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Print versionRigging Trolling Lures 2
Nick Drakes, a Trolling Lure manufacturer and owner of Sekard Technology resumes his new four part series on the ins and outs of rigging big game trolling lures. In Part 1 of this series we looked at our most important item of tackle, the hook. It is now time to consider the next essential item in our lure rigging kit, the leader.
LEADERS
In virtually all big game fishing environments the use of a strong and abrasion resistant leader is essential if we are to hook, fight and land fish successfully. The leader provides resistance to abrasion caused by the fish's mouth, gill plates, skin, fins and bill and prevents toothy species from biting their way to freedom. It also provides us with a means to control large fish at boat side when preparing to gaff or tag & release the fish.
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In the early days of big game fishing leaders were invariably constructed using wire; either single strand piano wire or multi-strand wire cable. These types of wire leader are still used today, and they certainly have their place in certain situations, but I rarely use wire of any description for the main leader when rigging trolling lures. Most trolling lures are now rigged on heavy nylon monofilament leaders and wire only comes into play for the main leader if we are specifically targeting toothy predators.
It is important that I emphasise that we are now specifically looking at rigging trolling lures and not natural dead or live baits, where wire is much more widely used. There are good reasons why nylon monofilament is usually the preferred choice for lure fishing and I will now discuss the various leaders materials and explain their suitability, or otherwise, for lure fishing.
NYLON MONOFILAMENT
Nylon monofilament is by far the most popular material for rigging trolling lures. It provides us with most of the properties that we require in a leader; it is strong, abrasion resistant, flexible and easy to work with. Its failing is that it is not truly bite-proof in the same way as wire and can easily be destroyed by seriously toothy fish such as Wahoo, Spanish Mackerel, Shark, etc.
However, for much of the time we are targeting fish that do not have serious dentistry. In the case of such species as Marlin, Sailfish, Tuna and Dorado, strength and abrasion resistance are the main requirements and we do not require the same level of bite resistance as with fish such as Wahoo.
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Also, bear in mind that there are ways in which we can introduce small sections of bite-proof wire into our rigging in the most vulnerable area immediately in front of the hooks. This helps us to partly address the main drawback with nylon monofilament and gives us a better than average chance if a toothy fish unexpectedly grabs our lure. These rigging methods will become clear in later instalments of this series of articles when we move on to actually constructing the rigs and hook sets. That said, if I was heading out specifically to catch a Wahoo (or other fish with bolt cropper jaws) I would probably use a wire leader.
FLUOROCARBON MONOFILAMENT
In terms of its basic suitability and strength properties fluorocarbon monofilament will perform pretty much in the same way as nylon monofilament. The big difference that the angler will immediately see between nylon and fluorocarbon is the price! Fluorocarbon is massively more expensive than even premium brand nylon and this is particularly noticeable in the high breaking strains required for big game fishing leaders.
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I am convinced that fluorocarbon type monofilaments do give a definite advantage in some fishing situations, but NOT for big game lure trolling.
Trolling lures are pulled at quite high speeds behind a boat that is creating considerable noise, commotion and white water. In such an environment the slightly better camouflage effect afforded by fluorocarbon is unlikely to provide us with any measurable advantage and I certainly would not try to justify the considerable extra expense of fluorocarbon over normal nylon monofilament. The special properties of fluorocarbon may be of great benefit when targeting spooky fish under certain circumstances but I have my doubts whether it provides us with any positive advantage when lure trolling.
SINGLE STRAND WIRE
Single strand wire is one of the old original leader materials. In the early days of big game fishing the wire used was quite literally piano wire and was usually either tinned or galvanized. Piano wire is still used to this day and is an essential leader material for many Australian crews who rig large live and dead baits for giant Black Marlin. A more modern alternative is single strand stainless steel wire, often supplied with a brown or black coating so as to make it a little more camouflaged.
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MULTI STRAND WIRE CABLE
Multi strand wire cable can be used as the main leader for lure trolling. It will be more reliable than single strand wire, as it is designed to have some flexibility, but it will still fatigue in time if used with lures that have a strong swimming action, so beware!
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I will use wire cable for my main leader if I am rigging lures specifically for seriously toothy predators (e.g. Wahoo), especially if those lures have a strong swimming action. I also use short lengths of heavy wire cable to form the actual hook sets within my lures and there will be more on this in later parts of this series.
