LBG tips and tackle recommendations

[intensehotdog]

Hi all,

Been getting more into LBG fishing north coast. Hooked a couple nice fish, and have landed an 18kg long tail this season! I use a TLD25 with 10kg mono, but also want to have a second outfit that is an eggbeater with braid, because in rougher conditions I find it hard to cast the overhead past the breakers and need an eggbeater to be able to get a better cast on these days. 

Thinking of a Shimano Thunnus 8000 paired with 30lb braid. Rod not sure yet, maybe a Shimano Revoluation? Outfit should give me 400+ meters of line. 

I ballon livebait out - and have heard 30lb braid is perfect for drifts. Any higher and it wont get a good drift - supposedly. Thinking of pairing with 40lb leader too.

[slowjigger]

I would have thought a threadline with braid is more suited to spinning than live baiting for several reasons. Also why would there be breakers to get past? Seems unusual if you are rock fishing. Normally if you can cast 10 meters or so the live bait will drift out on its own accord. You could look at a star drag overhead. It will cast a lot further than the TLD 25, especially if it is a bit smaller. You can also use braid backing to boost its line capacity. 

[slothparade]

My lbg spin setup is a spammer 10500, 80 lbs braid, on a pe8 popping rod. Works well. 

[intensehotdog]

20 hours ago, slowjigger said:

I would have thought a threadline with braid is more suited to spinning than live baiting for several reasons. Also why would there be breakers to get past? Seems unusual if you are rock fishing. Normally if you can cast 10 meters or so the live bait will drift out on its own accord. You could look at a star drag overhead. It will cast a lot further than the TLD 25, especially if it is a bit smaller. You can also use braid backing to boost its line capacity. 

Still new to LBG fishing. When the swell is a bit up, and the waves are crashing on the rocks right upfront, its a bit hard to cast past these waves as a shit cast will suck the livie down and snag me up. So on calm days I use my overhead, and on a bit rougher days I use my spinning reel with the same rig as my overhead as its much easier to get a further cast, but it has braid. I've heard 30lb braid is nice and light so it doesnt sink and is good for drifts, no? Like I said im still new so any help is appreciated. 

The shimano thunnus appeals to me because it can click out of gear and help with turning the tuna around. I only livebait, dont throw lures. 

[Green Hornet]

I can’t really help you with a rod and reel suggestion as I was an old school LBG tragic and always fished overheads (Penn Internationals) and built my own rods, though 30lb braid sounds ideal to me for longtails. I used 30 spinning for kings and on a 3.0 meter rod, I couldn’t break it.

What I can suggest though, is in anything but offshore winds and a calm sea, ditch the balloon and use a torpedo shaped Bobby cork instead. You’ll have far less drag on the bait and trouble with wind and wave slop wanting to wash your livey back under your feet.

Also, if the waves are washing water back into the rocks, there has to be a spot somewhere where this water is running back out to sea. Whitewater running out is a giveaway sign and a great place to drop your bait in to get it away from the ledge. The outside edge of this whitewater is always a great place to position your livey as well because this is where the baitfish hide and the fast fish hunt.

Great job on the 18kg fish too by the way. That would have been fun on 10 kg.

[slowjigger]

2 hours ago, letsgofishin said:

Still new to LBG fishing. When the swell is a bit up, and the waves are crashing on the rocks right upfront, its a bit hard to cast past these waves as a shit cast will suck the livie down and snag me up. So on calm days I use my overhead, and on a bit rougher days I use my spinning reel with the same rig as my overhead as its much easier to get a further cast, but it has braid. I've heard 30lb braid is nice and light so it doesnt sink and is good for drifts, no? Like I said im still new so any help is appreciated. 

The shimano thunnus appeals to me because it can click out of gear and help with turning the tuna around. I only livebait, dont throw lures. 

I don't think I would want to use braid for live baiting. It's not very resistant to abrasion, prone to tangles. You could use it for backing though to boost line capacity. 

The Thunnus has a baitrunner feature. It would also be handy for letting the fish run before you set the hook. I would still prefer an overhead though. A star drag would cast a lot better than the TLD as it doesn't have all the drag washers attached to the spool. especially if it is smaller as well.