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What would be the most effective trolling rig for 30lb line?
I am a newbie angler with my first trolling gear. I got a pair rated for 30 lbs and have been eager to catch fish with it. Target are toothy species such as Wahoo, King Mackerel and Barracuda, with ocassional Trevally. Usual sizes are below 25 lbs.
I will be trolling deep diving plugs. I am planning to tie a bimini on the 30lb main line and connect it to about 6 feet of 60lb mono via an improved Albright knot. What would you recommend for the wire leader setup? How short of a cable should I rig for maximum effectivity? If I need to change lures often, should I do away with the barrel swivel and just use a snap at the end? How do I connect the wire to my mono?
Many Thanks!
Neo
Sounds like a lot of complicated rigging -- main line, double line, heavy leader, and wire leader -- especially for 20 pound class fish. The more knots and other connections, the more potential points for breakoffs.
In my experience trolling (albacore and tuna mainly, with some wahoo and dorado) you need heavy line to withstand the initial strike with the boat moving. After that, it's like fighting a fish hooked from a still boat. If your main line is 30 pound test, a few feet of heavier line near the end isn't likely to help much at the strike, and can only get in the way later on.
You can use a heavy leader for the teeth or to stand up to the wear and tear of the lure's motion, but there's no need for double-line or another leader in between the leader and the main line. But I've caught plenty of tuna (20-50 pounds) trolling with feathers or Rapala CD-18's tied directly onto the main line.
I believe the story on double line and long leaders is to allow a deckhand to handline a big fish the last few feet up to gaff, or to protect against the skin and tail of the fish chafing the line during a long fight -- necessary with huge marlin and tuna and sharks, but not with 20 pounders. My take on this is you're just adding more potential failure points to the system than necessary.
I would simply tie a swivel (or a locking snap swivel) to the main line with the best knot you know, then crimp a braided wire leader of 6 feet or so to the other end of the swivel (or crimp a loop in the end of the leader and use the locking snap swivel to fasten it to the main line.) 6 feet should be enough to keep the swivel connection from interfering with the action of the lure, but short enough that when you get the leader to the rod tip the fish is close enough to gaff.
(My other take on this is that 30 pound line is kind of light for offshore trolling -- you'll have to have your drag set just barely tight enough to keep the lures from pulling out line as you're moving, or else the initial strike will result in a quick breakoff. But that also depends on how fast you're trolling. On the west coast, trolling speed is often 8-10 knots, and diving plugs exert a huge amount of drag at that speed, so the drag has to be set pretty tight. If you're going slower, that won't be as much as a problem. We generally troll with 50-80 pound test.)
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