Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: swimmingwiththefishes on November 05, 2011, 09:19:24 PM
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Hi,
New to the forum and I suppose somewhat to river fishing. Was fishing the chedder today targeting coho but hooked into a fair number of chum on metal and lost a bunch of it. This was mostly on my spinning setup running straight mainline with 12 lb test on a 15 lb Fenwick rod, there were some rapids in the area which were also an issue. Any tips on a line that can handle a bit more stress, not mess my rod up, but still handle like 12 lb.
Also in the market for a new spinning reel that is light, going to be used mostly for hoes but can deal with the odd spring and chum and that is no more than 150 bucks. What do you guys recommend on this one?
Much thanks.
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12 pounds should be more than enough to handle the average chum...if you're looking for a brand name, Maxima Ultra Green is the standard. How long is your rod and what flex is it? It could be that you need a more flexible rod to help absorb the shock of the fish struggling? Check your guides too, to make sure there are no sharp edges that can fray and weaken your line.
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Check out Sufix line. I was bringing in chum on 8lb test last week. As for a reel. Look into a Shimano Sedona 3500 or 4000. $60-$80 I think.
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For salmon spinning reel, I found that ones that hold around 200 yds of 10lb test are optimum in terms of weight/performance/capacity balance. I use a Daiwa Tierra 3500 for the past season and it handled well and price range is close to what you are looking to spend. Also, I have used a Mitchell 300 reel which costed $50 and it handled quite well. I think the major difference between the two was the smoothness of the drag system and quality of finish.
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Chum can be hard on fishing gear, especially the ones that are still fairly fresh fish. Twelve pound mainline, sounds strong enough, and you might even consider some of the braided lines as they are smaller diameter which allows you to put more line on. However, you should also use a swivel at the end of your line. That way you can tie on your leader material be it 8 or ten pound mono, before you attach it to your lure. That way if you have to break off a fish all you lose is the lure and the leader. Also be sure to check your knots and leader after every fish you catch. If there is a nick in the line, retie the leader and the lure and you are good to go again.
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I use 8lb flouro for chum and have not had a problem, you just need to have a little patience bringing the fish in. That being said, always check your line after each fish. Chum teeth are hard on line, especially flouro and any nick will mean breakage on the next hook-up. Also, don't go maxima on a spinning reel. In my opinion it has far too much memory. It's great for leader or use on level wind, but in my experience frustrating on a spinning reel.
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8lb Fluro :o Worst possible idea for losing lures and / or playing fish to death. Use 12lb minimum line and get them winched in quick.
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8lb Fluro :o Worst possible idea for losing lures and / or playing fish to death. Use 12lb minimum line and get them winched in quick.
I get fish in plenty quick, but I'm not a wincher. Where is the sport in fishing if you simply winch in? My point to the OP was simply that the test of the line might not be what is causing the problem. It could be damage from the previous hookup, sudden shock to the line (technique) or bad knots. If fish are played well (quickly) light line is just fine. It's winching hard right when the fish turns to run that can be a prob. I would look at line fatigue and technique before switching to heavy duty line. Just my 2 cents.
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what does the term winching mean when your talking about fishing..... ???
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what does the term winching mean when your talking about fishing..... ???
"Horsing" or "muscling" the fish in.
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Look at the Okuma reels.They are reasonably priced and of a good quality.Most bright fish are not line shy when using lures.I would use braided main line that would be the same line strength as 20lbs.I would use a 15lbs.fluorocarbon leader. Braided line can be a pain if you are not use to a spinning reel.Use a good ball bearing swivel between your mainline and leader.I use two swivels.I use 17lbs. fluorocarbon Vanish as my leader.You should be able to handle most fish with this set up and be able to release the dark ones quickly.Chum salmon are tackle busters.You might want to upgrade to a rod that is rated 12 to 25lbs.I make my own lures and I like to keep them.
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You don't have to horse the fish in like some bass bubba on WFN, it's still a battle with 12lb + leader and you could easily get snapped off with 20lb leader if you tried to horse a hot fish, I just don't want anyone to be under the impression that using 8lb fluro to target Chum is appropriate because it isn't.
