Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: armytruck on February 01, 2011, 07:29:57 AM
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Of the Steelhead landed this season , what # test did you successfully land your fish on . ( no bull ) ;D
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12 lb main and 10 leader.
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I have never used heavier than 10lb test for steelhead. usually its 8lb and even 6lb the odd time
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When visibility is low and water high, like January, I tend to use heavier leaders as they are more forgiving in fighting a steelhead in faster current and also bring in a fish quicker for faster release if needed. (also, less frequent need to check and change leaders for abrasions)
Both steelhead I landed this season were on 15lbs mono used as leader.
I also carry 12 lb leaders, but have not used it much so far this year as water visibility did not warrant it.
Above the swivel, I normally use 12 feet of 20 lbs mono connected by improved albright knot to a 30 lbs braid line.
I use 30 lb braid as main line, not because I need the strength but find them to be easier to work with than a thinner 20 lb braid in cold weather.
I think I also tend to use heavier line than for average steelhead because in the back of my mind I am thinking about being ready to land that once in a life time fish (20+) if I ever hook one. ;)
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12 lb main and 10 leader.
aYup! 36 and counting can't be too far wrong methinks! ;)
Cheers,
Nog
Ummm... Make that thirty-eight ;)
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12 Seaguar Invisix Flourocarbon, dirty or clear water. Seaguar in my opinion is the best flouro out there, doubt i'll ever use a mono leader again.
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12 lb main and 10 leader.
I'm with noggin on this one. I never go less than 10lb leader. Yes even in gin clear water.
As for sheer numbers thats not my style! I'm doing well, REALLY WELL!, and I havn't even made it to the Island yet.
Oh well my three week stint there is less then a week away! Sorry to intrude on waters less traveled!
8) The Ghost
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last year i used to fish 15 lb main and 12 lb leaders because it had been left from salmon season but this season i went to maxima 12 lb main and 8 lb leaders and have done very very well this season, with only one fishless trip :)
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15 main, 12 lb seagaur leader
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I go 12lbs main and this year I have been using the 10lbs Platypus flourocarbon and it has been really good. ;D The knot strength has been better then other flourocarbon I have used and the abrasion resistance has been even better. I can not wait to try it with the fly rod.
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12lb main Chameleon, 10lb Maxima Ultragreen. Lost one that snapped a fresh 8lb Maxima with an initial headshake but think it must have had a knot / knick. Wish I could blame the line for the other 5 in a row I lost.
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12lb main Chameleon, 10lb Maxima Ultragreen. Lost one that snapped a fresh 8lb Maxima with an initial headshake but think it must have had a knot / knick. Wish I could blame the line for the other 5 in a row I lost.
i use 8 lb maxima for all my steelhead leaders and only been snapped off on 2 fish cus one when bringing to the shallows it darted around a big rock and the other went on a long run and around a corner. Don't we all wish we could blam the line instead of ouvselves ;)
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One fish on 8lb Maxima (first of the season), and the following eight have been on 10lb Maxima.
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uhhh...15 or 20lb. :-\ Straight through.... float, split shot, hook. No swivel. Dropped to 10lbs and broke 3 off, went to 12lb lost another 1 to the leader. So.... just sticking to the usual. The heavy line doesn't stop them from biting. So far all lost fish have come from using light leader, or too small of a hook. Once it clears up, i'll switch. You land fish quickly, don't have to worry about fraying the line, or them chewing through it. I've landed lots of fish on 6-12lb before. I just dont think there's a need for it with the water conditions present on any of the local rivers. Why even use 6lb maxima any more with the creation of flourocarbon. I ran flouro 12lb up against 6lb maxima last year, and it hooked MORE fish.
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15 main and 10 leader, working well so far no complaints
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Lb test is not very reliable and Maxima lines distributed in BC are oversized. If you compare average thickness line 10lb in Seagur, P-line and similar, it would be 0.20mm diameter. 10 lb Maxima is 0.31mm thick. Just a sales gimmick I guess. I personally use micrometer to compare my lines, and there is no reason to use leader material thicker than 0.25mm and main 0.30mm. Recently I used 0.20 Gamakatsu line as a leader (European purchase) with good results.
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Lb test is not very reliable and Maxima lines distributed in BC are oversized. If you compare average thickness line 10lb in Seagur, P-line and similar, it would be 0.20mm diameter. 10 lb Maxima is 0.31mm thick. Just a sales gimmick I guess. I personally use micrometer to compare my lines, and there is no reason to use leader material thicker than 0.25mm and main 0.30mm. Recently I used 0.20 Gamakatsu line as a leader (European purchase) with good results.
The way they test the lines to measure its strength is different depending on the company. Most companies will pull their line till the breaking point a thousand or so times and take the average of all those test. Maxima tests their line a fraction as many times, but they don't average the results; they take the lowest breaking strength. This is why Maxima is significantly thicker than any other line of the same LB. rating.
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The way they test the lines to measure its strength is different depending on the company. Most companies will pull their line till the breaking point a thousand or so times and take the average of all those test. Maxima tests their line a fraction as many times, but they don't average the results; they take the lowest breaking strength. This is why Maxima is significantly thicker than any other line of the same LB. rating.
I didn't know that Dion.
I have been using Maxima Ultragreen 15lbs leader for both salmon and steelhead fishing this season and don't recall having a break off.