So, we can conclude that nylon monofilament is my first choice of leader material for most of my lure trolling, particularly when targeting Marlin, Sailfish, Tuna and Dorado. Only Wahoo and other very toothy creatures would have me looking at the wire and, even then, I would only consider wire if I was targeting that species to the exclusion of all others.
Always choose a good brand of nylon monofilament that has been specially formulated as a leader material. These types of leader nylon will have particularly good abrasion resistance and will provide the very best performance and reliability. Even premium brand nylon monofilament is very cheap when compared with the cost of many of our other more exotic tackle items so there is absolutely no point in skimping and using a really cheap no name brand. I tend to use Momoi for my leaders but there is also excellent material available from other good manufacturers such as Platypus, Ande, Jinkai, etc.
LEADER LENGTH
The IGFA regulations allow us to use leaders up to a maximum of 30 feet in length when fishing normal big game tackle of 30lb class or above. This is a very generous length and not all circumstances require such a long leader. As always, we must form some sort of compromise when choosing our leader length.
A long leader gives us the maximum possible security, particularly if the fish becomes wrapped in the leader during the fight. However, the weight and drag created by this leader will certainly affect the action of the lure and its length will create increased difficulty, and a possible safety hazard, when trying to bring the fish alongside the boat. This is due to the need to take wraps and handline many feet of loose leader into the boat before the fish can be reached and taken under the control of the crew man.
Conversely, a short leader will make for much easier and safer handling when trying to tag or gaff the fish and our lures will also run to their best effect as they are unfettered by an excessively long and heavy leader. The problem with shorter leaders is that we reduce our margin for error and a large fish that becomes wrapped in the leader could easily chafe the main line if it comes into contact with its rough skin, fins or bill.
I tend to rig my trolling lures with leaders of between 15 and 25 feet in length. The actual length will depend on the type and size of fish that I am targeting. For example, smaller species such as Sailfish, small/medium Tuna, Dorado and Wahoo will be handled okay on a 15 foot leader and this also has enough length to give me a good chance if I hook an unexpected Marlin. I will use a 20 foot leader if I am targeting mixed species and there is a good probability of a Marlin showing up and I will step up to a 25 foot leader if large Marlin are the actual intended quarry.
There is one way that we can help partly with this problem of leader length and that is to use what we call a wind-on leader. The pros and cons of wind-on leaders compared with conventional leaders is a potentially contentious subject and is probably worth an article in its own right, so I won't discuss it any further at this point. Keep a look out on the World Sea Fishing website in the coming weeks and I will go into more detail about these leaders and how to make them. Or, if you need to know more about wind-ons and can't wait for the article please e-mail me at sekard.com.
LEADER STRENGTH
As with leader length, the breaking strain or diameter of the leader material is also a compromise. In an ideal world we would use the thinnest and lightest possible leader.
Thin leaders will allow the lures to run better and will probably also get more strikes. The down side is that we can easily lose a good fish during a long fight due to abrasion of the leader and we have less opportunity to really hang on hard to the leader at boat side to control a large fish.
A heavy leader will give us security and durability but may affect the action of our lures and could reduce the strike rate. We have little choice but to accept the compromise and use a leader appropriate to the size and species of fish we are targeting, or the species that are likely to show up on the day.
When lure fishing for big game species, my monofilament leaders are typically between 150lb and 400lb breaking strain. I may go up to ultra heavy 500-600lb leaders if I am in a really big Marlin destination, but this is a rarity for me and these leaders do not form part of my normal rigging gear.
I will use 150lb to 200lb leaders when targeting mixed species in an area where an encounter with a decent size Blue Marlin or very large Tuna is unlikely. This will be fine for small/medium Tuna, Dorado, Sailfish, White Marlin, etc. Where there is a reasonable likelihood of encountering Blue Marlin or large Tuna I will go up to a 300lb leader and if I am actually targeting decent size Blue Marlin or very large Tuna I will use 400lb leader.
LEADER SUMMARY
Use nylon monofilament leaders unless toothy fish are the only intended quarry
If using wire leaders for rigging lures take care to avoid metal fatigue - do not use single strand wire with lures that have strong swimming actions
Keep the leader as short as is sensible for the fish species present
Use the lightest breaking strain leader that is sensible for the fish species present
That concludes Part 2 of this series of articles on rigging big game trolling lures. In the next instalment we will look at the other small, but essential components, required to assemble our trolling lure rigs and the tools that we will need to do the job properly.
If you'd like to raise any questions or seek clarification on any points within this article, feel free to contact me at on the Sekard Technology website at www.sekard.com
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