To the original poster I like Suffix Elite line for spinning, it casts nice and has fairly low memory, if there lots of Chum around go up to 14 or even 17lb, if you hook a big toothy chum buck in the current you will get snapped off fishing 12lb quite easily. Also consider using cheaper lures or making your own ie Colorado blades so it doesn't cost you a fortune. I lost $30 of spoons in a couple of hours fishing for Coho at the Stave last year with an 8-15lb Trophy spinning rod and 12lb line. The line wasn't up to the teeth and the rod didn't have enough backbone to turn the fish into some slacker water. Its nice to target coho on light gear but if there are lots of big fish around you might have to beef it up a bit.
Cheers,
Nick
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Also it's a waste of money fishing fluro for Chum period they don't care!!!
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Me reel is a Shimano Soltice (I believe 2500 FLi). Put on 6 pnd untra green and put a 3 foot piece of 10-12 pnd ultragreen or flouro on the end. This will deal with the coho rolls and teeth. Lost very little gear to fish this year, and I don't stress them out, most give me a west coast shower right after I get the spoon out.
I think most of this has to do with my rod though. 8 Ft Shimano Corte light power, medium fast action. The bend in the rod makes it so that the fish hardly ever even take line. I've landed a 25 pnd spring on it already in less than 5 mins. As said they don't really peel much line because the rod absorbs so much shock. Solstice is like $40 bucks and rated for the salt.
Cheers,
Dan
typo editing
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Me reel is a Shimano Soltice (I believe 2500 FLi). Put on 6 pnd untra green and put a 3 foot piece of 10-12 pnd ultragreen or flouro on the end. This will deal with the coho rolls and teeth. Lost very little gear to fish this year, and I don't stress them out, most give me a west coast shower right after I get the spoon out.
I think most of this has to do with my rod though. 8 Ft Shimano Corte light power, medium fast action. The bend in the rod makes it so that the fish hardly ever even take line. I've landed a 15 pnd spring on it already in less than 5 mins. As said they don't really peel much line because the rod absorbs so much shock. Solstice is like $40 bucks and rated for the salt.
Cheers,
Dan
I've started over loading my leaders as well, it used to be a cardinal sin to do so but for all the reasons you have stated, it's been working remarkably well, hook ratio is way up, and fewer fish are lost. I think a key ingredient to this is you have to have some experience playing big fish, and to know when you can apply some pressure and when not to.
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Me reel is a Shimano Soltice (I believe 2500 FLi). Put on 6 pnd untra green and put a 3 foot piece of 10-12 pnd ultragreen or flouro on the end. This will deal with the coho rolls and teeth. Lost very little gear to fish this year, and I don't stress them out, most give me a west coast shower right after I get the spoon out.
I think most of this has to do with my rod though. 8 Ft Shimano Corte light power, medium fast action. The bend in the rod makes it so that the fish hardly ever even take line. I've landed a 15 pnd spring on it already in less than 5 mins. As said they don't really peel much line because the rod absorbs so much shock. Solstice is like $40 bucks and rated for the salt.
Cheers,
Dan
Would you use this set up to target late season Coho when the river is stacked with Chum?
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Would this set up solve the original posters problems ???
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Would this set up solve the original posters problems ???
Yes, hooked and landed many chum, even some snagged with this already without much problem.
The stronger leaders stops teeth from cutting and like I said rod absorbs a lot of shock, easier to tire and land IMO.
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Any tips on a line that can handle a bit more stress, not mess my rod up, but still handle like 12 lb.
I have been using P Line CXX mono this season for both pink and coho spinning and found them to be competitive in terms of price-performance. Both my spinning reels holds about 150 yrds of 10 lb (0.35mm dia so actual test about 13~14lbs) test and landed many pinks and cohos using this line without a single break off. I buy the 600yd spool and it will load my spinning reel four times saving me lots of money. I hooked a good sized fresh run spring while fishing for pinks this season and it beached itself after stripping more than 100 yards of line from the reel in a blistering run down river. ;D This line can handle chums with no problem.
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Yes, hooked and landed many chum, even some snagged with this already without much problem.
The stronger leaders stops teeth from cutting and like I said rod absorbs a lot of shock, easier to tire and land IMO.
I appreciate that you are a very good rod but I find it hard to believe that the original posters problems would be solved by going down to 6lb main and 10- 12lb leader.
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I appreciate that you are a very good rod but I find it hard to believe that the original posters problems would be solved by going down to 6lb main and 10- 12lb leader.
True enough.
