G'day Guys,

I'm just contemplating setting myself up for trolling for southern bluefin tuna and albacore. The method of capture is trolling lures such as feathers, skirts and bibless minnows, but the fishing would be done standup.

I have read here and there that in the US a lot of big game fishermen are now using smaller, high drag capacity reels spooled with braid (to get good capacity) and then a topshot of mono in the 50-75 yard length range.

Is this sort of setup now becoming the norm, or is mono for game fishing still preferred?

I want to set myself up with a pair of 15kg and 24kg outfits eventually, and was wondering should I go for a reel like the Avet Pro-Ex 30 or Accurate 665W with braid and topshotted with mono over a more conventional setup of say a penn 30 and 50 and mono?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each setup?

If you would like to reply via email to save bandwidth on here, please do.

Regards

Jason



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/2008 11:28AM by Jason Groombridge.

stay away from braid. when you hook up a fish the line will dig into the spool, causing all kinds of problems.

Braid is the norm on long range trips out of san diego for cow yellowfin tuna (200 +lbs). Braid put on the reel properly will not dig into the reel. Also spectra braids come in hollow core that allows for wind on leaders or mono topshots of various lengths. The extra line capacity that braid gives a smaller reel makes a small reel more versatile. It also leads to less tackle because you can change top shots easily.

Thad
Dutchman's Creek Tackle

I've seen mono improperly spooled and when a decent fish hit, literally blow up the old two-piece spools. I agree with Thad, properly-spooled braid is no more problem than anything else. One tip - when reeling in with no fish on, keep a bit of pressure on the line coming into the spool with your fingers.

Uncle Russ
Calico Creek Rods

Thanks for the input guys.

Much appreciated.

Regards

Jason