Saltwater Boat Angling — December 2017

Saltwater Boat Angling 65

practical use, due to continuously

cutting off the last few inches every

time I re-tackle, or they become

damaged by constant abrasion.

Low abrasion-resistance and

no stretch

Braid has a very low abrasion-

resistance and virtually no stretch

therefore, it's vitally important to

attach a length of rubbing leader to

the end of the main line before

fitting a terminal tackle rig, to

prevent a rough sea-bed damaging

the main line, and to allow a bit of

'give' in the tackle when a big fish is

thrashing at the side of the boat.

I usually use leader which is the same

length as my rod or, sometimes, a

few turns on the reel. This will usually

suffice for most bottom-fishing

methods. I also match the strength of

the leader to the main line but be

aware that a leader that is too long,

or too thick, may provide too much

resistance in strong tide runs and

therefore overcome the advantages

of using a braided main line.

Lures with braid

When lure fishing direct, I'll opt for

much shorter leader lengths of,

sometimes, just a couple of feet,

when using some of the ultra-thin PE

braids. This ensures that the leader-

knot is outside the tip-ring when

casting and helps to prevent tangles

that sometimes occur with this style

of braid when the leader-knot

catches on a rod-ring.

Leader and hook lengths

The choice of leader and hook length

line is down to personal preference

but I tend to favour clear 'Sunset

Amnesia' in breaking strains from 15

to 60lb for general bottom fishing,

commercial mono, from 80 to 250lb,

for the heavier stuff such as conger

and tope or even for shark traces,

and a fluorocarbon for lure fishing.

Clive Hodges, a very experienced

small-boat angling acquaintance of

mine, prefers to use fluorocarbon

hook lengths and leaders of relatively

high breaking strains for general

fishing, citing their invisibility,

abrasion resistance, and high density

(useful to pin a bait hard on the sea

bed) as the main advantages with

this style of line.

The knot

I mostly employ an improved

'Albright' knot (pictured) to join a

braided main line to the leader,

(see picture); details of how this can

be tied can be found on You Tube

and other online platforms

(including our own channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLVCPi

kJj9I). Up to fifteen turns of the braid

in total, depending on the diameter

of the materials used, is usually

enough to produce a secure and

streamlined knot that will pass

through rod-rings unhindered and,

this is relatively easy and quick to tie

whilst aboard a rocking boat which is

always an important consideration.

Recently, however, I've been

experimenting with the FG knot. It is

even more streamlined and

considered by some users to be

stronger than the Albright. It does

take a little more time and practice to

master, particularly when afloat, but

early results have shown it to be very

reliable and it facilitates an even

smoother passage through the rod-

rings, and is especially useful when

lure fishing with ultra-thin braids,

enabling a longer leader to be

employed even when casting away

from the boat.

A 'Uni knot' (pictured) is almost

always used to tie end tackle/hooks

to the leader/traces. The number of

turns will vary with the thickness of

the line but, as a rough guide, I'll use

about six turns in the lighter strains

down to about three for the heavier

stuff to provide a neat reliable knot

that 'snugs' down effectively.

Hooks

When writing this piece, I delved

into my tackle boxes to see what

equipment I regularly use. I was

surprised by the sheer variety of

hooks in my extensive collection,

ranging from tiny size 8 mullet hooks

up to monster 16/0 circle hooks t

hat are used when targeting

porbeagle sharks.

Compared to the overall cost of

fishing from a small angling boat,

hooks are comparatively

Sponsored by

The FG Knot

The Uni Knot

P64-66 Dinghy Fishing pt 8.qxp_Layout 1 01/11/2017 14:47 Page 2

With thanks to netknots.com