duncan Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 This months mag contained articles on 1. leaders, 2, weights and 3. star v lever drag reels. Let me start with the good bit - no 3 - good article on an interesting topic. Wide ranging from technical to practical, examples etc; everything such an article should be! The article on leaders was, to my mind obviously, spoilt by the continued reference to the use of a nylon leader as a 'shock absorber' citing bream fishing as benefiting..........and further recomending 15ft of 20lb test ("it's thin diameter........) Now whilst I accept that in some (specific) places bream are fished in deeper water with bigger gear a. if I was using a 15ft leader I might as well be using nylon straight through b. if the nylons going to stretch then why have I paid out for braid c. 20lb nylon is several orders of magnitude thicker than the 14lb braid I would use for bream d. it's going to reduce the sensitivity of the gear in practice I don't actually thnk it's going stretch a whole lot in use anyway but that just makes it even less relevant! not arguing with the rest of the points but this one .............. then the weights article - great subject, really wanted to get some info but it just never got going.........3 pages and the only actual reference to which leads for when related to watch leads for drifting.............this was hugely frustrating and a real wasted opportunity. Given that there was an article on two guys making leads earlier in the mag, and reference to their special 'cannon balls being in high demand (WHY?????)' . This article would even struggle to get many marks in 'Introduction to boat fishing magazine for beginers' mag. Articles like these are the reason I buy mags so it was great to see them in there - shame about the end results. I will get back off my soapbox now..........sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 I see the picture of the two guys making canonball leads states "Safety Goggles removed for the picture". My question is, why would they remove them for the picture, it's not as though they're looking at the camera and smiling??? I think it's magazine speak for "Someones going to ask, why aren't they wearing safety goggles? We'd better pretend they normally do". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newboy Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 In reference to the bream bit, it's in theory vs in practice. When I do my breaming, I don't use any mono other than the several ft on the rig itself. Yes I do loss fish, but the number I caught are far greater. I just don't worry about it, maybe if it's bass than I would but bream, there are thousands of the thing down below, if I miss I will soon get abother one. I can't comment on the rest as I still haven't got this month's yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan Posted March 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 Kam, Specifically re bream and braid (and to a degree many uses of braid) it's the rod that does the cushioning - as I think you yourself said in a thread about rod tapers earlier in the year!). Fast taper (or heavy action as some are called in the US) rods with braid will cause problems, even with light drag settings. Adding a nylon leader isn't going to make a difference until you add so much that you are effectively fishing with nylon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBettle Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 I do tend to use a medium / short nylon leader. Not so much for cushioning, but more that if I get snagged the line breaks at the braid / nylon knot and I don't loose expensive braid. In fact you can put fairly heavy nylon on as a leader and it will still break at the knot due to the cheese wire effect of the braid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueboatdriver Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 When bream fishing I always thought a fixed spool full of nylon was plenty good enough. Does everyone recommend using braid with a fixed spool; I thought the idea of braid was for deepish water in tide? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBettle Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 I have used braid on a fixed spool, but mainly for spinning / casting in which case I up the braking strain considerably as braid tends not to like the sudden shock of casting and can break more easily than you would think. EG: I used to use 40lb braid when Pike fishing, not for the size of the fish, but to withstand the cast. This heavy braid isn't necessary for "drop down" boat fishing as it doesn't come under the same load. Here I rarely go above 20lb unless I am game fishing "stand-up" style and want to use smaller lighter reels that don't have the line capacity of traditional big game reels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Martin Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 Personal choice rears its head again. I always use braid I love the stuff, it's light and thin, the no stretch (almost) gives you immediate contact or feel of bites and this alone make it best for me, you can almost feel a fish swim bye . That aside I always use with a mono leader. If in deep water I will use a little over a rod length if in the shallows us around 4' or for you younguns 1.25 metresish. The reason I use a mono leader is not to add a stretchy buffer as your rod and a lighter set clutch should give you the buffer you need, its to counteract chaffing/abrasion damage. Braid is also a lot more expensive than mono so the reasoning is if I'm going to lose some gear in the rocky bits that the bream love it will be the cheaper mono. As to makes I used to use Gorrilla braid which was good but have now gone over to Whiplash which I find brill At the end of the day you pays yer money and makes your choice, mine's made all my reels are loaded with braid cause braided lines make lighter fish feel bigger Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shytalk Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 what about richard seagers bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swainiac Posted March 17, 2006 Report Share Posted March 17, 2006 Tom, braid coupled wth fixed spool reels ...... excellent combo for inshore stuff, quick retrieve when bringing in for rebaits/unhooking fish, far easier lobbing in cramped occasions......ie trying to get a rod in the water when crewing on Dawn Raider or Blue Warrior!! , even line lay on these newer fixed spools is less hassle than thumbing line on multiliers without level line lays. The only drawback with braid straight through is abrassion on rough ground, but even when drifting ridges etc, you can "feel" the ground far easier with braid v mono. Lever drag reels...........fantastic tools, but how many club members drags are set correctly?? I bet theres a few who still lose fish to far to tighter a drag. I find the lever drag set correctly is a joy to use, far easier than fumbling about with a star drag with numb fingers on a cold day, especially when that one nod of the day results in a hook up......only to lose the fish to a badly set drag, not that I've bagged a winter cod in three winters now!!!!! Richard Seager...............wasn't he in the Silver Bullet Band??? Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Martin Posted March 17, 2006 Report Share Posted March 17, 2006 what about richard seagers bass Wow thats some serious fishing . Some cracking Bass reported there and his mate had one the following day just under the Guernsey record. Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan Posted March 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2006 apologies for commenting on this issue without reference to those bass....... fantastic fish and I suspect a great angling story behind thier capture. re the reasons for leaders raised here - absolutely; and the article raises all of them very well. I am certainly not advocating braid straight through (although I do fish it that way for most of my downtiding with running ledgers...and you already have a built in weak spot with the braid to swivel connection (even with a doubled grinner and a lot of care!)). Very interesting that no one has commented on the weights article - I would really love to know more about the use of the various shapes. I use bopedo for dropping back as there shape allows me to lift and drop back in the tide, bombs to chuck out to the side and roll back in the tide (or other times I am hapy for a bit of movement) , balls to drift andI was using watch leads for their grip(but apparantly that's wrong........... ) For drifting sand and shingle and kicking up a bit I have used uptide leads with the 4 long wire only slightly bent out behind the lead as this seems to (1) ride the ridges better without registering every one as a possible bite (joking) and (2) 2 of the wires will drag into the substrate and 'kick up' nicely but without risk of catching at all. Anyone else do this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted March 17, 2006 Report Share Posted March 17, 2006 On the subject of weights, I bought 3 different sets of moulds on line this year; in order to use up a large amount of scrap lead I had available. When they arrived, I was disappointed to find two of the moulds did not have any risers, and would never have worked properly. This was an inherent design fault which would have resulted in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D Posted March 17, 2006 Report Share Posted March 17, 2006 The other article which was interesting was the one on the Orkney 520. The angle of the boat going flat out makes me stop worrying that mine needs trimming down ! Furthermore, the article states the max horsepower is 30 HP. This is not true, the boat is rated up to 35 HP ( says so on the plate ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob F Posted March 17, 2006 Report Share Posted March 17, 2006 Gordon What are risers? BF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam F Posted March 17, 2006 Report Share Posted March 17, 2006 The bit on Richard Seagars Bass made me laugh out loud! A cracking brace I must say, and not credit must be taken away - truely a catch of a life time.....it was the end section that made me chuckle.... 'Richard is aiding the fish scientists who are carryinh out a tagging program to find out more about bass' ....really, a real help I must say!.....I presume because he is holding two fish that one was in the fish box while the other was landed - also they do not look too lively! - maybe he is aiding the reserchers by returning any tags, but he certianly aint tagging and releasing - a bit sad really considering the size of these two beauties.... Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBettle Posted March 17, 2006 Report Share Posted March 17, 2006 I imagine they will be a bit like eating a couple of old leather boots at that size... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted March 17, 2006 Report Share Posted March 17, 2006 Risers are additional holes which allow hot gas to escape as molten metal is poured into the "fillers" holes in the mould. You keep pouring into the filler hole until excess metal "rises" out of the riser hole indicating that the mould is full. This is the visual indication to stop pouring. Hope this explains things, but if not I'll take a few photos of my mods. Gordon H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newboy Posted March 17, 2006 Report Share Posted March 17, 2006 My 4 in 1 mould does that, I over come this by not clamping the 2 side tightly, the gas escapes from the gap and yes I do get a flappy bit round the side, I just cut it off with a pair of scissors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swainiac Posted March 18, 2006 Report Share Posted March 18, 2006 I'm really glad about the safety goggles bit, but I was saddened to see that they didnt mention the fairies at the bottom of the garden, or the fact that Mickey Mouse popped in for tea the week previous. They must think we were born yesterday!!! A bit of a home goal I'd say.......mmmm best whack that footnote in to save us getting sued!!!! Cynical old me!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted March 18, 2006 Report Share Posted March 18, 2006 Newboy, If your 4 in mould is the same as the one in the attached photo by adding "risers" as shown makes it much quicker and easier to produce good weights. Similar modification on 2 in one ball weight mould also works well. Gordon H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlderneyBassman Posted March 18, 2006 Report Share Posted March 18, 2006 'Richard is aiding the fish scientists who are carryinh out a tagging program to find out more about bass' This issue of commercially caught bass in Guernsey being entered for competitions in the magazine has been kicking off on Anglersnet. Richard Seager is involved with the tagging of 500 bass off a certain mark in Guernsey. He gets paid for each bass tagged and released. However as the anglers he takes out are 'fishing for the boat' you can bet its only the tiddlers that get tagged The rest go straight to market. Toerag is also involved with this tagging programme, the difference is he actually does tag all he catches Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newboy Posted March 18, 2006 Report Share Posted March 18, 2006 Thanks Gordon, but mine is 4 in a role and standing with the inlet on the top. The only way for air/gas to escape is thru top of side gaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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