Only reason I post this is because this rod has landed up to 25 pnd springs, 16 pnd coho and 16+ chum (ocean chrome) all in under 5 mins on 6 pnd test.
I honestly think fighting fish has to do a lot with the rod. I find it easier to fight fish on a fly rod just because the rod absorbs more and my landing % is higher.
My theory is based on the rod, not the line weight.
If I was using a medium or heavy action rod I would be up to 10-12 pound main and 15 leader most likely.
I also find lighter line (6 pnd) bombs casts way farther on the beach.
Just for future reference (from all the old timers I met this yr, and from this yrs experience). Longer and flimsier rod = better casting/hookups/landing ratios.
Cheers,
Dan
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True enough.
Only reason I post this is because this rod has landed up to 25 pnd springs, 16 pnd coho and 16+ chum (ocean chrome) all in under 5 mins on 6 pnd test.
I honestly think fighting fish has to do a lot with the rod. I find it easier to fight fish on a fly rod just because the rod absorbs more and my landing % is higher.
My theory is based on the rod, not the line weight.
If I was using a medium or heavy action rod I would be up to 10-12 pound main and 15 leader most likely.
I also find lighter line (6 pnd) bombs casts way farther on the beach.
Just for future reference (from all the old timers I met this yr, and from this yrs experience). Longer and flimsier rod = better casting/hookups/landing ratios.
Cheers,
Dan
Lol...hmmm....up above /earlier you said that it was 15lb spring landed with the rod and now its 25lb spring(s) plural even, lmao..........no doubt a true fisherman! ;) :D ;D :P
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Lol...hmmm....up above /earlier you said that it was 15lb spring landed with the rod and now its 25lb spring(s) plural even, lmao..........no doubt a true fisherman! ;) :D ;D :P
Lol typo... indeed 25... landed one, lost the other on one last run after it hit the beach due to trees... Ill change the other post.
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You don't have to horse the fish in like some bass bubba on WFN
Use 12lb minimum line and get them winched in quick.
Umm...Anyway. Let me at least say that I agree that 8lb flouro is not the ideal chum setup. It's what I use for Coho in the morning and have no problems with when I switch to chum in the afternoon. My only points to the OP were to not put maxima on a spinning reel and that it doesnt really matter what i use, other than it is already lower test than what is breaking in their case, so maybe before using the thickest test you can put on the rod it's worth considering that there might be some other causes for the broken leader. Of course ymmv.
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Only reason I post this is because this rod has landed up to 25 pnd springs, 16 pnd coho and 16+ chum (ocean chrome) all in under 5 mins on 6 pnd test.
I honestly think fighting fish has to do a lot with the rod. I find it easier to fight fish on a fly rod just because the rod absorbs more and my landing % is higher.
Just for future reference (from all the old timers I met this yr, and from this yrs experience). Longer and flimsier rod = better casting/hookups/landing ratios.
Cheers,
Dan
OMG I've been fishing...for a long time...and I've never put this together...
I never really knew why I liked putting my spinning reel on my flyrod for salmon but it seemed to work out well.
On my 9 1/2 foot - 6 weight flyrod with spinning reel I can land almost almost anything on 8# line.
On my 6 foot spinning rod with same reel and line I have problems with larger fish or a fish that is very acrobatic.
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Also it's a waste of money fishing fluro for Chum period they don't care!!!
I started fishing fluro for chums this past year. Has nothing to do with being stealth and everything to do with abraision resistance. I can catch 20 chums on one leader before it requires replacing. That is something that isn't possible with mono. For me not having to re tie is worth extra expense incurred on an 18" piece of fluro.
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Sterling am interested in trying that out, if I like 15 Ultragreen for Chum what brand and test fluro would you recommend?
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if you're fishing on any chum or salmon bearing rivers in the fall, expect to hook into some chums, targeting them or not. everyone knows generally chum will pull and pull and pull, until they, you and your rod and gear, including your line are worn out.
I don't know why anyone would go lighter then 10 or 12 lb test fishing for salmon, especially near rapids at that!
I think it's pretty obvious you need to beef up your whole set up if you want to fish where you were fishing and not expect to lose alot of line and gear to chums.
12 lb test for leader should be fine, however, if there's lots of chums around, and unless you're short floating or using a jig, fouling them is innevidible. in this case might as well save yourself alot of time and strain on your gear (and the fish) and snap the thing off.
