Go lighter????

[dannyboy91]

Im currently using 6 lb fireline with an 8lb vanish leader. . During spring / summer I was landing a fair few decent bream, but always seem to be outfished by the fellas I fish with. . Their set up is either 2-4lb with a 6 lb leader. . In mind that they have more experience then me, is my gear to heavy?? I also fish for lizards and don't want to go to light???


Any opinions are appreciated

[monfsts]

Last night was the first time I used 5lb powerpro with my 6lb vanish leader and I am loving it. I think your setup is fine.
I have used 10lb powerpro with 6ln and 10lb vanish, i still catch bream.
The only thing with 10lb is that I cant cast as far and it is quite heavy for bream. But it still works
So your setup should be fine. Maybe try 6lb vanish leader.
How long is your leader btw?

[dannyboy91]

*just realized I posted this in the leaders section instead of line, apologies in advance

[dannyboy91]

I try and keep my leader around the 50-60cm mark, maybe go longer???

Never thought to drop my leader down with the same mainline, might have to invest in some 6 lb and try it out

[monfsts]

My leader is usually about 1 meter or close. It gets shorter every time I fish cause sometimes the stupid blowies chew on it so i have retie my hook
Sometimes I have to cut the line instead of unhooking it so that I can release the bream back alive. But I try keep it at least 80cm.

Where are you located? Um, I can send you two metre or so for you to try out rather than buying the whole spool which can be pricey. Just pm me if you want.

[crusty]

Originally Posted by dannyboy91

Im currently using 6 lb fireline with an 8lb vanish leader. . During spring / summer I was landing a fair few decent bream, but always seem to be outfished by the fellas I fish with. . Their set up is either 2-4lb with a 6 lb leader. . In mind that they have more experience then me, is my gear to heavy?? I also fish for lizards and don't want to go to light???


Any opinions are appreciated

One thing you could think about is fireline breaks way over its stated breaking strain. 6lb is more like 12lb or even 15lb.
I think 8lb for a leader is pretty heavy for bream, I generally start at 6lb and go lighter from there if I'm not getting hits, but it depends what I'm chasing.

Heavier line doesn't cast as far and sinks slower, so if you want to fish heavier than you might need to go up in jighead weight to fish the same depth of water and to get better casting depth.
If your real has 2 spools and you like fireline, get a spool of 3 or 4 and set it up with a lighter leader. I semi landed a 90cm lizard on 6lb leader last year, fish wouldn't fit in the silly bream net I had and managed to fall out before making it into the boat.

Sometimes if there are lizards about I will add a 10cm tippet to the leader of about 10lb for some abrasive teeth insurance.

[dannyboy91]

Thanks for the offer monfsts, but I'll just grab some of one of the fishos I go with. . Appreciate the offer though mate. . I'm thinking about scrapping the fireline next time I re spool... Right now my casts are getting out where I need them, maybe it's just my action that sucks ha ha

[-Pivot-]

Go 6lb, I have moved to 4lb, its seems the bigger fish come by more then often when using 4lb. I used to use leader the length of my rod but now use 3 arm lengths. My catch rate has improved, plus if you get bitten off you still have 3-4 metres left. Bi-Winning moment.

[stompy]

Originally Posted by dannyboy91

Im currently using 6 lb fireline with an 8lb vanish leader. . During spring / summer I was landing a fair few decent bream, but always seem to be outfished by the fellas I fish with. . Their set up is either 2-4lb with a 6 lb leader. . In mind that they have more experience then me, is my gear to heavy?? I also fish for lizards and don't want to go to light???


Any opinions are appreciated

Depends on water quality and I also think the amount or pressure to system gets from similar styles of fishing.

I generally like to use 3lb leader where ever I can get away with it, and sometimes where I can't. Genreally fish at least 7ft leaders. Will use up to 6lb around the rocks and structure if the water has a bit of colour in it. Also 90% of my fishing is with hardbodies, but I use the same leader when fishing placcies.

Catch plenty of Lizzards on 3lb, it they swallow the lure 3lb or 6 lb doesn't really matter they will generally bite you off. I do tend to lose quite a few hardbodies to flatties.

If I'm fishing topwater I always use 12lb, its a reaction bite I don't think the leaders comes into play. I also keep the leader short, around 40cm.

Mainline, I generally use either 4lb crystal or 6lb braid.

Cheers

[nuzzy]

in my experience leader size matters very little when catching bream during winter, its more the casting, placement and technique that catches the fish. this time of year the bream seem to be hanging in tight to structure or deep in the river/estuary, if you get the cast in the right spot then you will catch fish.

[monfsts]

No worries mate anytime
I am sure you find great feedbacks from great people here. Oh ya, checkout berkley exceed, i am not saying it's good or bad (as I have not use it), still quite pricey atm.
Pivot is right, I would love to go 4lb some day and try out the berkley exceed as well
Good luck mate.

[yakkindan]

8lb leader for bream is crazy, unless your in the racks. i use 3lb gekkabijin flouro. lost 3 fish in 8 months. also, use at least a rod length of leader. however you might need a dedicated flouro outfit if ya wanna go crazy long with your leader. just a thought. good luck cheers YD

[dannyboy91]

Yeah I thought the 8pm might be heavy, but as I said, I fish lizards with the same rod so I'm trying to find a happy medium.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by dannyboy91

Yeah I thought the 8pm might be heavy, but as I said, I fish lizards with the same rod so I'm trying to find a happy medium.

For a happy medium I use 5 lbs Power Pro and 5 lbs FC rock.

For bream, go 4 lbs braid (8 lbs if it's Sunline Super PE, very thin) and 4-5lbs leader. 6-8 lbs leader in heavy structure.

Cheers

[BloodWorm]

I fish pretty much 4lb line on all my reels and don't have a problem. I go up and down in leader depending on where I am fishing and targeting. Recently my wife landed a 12lb lizard on the 4lb line with 12lb leader it took 10min to land. The biggest concern was the leader rubbing on the fishes teeth not was the 4lb going to break.

Simply if you set the drag right the line shouldn't break. If the leader rubs on the wrong thing it comes down to size and quality of the leader. You then have to play the safety v's bites trade off. Sometimes you win sometimes the fish wins.