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Sonik SK3 Pro-Specialist Twin Tip 2lb...

Thank you all for your positive replies to a post that I thought might get me some flack. I also miss-interpreted Dave’s (excellent) post on first reading so I guess a valuable lesson in the way emails can convey the letter but sometimes not the message the writer intended. Neil makes a good point and it would appear that we have much in common regarding our angling history. I began angling by fluff flinging on Dartmoor but soon discovered coarse fishing and rapidly moved to serious match fishing in the days when you needed 5lb of silvers to win and carp were a bloody nuisance if one came along because the tackle used was totally incapable of landing one if there was any type of snag present. Tackle was all about maximising the amount of bites you could get and as such the lighter you went the better your chances of a bite. “Fish fine and far off†was the wisdom of the day and this was certainly not bad advice. However going back to my thread which proposes that “balanced tackle†is an angling myth then I think the ultra light match approach is just the other side of the coin from the 12lb Barbel set up. Match anglers after silvers in winter regularly use lines / hooks that the fish can easily escape from unless a high degree of skill is employed by the angler to prevent this happening. It is one of the many skills of that discipline. However the point I am making is that there is nothing balanced about the tackle in either situation.

So to go back to Joe East’s original post asking for advice on which line to use with a specific rod how then do we help him chose? What are the factors that determine the optimum rig from a strength perspective on the day one is fishing. I think (hope) we all agree with Dave Gaskell that the hook link should be the weakest link, but what physical laws, as opposed to angling myth, do we really need to consider?


Richard
 
Back in the day a suitable line for use with a given rod was calculated as being approximately five times the rod's test curve. For example, a rod with a 1.75lb test curve would be 1.75 X 5 = 8.75lb breaking strain line.
However, a rod is usually considered to function correctly with a range of breaking strains. The lower limit of breaking strain for the rod is given by multiplying the test curve by four, the upper limit is given by multiplying by six. therefore a rod with a 1.75lb test curve would be suitable for lines with a breaking strain between 7lb and 10.5lb.
That would suggest to me a mainline of 10Lb and a hooklength of 8Lb.
 
A rough guide as to what line to use for the heavier type of rod ie Avon and upwards would be to muliply the t.c by 5 or 6 for the upper limits.

A beachcaster set up would be fine for 25 lb:)

Edit Posted this the same time as Mr Williams:rolleyes:
 
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David Gauntlett said:
Hi Richard, nice first post fella. Sadly though, you seem not to understand the many uses of the term 'sporting chance'. For instance, if you use a light line, there is a 'sporting chance' that the fish will be so exhausted and unduly stressed when you finally manage to land it....it will subsequently die.

Again, using a light line gives the fish a 'sporting chance' that it will manage to snap your line anywhere along it's length, and so escape. This gives rise to a fish trailing line, so there is a VERY 'sporting chance' that the trailing line will catch on a snag, which gives the fish yet another 'sporting chance' of trying to snap the line once more...if it still has the strength.

Failing that of course, there is a 'sporting chance' that the fish will just give up and die. Obviously, if it takes the fish a long, painful time to die, that seems at first a bit sad. However, just ask yourself this....did that fish deserve to live, if it was daft enough to not take advantage of all those 'sporting chances' it was offered :rolleyes:

Cheers, Dave.
Click to expand...

I'm with Dave on this one. I've never understood how Keith Speers could land a double figure barbel on the set-up that he is using. I found that 12 or 15lb mono on a pretty tight clutch was needed to slow down an angry barbel of this sort of size - and even then, they could bury themselves in weed. At least with a heavy mono it is possible to extricate the fish from weed. If I hooked a decent fish on 6 or 7lb mono on my river, it would either be in the next county or wrapped around the nearest tree roots.

With pike on the fly, the aim is to get them in asap for lots of reasons. This means heavy kit. Ideally you have an angry pike in the net with loads of energy trying to escape. Using this phillosophy, I've yet to see a pike on its side recovering, or not, as the case may be. But there again, if possible, the pike doesn't come out of the water and there are no trophy shots either. In my view, I've had my fun and that fish deserves the minimum stress possible.

"Horses for courses" in terms of tackle
 
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