Shocking Facts About Shock Leaders

I came across this article by Frazer Mellis the other day and found it to be concise and to the point with all the right amount of information.  If you think about it, it isn't rocket science but alot of us don't get it right!  I like the bit about 'snatching your cast' - we don't all do it perfectly all the time!  Enjoy!

"When you look across many of the Internet forums the same sort of questions come up, and one of the most common questions you hear sea angler chatting about is shock leaders. Now for many this is a grey area to chat about as everybody has their own opinions on leader types and lengths. The common questions that come up regarding shock leaders are:



1. What strength shock leader should I use?


2. What length shock leader should I use?


3. What type of shock leader to use?


Many anglers use a shock leader that is either too long or too short, and this can cause issues when casting and fishing, so what are the main points to consider? Well firstly your leader strength MUST be determined by the weight of lead you will be using, as a general rule of thumb 1oz of lead equates to 10lb of shock leader. Therefore if you intend to be fishing with leads up to and including say 6oz then at a minimum you should be looking at a 60lb shock leader. Now on a personal note with this I would normally go a bit heavier than the standard 1oz to 10 lb rule and would add around 10lb to the final shock leader strength. By doing this if your casting isn't the greatest it gives you a bit more cushioning for a snatchy cast.


Now for the length of leader different people have different opinions as to how long or how short the leader should be. When I load my shock leader onto my reel I like to have between 8 and 15 turns on the spool of the reel, and then I measure the length of the rod plus 10 - 20 inch's from the rod tip. This gives you enough leader length to have a good size drop from the rod tip when casting. Now There are some exceptions to this rule and that is when you are fishing from a rock mark, a pier or breakwater scenario or if you are casting with a half or full pendulum cast. For the half or full pendulum cast anything up to a 8ft drop from the rod tip can be used, this would mean when you are measuring your leader length you would need to leave a minimum of 6 feet from the rod tip. When fishing from a rocky area or pier / breakwater you may need to be looking at around 30 - 40 feet of shock leader. This would give you enough length to get the fish right underneath yourself with the opportunity to hand line the fish up and onto the ledge where you are fishing.


Now one other point that I think needs to be brought up is that when determining your shock leader length, you need to be aware that if your leader is too long for your style of casting then the leader knot can get caught up in the rod's eyes when casting. To overcome this problem you need to make sure that when casting the leader knot has come off the spool and has passed through the rod eyes before the spool is spinning at it's maximum, if not then this can cause a crack off or even worse a damaged eye as the leader knot would snag up on the eye's.


You hear many anglers discussing the pro's and cons of tapered shock leaders, Some people don't like then and others do, and I think it's down to the individual to make his or her own mind up whether or not to use one. Now one of the main advantages of using a tapered shock leader is that the leader knot that joins your shock leader to your main line is a lot smaller. Therefore a problem with the leader knot catching as it passes through the rod eyes is greatly reduced".


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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Frazer_Mellis

The Addiction of Sea Fishing

I know it's got nothing to do with fishing, but that's me on the left with my best friend Johnnie back in 1961. They say that if you have the ability to ski - note the longthong bindings of yesteryear - you can also ride horses, sail and fish! Whether you believe that or not ......................... !

The point of this blog, if it has one, is to try and pass on some of my knowledge - and for that matter other people's - and experiences, which as they say have been various and manifold!   I will intersperce the monologues with what I hope will be interesting tips, observations, videos and photos, some old some new.

And so to start ............................



There is nothing quite like a successful day game fishing. And nothing quite like coming back in with no flags flying - pretty shaming, really!!

A marlin on the aft deck.

However, we all have fishing stories - what fisherman doesn't?   Some you can prove and some you can't. I love the ones you can.

The day's catch: a mahi-mahi and a marlin.

The second days catch - a hammerhead shark.

These three pictures were taken in Mazatlan on the west coast of Mexico, which is opposite the end of the Gulf of California. John Wayne kept his motor cruiser "Gray Goose" moored here and she was there off the Bay when we were there in 1975. Trying to look non-chalant is not my style! It was a great fight and when hauled on board, the boys and my wife were asked to go below in case the spike did damage. The one thing the trip did was introduce the two boys to sea fishing and I am sure it was here that they got the bug. They now regularly go sea fishing, fly fishing and coarse fishing - and still do it with the same amount of enthusiasm that they ever had!

The last time I went sea fishing before then was way back in 1966 off Barbados and caught two very nice King fish. This is certainly one of the game fish that fights above its weight - a twenty pounder will take you 20 minutes and more of good fighting (depending on your weight of tackle) to bring in.

A wahoo in Barbados.

Previously, I had fished in the gulf of Mexico out of Galveston with two cousins of mine from Beaumont, Texas. We small-netted for sea shrimp for bait, kept them in the bait box, which allowed fresh sea water to run through it, and put them on hooks when needed. The shrimp had the horrible habit of 'clicking' which was an escape mechanism. If you didn't hold tight they'd be gone, if not over the side, into the bottom of the boat. We caught about 30 croakers that day.

And so what happened next?

The enthusiasm remained and fishing was central to where we lived. Patience was demonstrated in vast quantities. Strange that, as young people don't often display it - except maybe when fishing! This is the nub of fishing: the ability to let nothing divert you or spoil your concentration when doing it. That can be quite hard for a family man with all the problems that go with that responsibility. I suppose that's why younger fishing folk seem to get so much enjoyment out of it so early on.

The boys fishing the Solent.

I am sure we were lucky when we were living either on the Isle of Wight and later opposite on the mainland. This allowed all of us to go fishing pretty well at the drop of a hat. The boys had friends with boats and also unlimited bait up the River Yar. A thirteen and seventeen pound bass was not that unusual. The method was to go up-tide of Yarmouth and then drift back down over Fiddlers. Mind you, this could be expensive on tackle which could get caught in the rocks on the sea bed. So when you go drifting, bear this in mind and take some extra leads and weights. Shame to have to come back early and spoil a day out for lack of tackle.

Trolling in the Solent.

Then there was the time we all went to Scotland - Loch Guilphead - and fished mackerel with lightweight rods and tackle. Now that's exciting! We discovered that the shoal was making a figure of eight around where we were fishing off a pontoon on the loch. Someone on the hill slightly above us could see the shoal moving and warn when it was coming by again. Mackerel + light tackle + silver spinner ................ what more could you want. It was great fun for all! And of course an absolutely fresh pan-fried supper.

Spinning for mackerel in Loch Guilphead.

Sorry, I can't resist this one! Talk about living dangerously. The fish is a sail fish and the person holding it is the same one fishing in the lock - see above. The fish, caught off the isle of Bequia, was too big to haul over the back of the sailing boat so the only way to look after it was to put the rubber dinghy over the side, grab the wire, de-hook it and let it go.

Living dangerously - no HSE!