I would hate to have the biggest fish and be tossed out for my line not breaking under 130 lbs.

If you look at the price of the 80 lb hollow.... it would cost 3-4 hundred bucks to spool a 50 and even more for my 80's

I am by no means an expert on this but what I listed above is just what seems to work for me. I am always open to suggestions.

If I went right to the swivel with the braid and only 3' of wire..... I wouldn't have that warm fuzzy feeling. That skin is rough and I'm not sure that the braid would hold up to it.

Just my .02

[wahoo]

hey everyone has there own way, i use only 30 and 50. half my outfits have solid specta ,and the other half have mono ,i use them for shark tuna marlin ,and i do leader to the snap swivel . i just do the KISS mentality. on the 50 i fit 2100 feet so evan if a sword were to sound i have a good chance on landing him ,you are right that no shark has ever dumped a spool so it may be overkill if you have shark rods only ,the only fish i was ever almost spooled with was a big blue marlin that we chased down ,and finnaly throw the hook but we were almost spooled with him.

[Procastinator]

giantfan why not just use 100lb braid, full real right to the swivel i think that if the fish were to roll he gets cut not the line.

I wouldn't recommend that set up at all. You need at least 75 yards of mono topshot for a shock leader when fishing big fish on braid. I recommend a good 200 yard topshot for big fish. Running 100 lb. braid with no shock leader is gonna break something, and hopefully nobody gets hurt or looses a finger in the process.

[Jersey-Coast]

The braid to the swivel idea does make sense, but I do not want to be the leader guy on that. A wind-on or regular top shot def makes it easier to leader. I survived 25 stitches from braid, (on a dumb ass move with a customers rod) so it scares the **** outta me! LOL!! I dont think that I can ever go back to all mono though after using the dacron stuff.

[Troubleshooter]

I use 80 on my 5o's and 15 feet of 270 wire.Had no problems at all.Had makos up to 410 lbs,my personal best.

[wahoo]

the shock i never seem to have had problem as there is always a belly in the line,and that acts like a shock line .but the getting cut is a big concern infact i had all my reels with spectra and when the outrigers went off we seen the line fly overhead ,did make me think ,so the outriggers get the mono when trolling .the cabel end is about 6/8 foot

[giantfan]

I use 80 on my 5o's and 15 feet of 270 wire.Had no problems at all.Had makos up to 410 lbs,my personal best.

Used that set up for years and it works great.

Last year was the first time I tried the wind-on's

I really liked it. It's nice to be able to reel the fish right up to the boat.

[Troubleshooter]

Giantfan,I was gonna try one of my 50's with a wind on set up,but i'm not sold on it yet because I hate to change what i know works for me, we'll see.I do use dacron and a top shot of mono on my 80's because thats the way we tuna fished on long island to get the fish to the boat fast.The comercial guys used that setup for years to fish giants.

[giantfan]

Giantfan,I was gonna try one of my 50's with a wind on set up,but i'm not sold on it yet because I hate to change what i know works for me, we'll see.I do use dacron and a top shot of mono on my 80's because thats the way we tuna fished on long island to get the fish to the boat fast.The comercial guys used that setup for years to fish giants.

I must say that with my limited experience with the wind-ons.... they have worked flawlessly.

Just make sure not to store the cable on the reel.... it has a bit of a memory to it..... it is fine to do for a day or two but I left one on for a couple of weeks and it looked like a pig tail when it came off of the reel.

Another advantage with the wind-ons is that you can change them out in a snap (loop to loop connection) and go with a mono wind-on for trolling other species.

I'm just starting to use these but like what I have witnessed so far.

[Troubleshooter]

I must say that with my limited experience with the wind-ons.... they have worked flawlessly.

Just make sure not to store the cable on the reel.... it has a bit of a memory to it..... it is fine to do for a day or two but I left one on for a couple of weeks and it looked like a pig tail when it came off of the reel.

Another advantage with the wind-ons is that you can change them out in a snap (loop to loop connection) and go with a mono wind-on for trolling other species.

I'm just starting to use these but like what I have witnessed so far.

Maybe i'll try it this year on a set up. If it works out and i like it I will switch over.I'm always looking to improve,thanks for the info!