kelp bed braided line rod

birdman · Mar-28-2008, 08:39 PM

Any input ???

I have been using a Shimano Terramar tmc 760 h , extra fast action rod with 50 pound braided line with a 3 foot mono leader spooled on a Diawa Luna 301 . I am thinking that a 760 mh might have been a better choice. I have been pulling more hooks than normal fishing for bass. This is definetly not a set up for soft mouthed fish. I think the slower action rod will give me a litttle more shock resistence and give the fish time to get the whole lure in their mouth and not pull out as easily during the fight.. While fishing the shallower kelp beds up to 50 feet deep or so the hook set is violent with the braided line. Especially when you are in constant contact with your lure.

I noticed Jimmy Decker the So Cal bass guru uses slow action salmon style rods with 30 to 50 pound braid and a 3 foot flouro leader. I believe he said for shock resistence. huh .

Maybe I will figure out the full potential of this braided line some day. I tell you what, the fight is way better feeling when you use the braid. Every head shake , tail beat, and nibbble.

Produce Man · Mar-28-2008, 10:22 PM

With braid it's hard to resist the urge to swing on a bass like you were used to with mono. Like the powerpro booklet says, just a subtle flick of the wrist.

I do prefer a med or med -fast action for spectra bassing. The slower action does offer a little more give, but still not the stretch that mono has. It does cut down on pulls, for me at least.

Not familiar with Shimano's specs, they gotta sell something slower in the line class you're looking at.

birdman · Mar-29-2008, 10:23 AM

Thanks for the input . All time classic avatar

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I am famous for buying the wrong rod the first time around. Maybe that is part of the reason I have so many .......

Subarubie · Mar-29-2008, 10:59 AM

Try a lighter drag setting, just enough so when you swing the drag gives a little rather than ripping there lips off.

birdman · Mar-30-2008, 09:45 AM

point taken. thanks. I really do not want these fish taking any drag though. I would rather fight them with the bend in the rod then give them a chance to bury me deeper in the kelp or take me down in to the reef.

Rubberhook2 · Mar-30-2008, 10:16 AM

I do alot of seabass fishing near kelp lines and last year set up a "kelp cutter" rig in an effort to get the fish out after they run in there. I use a Calstar Grafighter 800ML with a Trinadad 16 loaded with 65 pound spectra and a short length of 55 pound flouracarbon.

This setup has absolutely no stretch and with the way seabass do headshakes I pulled alot of hooks last season. I was in an incredible seabass bite on the backside of SCI where 8 of us put 24 seabass on the boat on white jigs yet I probably dumped a half dozen because the jig would pull out. I used single siwash hooks as well as large trebles on the jigs but it did not matter. I finally realized that I had to back way off on the drag to compensate for the lack of stretch...

x-star · Mar-30-2008, 11:52 AM

That is way too heavy in my opinion. I fish the Teremars at the very top of its line rating or a little out. I think they are underated. If i were you, Id pull on a medium 10-20lb teremar. loosen up your drag as well with spectra.

I use a 8' meduim cork with a 300te for plastics and an 8' medium heay with an SX for bait. that mh with the sx will catch small tuna. thats why i think you should go with the 8' medium

5150dude · Mar-30-2008, 12:03 PM

This is a good topic for me as I just bought a Curado 300 and put 30# spectra on it with a 20# flouro leader. I tried it yesterday and it casts like crazy.
I like the Luna and had a hard time choosing between the two. Shimano had a $50 rebate so that cinced it.
I didn't like the white spectra so I used a sharpie to color the first 15' blue.
I try not to use the term "Kelp Cutter Rig" so I don't get any tofu-eaters picketing my house.
Good thread.
Nostrovia,
Dave
BTW, your avatar looks very familiar! I wonder why?

x-star · Mar-30-2008, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by birdman

point taken. thanks. I really do not want these fish taking any drag though. I would rather fight them with the bend in the rod then give them a chance to bury me deeper in the kelp or take me down in to the reef.

One more thing. It's a bit of a trade off with spectra. If you are swinging on fish, you will pull a lot of hooks because you don't have the stretch of the mono to cushion the hook set. It's OK to keep a tight drag like you want but you can't swing on a fish like you are used to. it's up to you but you are going to have to pick either a strong hook set with light drag or a soft hook set with heavy drag. Good luck.

Rubberhook2 · Mar-30-2008, 12:52 PM

That is funny Dave about the picketers. Let me rephrase...Kelp Management Tool.

I did not like the white spectra either so I used green and brown Markies and got all camo'd.

Yeah, way to much time on my hands...

rdrrm8e · Mar-30-2008, 12:56 PM

I have caught thousands of calicos on Seeker 809's with 20# mono and/or straight Powerpro

I have 4 of them and they are my bass rods period!

BirdNest · Mar-30-2008, 03:03 PM

I think you are right about the rod-you want something with a parabolic action, more of a NW style rod, instead of the SoCal fast taper we're used to. Also, consider swapping the treble hooks on your iron for a circle hook or consider using a tandem circle hook harness at the top of your iron. For Swimbaits, just sharpen your hooks and keep slack out of the line: Calico hit moving baits hard and are likely to set themselves, on the drop they inhale and a "wind down and lift" will set the hook.

IMHO a Kelp Cutter rig is a poor choice when targeting WSB, as you mentioned earlier, their soft mouths seem to respond better to the give inherent in monofilament.