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After an early mourning duck hunting trip my dad and I headed to Whiskey George to trout fish. We arrived at the boat ramp around 10:30. We started fishing with white curly tailed grubs. We caught a lot of trout on these, but as the tide started to change the trout bite slowed. We switched to mirrolures(52m)colors: red and white,trout pattern. We caught many trout on these too. After a great day on the water we headed back to the ramp around 3:30. We caught an estimated 40 trout which many were undersized, but we kept 5 legal ones.
FishhawkJR

Junior, sounds like a busy day, do you use mono for the trout or are you on braid?
How successful was the duck shooting?
Looking on the duck reports they seem a bit late this year.

We were using 10# mono. The duck shooting wasn't very sucessful. There were plenty of ducks, my shot just wasn't on that day(we shot none). On past trips to Lake Seminole we have shot Ringnecks and Woodducks.

Junior, we have all had days like that, it just makes you remember how much sky there is all around the bird.
At least you saw some ducks, so there is always another day.
The trout more than made up for it.
I,m suprised you don,t use braid for trout, especially with the lures.

Well i just use the equipment that my dad buys me. I tie on leaders to help prevent from losing lures. I might try braided line someday. But cranfield thanx for the advice.

Junior, I wouldn,t presume to give you any advice on trout fishing line.
You listen to your father, he,s forgotten more than I will ever know and after your catch the other day, you could show me a few things i,m sure.

My comment regarding braid was because the developments of non stretch fishing braid started in the US and I have been bringing it back to the UK for years.
Starting with the first Spiderwire up to the latest, PowerPro (which I consider the best).

The best use we have found for braid is in lure fishing, freshwater or sea and in bottom fishing at sea.
I just assumed that everyone over there used braid for lure fishing.So your "mono" comment suprised me.

Mind you, I,m pretty good at bird shooting, how high were those ducks?:D

Cranfield,
It's an interesting question you ask regarding "braided" lines vs. monofilament. Some salt water fisherman probably think braids are too easy to see in really clear water. They may be right. I have found that there are a few problems with some of them. They are not the best choice for topwater plugs like the Zara Spook or Chug Bug. They have a tendency to catch on the treble hooks and will weaken in time. Its also annoying to have to untangle. A short mono leader is my remedy. Fused lines like Berkley Fireline have this problem, too. I have used spectra braids for years inshore and love their abrasion resistance around oysters and rocks. Improvements in mono technology in recent years has probably contributed to reduced interest in braids. I also don't think line manufacturer's have marketed to saltwater fisherman like they have to the bass guys. Whatever.
With a few exceptions and modifications, I love the stuff.


cff

Capt ff, In freshwater I use braid to a wire leader when lure fishing, the quarry is northern pike and they have teeth.

In saltwater lure fishing I use braid to a 4ft 50lb mono leader.Teeth aren,t such a problem here and the thicker mono can cope.

Saltwater bottom fishing is braid down to the weight and then a varying length and b/s ( depending on the quarry) mono leader to the hook.

The major advantage in bottom fishing with braid is its "tide cutting" benefits. We fish with quite strong tides offshore.At times with mono you can not hold bottom.
Braid allows you to reduce weight required by at least 50%. Therefore allowing you to use lighter rods and a more sporting setup.

We are a long way behind the US on braid/mono/lures development. Being a frequent visitor and an avid buyer allows me to keep ahead of the game here in the UK.

I've tried braid for bottom fishing. It's great if you can balance the tackle needed and the diameter and strength. For instance, a good bottom outfit for grouper in the big bend (for 25-70' of water) would include a levelwind reel with 35#test(+or-) down to the sinker. Replace that 35# mono with comparable braid and the diameter is a fraction of the mono. That thin braid tends to dig in on itself, especially if you use a mono backing to save some money(thinner diameter/more line on reel). If you move up in diameter to solve the "digging" problem, you have a line that the fish can see. My experience with "Big Braids" has not been great, especially in shallower water and calmer days. The benefits include amazing sensitivity and incredible pulling power. Braids don't stretch, and when you lock down on a grouper, he's working against your rod and your muscle. Braids are better suited for experienced fisherman in this situation, in my opinion. They can even be downright dangerous(I've heard some bad stories about huge Jewfish and lost fingers). Used correctly, I agree with you; they can really benefit the angler in many situations.


cff
whoops, this is inshore forum. Sorry, Tom.

Capt ff, I can understand what you mean, especially regarding the braid bedding in to the reel.

Despite catching some large fish, I don,t consider bedding a major problem.
I have never had it cause the line to break.
Bedding causes problems with casting, but offshore we would not be casting braid, just lowering the tackle off the side of the boat to flow back in the tide.

Up to 100 ft deep we will cast from a boat, but use mono.
The tackle includes a breakaway lead weight, this is a pear shaped lead with four thin wires coming from the nose.These are bent back towards the top of the lead (if it were a pear, the stalk end) before casting.The cast is made towards the bow of the boat (assuming the boat is bow in to the tide),be sure to miss the anchor rope.
When the weight hits the water, line is stripped from the reel as quickly as possible. The weight holds bottom uptide of the boat, a bow of line is let out in the water.The line should be pointing toward the stern of the boat,the water pressure on the mono does this.The line is wound down to put a slight bend in the rod without dislodging the weight.
A bite is signified by the tension coming off the rod and the line going slack.What has happened is that the fish takes the bait, breaks the lead away ,which is then picked up by the tide ,thereby hooking the fish.When you get a bite you have to pick the rod up and reel very fast to pick up the slack and catch up with the fish. A very effective method.

Have you experienced breakages with bedded braid?

Actually Jr. was using mono on his spinner and I was using braid, 10# fireline high vis yellow with fluoro leader. I use mono on my bait casting reels and am trying the braid on one spinner and like it so far. We had a fun day on the water once it warmed up a tad.

Lee, It certainly sounds as though you had some fun.
Junior may be able to teach me something about trout fishing, but I need to know how come he was missing those ducks.

Cranfield, he is usually a very good shot but the few shots he had were ducks coming in over his shoulder and when he spun around there were already getting pretty far away. That and the fact that were we were freezing which slows us warm weather types down considerably. I'm hoping we can try again this weekend in our blind which is much closer to the house. I may play hooky on Friday and get in a little fishing.

I know what you mean Lee, its hard to concentrate on anything if you are not comfortable.

I thought it was only the English ducks that crept up behind you.