Anybody long leader bottom fish?

[notnksnemor]

I mean the old Florida style long leader fishing.
40 to 60 foot leaders.

 

[slow motion]

I mean the old Florida style long leader fishing.
40 to 60 foot leaders.

No. Never heard of it. Care to elaborate?

 

[notnksnemor]

How to Fish Using Long Leaders | Salt Water Sportsman

Learn how to use long leaders when rigging for pressured or cautious fish.

www.saltwatersportsman.com

I use a modified version of the sliding swivel and sinker.
With the quality of flouro available now, I use about 10' of flouro leader and then just let about another 50 feet of line when the sinker sits the bottom.
Especially live bait fishing, bait has a lot more freedom to move and attract fish.

 

[notnksnemor]

I'll add, besides cutting down on expensive flouro, another reason I drop down about a 10' leader is not having to handline in 60' of leader after the sinker reaches the rod tip.

 

[slow motion]

Im intrigued. Do you have any issues with hookset? Just thinking you could have an arc in the line between rod tip, sinker, and hook that might cause an issue. But might not. I typically use circle hooks so don't know if my situation would be better or worse.

 

[notnksnemor]

Im intrigued. Do you have any issues with hookset? Just thinking you could have an arc in the line between rod tip, sinker, and hook that might cause an issue. But might not. I typically use circle hooks so don't know if my situation would be better or worse.

You don't set the hook.
When your rod bends, just pick it up and start reeling.
With in-line circle hooks, 90 percent will be hooked in the corner of the mouth.
Offset circles will have a tendency to gut hook more.
Legally, you're only supposed to use in-lines for reef fishing anyway.

 

[slow motion]

You don't set the hook.
When your rod bends, just pick it up and start reeling.
With in-line circle hooks, 90 percent will be hooked in the corner of the mouth.
Offset circles will have a tendency to gut hook more.
Legally, you're only supposed to use in-lines for reef fishing anyway.

I guess the hookset question was directed more toward non circle hooks. I have found that sometimes when I have to catch up with a fish such as when they grab and run toward the boat I hook up less.

 

[notnksnemor]

I guess the hookset question was directed more toward non circle hooks. I have found that sometimes when I have to catch up with a fish such as when they grab and run toward the boat I hook up less.

You don't want to use this with J hooks.

 

[flconch53]

Only straight circle hooks are legal foe reef fishing

 

[jdgator]

I often fish by myself. Especially when I’m prospecting new bottom structure. Hand lining 60 foot of leader isn’t appealing when I also have to control the boat, which is set on a power drift.

 

[NCHillbilly]

What is the idea or advantage of a 50' leader?

 

[notnksnemor]

What is the idea or advantage of a 50' leader?

Larger reef fish, especially big mangrove/mutton snapper, have good eyesight and are very spooky.
A long leader of good flourocarbon puts the bait farther from the sinker, which is unnatural to them and from the boat and offers a more natural look to the bait.

 

[notnksnemor]

I often fish by myself. Especially when I’m prospecting new bottom structure. Hand lining 60 foot of leader isn’t appealing when I also have to control the boat, which is set on a power drift.

See post #4.

 

[jdgator]

See post #4.

Yup. I start my leader at 2 rod lengths. After I break off a few times and the leader is less than one rod length I re-rig. Goliath grouper and artificial reefs account for a number of my hooks.

 

[NCHillbilly]

Larger reef fish, especially big mangrove/mutton snapper, have good eyesight and are very spooky.
A long leader of good flourocarbon puts the bait farther from the sinker, which is unnatural to them and from the boat and offers a more natural look to the bait.

Yeah, but 50'? I catch extremely spooky trout all the time on flies with a 10-15' leader.

 

[notnksnemor]

Yup. I start my leader at 2 rod lengths. After I break off a few times and the leader is less than one rod length I re-rig. Goliath grouper and artificial reefs account for a number of my hooks.

I mostly use this rig when on anchor not drifting.
My rig consists of 50 lb. braid and 60 lb. flouro tied together with an Alberto knot. I put a small SPRO swivel on the braid so it will slide and stop at the knot. Tie a bank sinker on the other end of the swivel with about 6" of 4 lb. mono. If the sinker gets hung on structure, it will break off easily and I don't have to re-tie my whole rig. Just put another sinker on. Drop it straight down to the bottom and then let my bait drift back with the current.
A lot of my bites will come when the bait is drifting back.

 

[notnksnemor]

Yeah, but 50'? I catch extremely spooky trout all the time on flies with a 10-15' leader.

Sometimes longer. It's a lot different than creek fishing.
I don't anchor right over the structure, but up current of it and let my bait drift back to the structure. On my bottom rods, it 24" from the reel to the first guide. Once the sinker hits the bottom, I strip off line from reel to guide until I've let out ~40 to 50 feet and let it rest. If no takers, let out about another 10 feet. If the fish are there, you'll find the sweet spot in distance.

 

[Tugboat1]

Sounds like freelining a bait on the bottom

 

[notnksnemor]

Sounds like freelining a bait on the bottom

That's one way to look at it.
To finish the story on how I use this technique.
When I mark the structure I want to fish on my bottom machine, I throw a marker buoy on it for a surface visual where I want to set up, then anchor up current. Usually, one of the first few fish will tangle in the buoy string and I'll pull it in with the fish.
This seem to work well around some of the MBARA reefs in Mexico Beach.

 

[1eyefishing]

I don't like the idea of fifty feet of sinking flourocarbon laying on the bottom, especially a rocky bottom.
And I think a lot of the coniption about getting 'rocked' by a fish is due to this, not the fish actually being in a hole.