Blackfish Help

[fishpro28]

I plan on going Sunday morning for blackfish, but I need some help. I have caught many blackfish before but 95% of them were from jetty fishing. Every time I go on a boat I catch small or no blackfish at all So I am going to try doing the shock leader thing. I have my reels spooled up with 65lb PP and was going to tie a 50lb mono shock leader to that with a uni knot... How long of a leader do I need? I was thinking 10-20 foot leader? Then there is the hook and sinker. I know KISS......but for togging does that meen a dropper loop and 8" tag to tie the hook to and no swivels? Any help would be great I don't want to catch a skunk on Sunday.

[joeya78]

I do use a barrel with about a dropper about 15 inches away for the hook or hooks(I use two inverted sometimes with crabs) then about 10-12 inches from that the sinker. Whatever boat you go on usually will tell you how to tie them, but if you try my way it should work fine for you I've caught many bf on my own boat as well as others.Good luck!

[lastportofcall]

That's a good way to go. 20' if you're going to tie your rig right into the topshot is also a good idea.

9" tag end could be a little short. Depending on the size of your dropper and how tight you fish you could wind up not having your crab on the bottom.

I'd suggest tying a bit bigger dropper (about 5") for your sinker and running the tag end 12 - 15" to your hook. Nice rig, and in my experience I've caught bigger fish with longer leaders (but not too long).

[bigfishtale]

Assuming you're using conventional gear not spinning.

I'd tie on twice the length of your rod plus a fee more times around the spool worth of mono. Uni to uni for the connection is fine, just make sure it's tightened well and trimmed back on the tag ends.

Lots of ways to rig up. I generally make a loop at the end of my mono leader about 10-12" long and tie two regular overhand knots aka Surgeon's loop. http://www.animatedknots.com/surgeon...matedknots.com

Slip sinker on by placing end of loop through eye of sinker then around bottom and tighten.

I fish with my own presnelled hooks and snafu rigs which have a loop in them:


You basically "pinch" or fold the line of the Surgeon's Loop about 3" above the sinker:


This now formed loop goes inside the loop of your presnelled hook or rig:


Now run hook(s) through the pinched loop and pull snug while still holding on:


Take sinker while holding on to the loop and make an overhand knot around it with sinker&Surgeon's loop:


Tighten and done.

Height of rig will depend on where you're fishing. Sometimes higher is necessary.

One of many ways to rig up. Try a few and go with what produces for ya

[fishpro28]

All great adviceand thank you guys but.... what about hooks I have always used blackfish hooks(charleston I believe?) but was thinking I would go with some Gamagatsu Octopus hooks. Oh, and as far as my setup, I have two. the fist is a 7' Bulleye Eglass blank with an Avet SX and the second is a GLoomis Musky rod with a larger Avet. The two are totally different in how they feel and flex and I will probably bring both out to see which one I like better.

[bigfishtale]

I use Gami Octopus hooks in 4/0. Sometimes 3/0 if using smaller pieces of crab or 5/0 when using larger ones like whitelegger crabs.

[MartyS]

[QUOTE=bigfishtale]

You basically "pinch" or fold the line of the Surgeon's Loop about 3" above the sinker:

This now formed loop goes inside the loop of your presnelled hook or rig:

Now run hook(s) through the pinched loop and pull snug while still holding on:

Take sinker while holding on to the loop and make an overhand knot around it with sinker&Surgeon's loop:
[QUOTE]
I do something similar, but instead of forming the loop, attaching the rig, and then the overhand knot, I prefer to: tie a dropper, really another surgeon's loop above the sinker and then attach the pre-tied rig to that. Once I have two hooks and a sinker on the line, I tend to get stuck when I do the final overhand knot. Yours is almost a BMH rig with a snafu attached instead of a single hook.

[bigfishtale]

I used to tie the dropper above the sinker and attach the rig loop to loop style. In my findings, it is quite weaker than the way I posted. With the shown setup, I've straightened 4/0 hooks. With dropper loop way, tend to loose them. Still strong, but rather go with what I have more confidence in.

I thought BMH style was the Surgeon's Loop and snelling the hook onto the tag end? Then there's that second sliding hook rig I see some use too.

[mickrazz]

Originally Posted by bigfishtale

I used to tie the dropper above the sinker and attach the rig loop to loop style. In my findings, it is quite weaker than the way I posted. With the shown setup, I've straightened 4/0 hooks. With dropper loop way, tend to loose them. Still strong, but rather go with what I have more confidence in.

I thought BMH style was the Surgeon's Loop and snelling the hook onto the tag end? Then there's that second sliding hook rig I see some use too.

BMH style is the way you showed it. Thank you very much.

[lastportofcall]

If you go that route, you really need to make sure that you're fishing line with a similar diameter to the leader on your rig or that you have doubled line (via whatever knot you like) where you're tying in your leader.

Otherwise, the overhand will cut into itself as the leader is pulled tight with a big fish on.

Here's what I'd advise. Tie whatever rig you'd like and use whatever bait you'd like. Use a sinker that's a little too heavy and make sure you're bait is STILL on the bottom. When you've got everything on the bottom, pull the line tight so there is no slack in the line. Now once the line is tight with your sinker still touching the bottom (heck, bou nce the sinker a few times when you start out in the morning just so you get the feel for where the bottom is) lower the tip of your rod just enough to put a bow in the braid (make it look like a sailboats sail) or if using mono enough slack to see a couple coils in the mono above the water line. Concentrate on keeping this slack and when you "SEE" the line get strummed tight 2 or 3 times sort of like a strum, 2,3,4, strum,2,3,4, strum SWING NOW - (insert cursing and stupid face here)!

The reason people love togging is because it's often not easy and people get a certain feeling of accomplishment when being able to catch even the smallest of togs.

That's it. Simple.