And I have landed a lot of salmon this past season.
I have had gammie hooks bent open when foul hooked a fish in strong current, but that was about it.
It was kind of odd but never gave much tought to it.
Now I understand the reason.
I guess I do have room to move down to a thinner line.
Thanks for a valuable tip. :)
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P-Line Cxx extra strong is even thicker than Maxima (.35mm vs .30mm in 10lb test). Tried it once and the memory was most I've ever seen in a mono, but it was stupid strong.
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--there are many systems to measureline...one standard is IGFA used for their line class records... a sample of the line used to catch the fish is sent in with the applications and the section of line is tested.
--many European lines are measured by diameter with an estimated pound test sometimes given on the label.
--I would like to see some industry standard similar to what happened with fly line.. each company used to have their own labeling system however the industry listend to their customers that wanted a standard weight measure.
--I prefer the IGFA standard which indicates the Max breaking strength with a tight tolerance.
--Would like to see some standard measure including break strength... abrasion resistance.. stretch and flexibility so we could compare lines..
--This is not as simple as it would seem as there are many ways to measure each of these.. including stretch when dry vs saturated with water.. we all know early problems with knot strength being much less than the actual line strength on some braids
--Some lines do not perform well in cold water etc.
--10 lb rated stealth fluorocarbon is 0.31mm, lo-sretch 6kg test is 0.28mm, classic 12lb test is 0.30mm , platinum 15 lb test is 0.30mm and super-100 20lb test is 0.31mm
--- industry also need randome testing.. just like drug test as no point in trusting industry to just send in a sample of their own best pre tested line.
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I wont take a risk here. 20 mono and 15 fluorocarbon.
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4lb flouro tippet.
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6 pound fluorocarbon tippet just got me my first wild cheakamus steelhead on the fly.
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12lb main and 10lb leader.
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The way they test the lines to measure its strength is different depending on the company. Most companies will pull their line till the breaking point a thousand or so times and take the average of all those test. Maxima tests their line a fraction as many times, but they don't average the results; they take the lowest breaking strength. This is why Maxima is significantly thicker than any other line of the same LB. rating.
-- platypus pre-test is measured 3 times every 1000m and test result is hand written on every spool
-- thicker line is more abrasion resistant all things being equal... think about it... cut through a 2x4 vs a 2x6 same wood.. which would take longer to cut through.
-- my pet peeve with some line companies is they make a 2x6 put a 2x4 label on it and say they make the strongest 2x4 on the market
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--PS: I like and have used Maxima UG , French Tortue, German DAM and of course Australian Platypus.
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None of this matters if the line is old and or has been exposed to excessive u/v.I found out the hard way years ago.Now I try to make sure the line I am using is not brittle before I get to the river.
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Absolutely hate seeing the line go all pale and dry looking, which is why I stopped using Maxima UG, although still use it for leaders. Having said that, there is no doubt about its toughness/strength.
Another line that is even worse as far as drying and deterioration goes is Ande Tournament. It's hard to find a sourse that says anything bad about it, which is why I'm here to say it. Diameter wise, it's slightly thinner than the bulging Maxima UG and although it's supposed to be "limp/soft", it is not! In fact, maybe even worse that UG. The worse part though, is the line going pale and dry looking after one or two outings. Add to that the fact that an occasional snag would result in 16lb Ande losing out to an 8lb Maxima UG leader. Two emails to Ande never resulted in a response either. ???
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15 lb main and either 8 or 10lb leader.
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I change my main line every year using 20lb UG I always tie 12lb leader.
these fish arn't leader shy.
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fenwick iron thread 50 lb.....and 15 lb leader.......yep everywhere.
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I remember from reading West Coast Steelheader that a #2 Gammie hook would bend before an 8 lb Maxima line breaks. So, if a leader is always well maintained, I guess no need to use anything heavier than an 8 lb Maxima for a #2 Gammie hook.
Do anyone know what would be the corresponding line for a #1 Gammie hook?
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Have been using UG 10lb main and 8lb leader on a M/L setup with good success.
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12 Seaguar Invisix Flourocarbon, dirty or clear water. Seaguar in my opinion is the best flouro out there, doubt i'll ever use a mono leader again.
As my steelheading was in a doldrums lately, I picked up a 200 yd spool of 12lb Seaguar Invisx and used it as leader during my last 2 outings.
All I can say is this stuff is really good.
It's soft to give natural bait presentation and knot strength is also excellent.
I landed a 12 lb in rapids and a 14lb combat fishing in the lower river in the last few days.
Thanks hue-nut. ;D
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As my steelheading was in a doldrums lately, I picked up a 200 yd spool of 12lb Seaguar Invisx and used it as leader during my last 2 outings.
All I can say is this stuff is really good.
It's soft to give natural bait presentation and knot strength is also excellent.
I landed a 12 lb in rapids and a 14lb combat fishing in the lower river in the last few days.
Thanks hue-nut. ;D
stuffs hella good!!!
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Main line - 20lb Vedder (can be bought in army n navy) leader - 15lb ultragreen
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15 main, 12 lb seagaur leader
X2
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15lbs main 12lbs leader maxima been great so far
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i only use 12 to 15 pound flourocarbon leader because the first time i used 10 pound i lost my first cast of the day fish.