Bottom line is, if you're fishing anywher near chums expect to hook into 'em and expect to lose some gear...this talk of 6 or 8 lb test while chum fishing imo is puzzling. I'm sure lots of people have landed chums on light gear, but original poster I beleive is looking for advice on which lb lines he should be using when knowing he's likely to encounter chums...
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Sterling am interested in trying that out, if I like 15 Ultragreen for Chum what brand and test fluro would you recommend?
I use 15lb blue label Seagar. With this setup and my 3113 I can land many chums in less than a minute.
One thing that needs to be addressed from the original post is are the fish being fair hooked? It may seem like a bit of an slag, but with the way chums can stack up at times it is hard not to foul hook the odd fish regardless of your intentions. I don't care what setup you have, you will have issues landing foul hooked chum.
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you will have issues with landing any foul hooked fishes.
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I started fishing fluro for chums this past year. Has nothing to do with being stealth and everything to do with abraision resistance. I can catch 20 chums on one leader before it requires replacing. That is something that isn't possible with mono. For me not having to re tie is worth extra expense incurred on an 18" piece of fluro.
Seaguar Flouro is all I use as well, regardless of fish or conditions. People seem to nickel and dime when it comes to terminal tackle which I don't understand, go premium on hooks and line and you won't regret spending the couple extra bucks.
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Started using floro this season and was shocked by the difference it made in getting into more fish.
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Where is the line breaking? Maybe it's your knots...
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"Just for future reference (from all the old timers I met this yr, and from this yrs experience). Longer and flimsier rod = better casting/hookups/landing ratios."
Do you mean a light (power) and moderate or slow action longer rod (where the bend is throughout the rod)?
Something like these rods (the 10'6 ones):
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Fishing/Fishing-Rods/Casting-Rods|/pc/104793480/c/104764680/sc/104823180/St-Croix-Wild-River8482-SalmonSteelhead-Casting-Rods/739409.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Ffishing-fishing-rods-casting-rods%2Fst-croix%2F_%2FN-1102351%2B1000004747%2FNe-1000004747%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104823180%3FWTz_l%3DSEO%253Bcat104793480%253Bcat104764680%26WTz_st%3DGuidedNav%26WTz_stype%3DGNU&WTz_l=SEO%3Bcat104793480%3Bcat104764680%3Bcat104823180 (http://www.cabelas.com/product/Fishing/Fishing-Rods/Casting-Rods|/pc/104793480/c/104764680/sc/104823180/St-Croix-Wild-River8482-SalmonSteelhead-Casting-Rods/739409.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Ffishing-fishing-rods-casting-rods%2Fst-croix%2F_%2FN-1102351%2B1000004747%2FNe-1000004747%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104823180%3FWTz_l%3DSEO%253Bcat104793480%253Bcat104764680%26WTz_st%3DGuidedNav%26WTz_stype%3DGNU&WTz_l=SEO%3Bcat104793480%3Bcat104764680%3Bcat104823180)
I was wondering, and noticed the same thing about the old timers. I have a perfectly good rod that hasn't broken in half on me, but since I can't seem to stop spending money on gear I've been thinking about a new salmon rod for next year.
Mainly for float fishing with the ability to cast out spoons/spinners and some plunking/bar fishing with 3 ounce weights. Would the light power model have enough backbone?
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Mine is an 8 foot light power, medium fast action.
Gave it a try on steelies today... hit 4 coho, around 20 trout (some up to 3 pnds) and one steely that sheared through my 10 pound test on the hit :( :o
Guess it'll have to be another day, handled fish very well in the current though, I wasn't sure how it would do.
As for casting 3 ounces, no way. I can't see any light rod being able to do that. Casting a 3/4 lure is a big push on my rod, I normally stick to 5/8 or lower.
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Just for future reference (from all the old timers I met this yr, and from this yrs experience). Longer and flimsier rod = better casting/hookups/landing ratios.
Cheers,
Dan
Very true, especially with pinks. My landing ratio on my soft 9'6" 6wt is often almost twice that of my fast 8wt.
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Using like action rods is both fun and improve landing ratio for small to medium sized fish.
I used a 9ft, 6-10lb light action spinning reel this season for pink and coho fishing and landed a ton of fish.
They are great for tossing spoons up to 1/2 oz and really fun to fish as long as current is not too strong.