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| How easily can a decent sized ski bite thru 80 lb superline? I've had this happen twice - once last night, and once about 5 years ago. The fish last night had a Phantom fouled-hooked across the top of it's snout (not in it's mouth). I couldn't tell if the line was thru it's mouth but I played the fish real gently with a loose drag and as I was going to net the fish it did a power dive and all that came back was nice clean cut line. I'm pretty good about re-tying knots, etc, so I don't think it was a line "failure".
Losing a decent fish is always a bummer, but knowing that it probably still has a big bait attached is really a bummer.
If a fishes teeth can cut thru line that easily then shouldn't we all be using much longer leaders?
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Posts: 32955
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Lost my Rumbler to a Goon fish that way, ate the whole thing. The leader was a foot long. That's about as long as I can handle and cast well. |
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Posts: 92
Location: chicago | I use the killer eel and cant tell you how many times they bent the hook and lost the fish.There is a form on here with bent hooks on a bull dawg. Even steel cant stop these fish when they want to get away. Maybe I should switch to saltwater gear. |
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Posts: 40
Location: Maryland | stugots4u
Could it be you fish with a hammered down drag. We do not handle saltwater fish with shut down drag, too powerful. I suspect most bent hooks in muskie fishing came with drag hammered down. Even with 80 lb test line if your drag is at 1/3 you would only have 27 lbs of drag and would be unlikely to straighten out steel hooks.
I love to fish muskies but you will find very very few people who have fished Muskies and saltwater fish who will try to tell you the Muskie fights nearly as hard. They are very hard to get to eat and and some lakes like Eagle they seem mostly to bite at the boat. But if you have a drag that lets them run some its still a short fight. |
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| Probably easier than biting through a 90lb. fluorocarbon leader and I've seen that happen on Mille Lacs. I am guessing their teeth are a heck of a lot sharper than your average pair of scissors not to mention razor sharp gills. Using a wire leader over 15" long just isn't practical unless your trolling. |
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| Thats true cause I do have a habit of holding down the spool with my thumb and hammering the set. Sometimes it works and sometimes you dont even hook them.However you cant let a ski run too long cause they will spit out the lure once they feel the pull!!! |
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Posts: 1270
| All your answers beg the question is it ethical to fish without a leader? And if they can bite through a 90lb. flourocarbon leader so easilly should we only be using wire? |
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Posts: 719
| My take: they can easily bite thru Braid it is simply not good at resisting a cutting action or severe abrasion, Flouro has been good for me but I use nothing under 150lb (bite offs do happen with 90) and I only use it on baits that benefit from the enhanced action it provides, why use it on a bucktail. topwater, glider, bulldog etc it only increases the risk of loss without any or little enhanced action....so the dog gets titanium and the rest get single strand wire....cranks and twitchers get heavy flouro.
If flouro gets the smallest nick replace it...it is done at that point and cannot be trusted.
And ALL bulldogs get new hooks and split rings....different subject but worth mentioning |
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Posts: 366
| It's muskie fishing and anything can and will happen eventually. I've seen them bite through floro, I've seen solid wire break, and I've seen a few broken snaps. My worst experience is watching my P.B.-to-be roll up in the line and snip it clean swimming away with the bait across it's mouth. Gill plates or teeth I can't be sure, but it sucked none the less. Lightning can strike anywhere, but there are definitely things that can reduce as well as those that will increase your odds of being struck. There is no full-proof set up or method, there are simply those that are tried and true and will rarely fail. |
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| Literally 1000's of fish in the boat and not one bite off or broken or bitten through leader.
I use 12 inch steel leaders and 16 inch 130 pound flouro leaders, 80 braided line and not one bite off.
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Posts: 284
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I had a mid 30 inch fish bite me off for the first and only time ever this year. It ate a medium size Dawg and bite through an 80 pound flouro leader.
Reelwise, I use flouro because I don't like using wire leaders. Nuff said ... |
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| if you use the right line and leaders, the approperate length, and pound test, you shouldn't have a bit off.
Use 130 to 200 pound Flouro, 174 pound test straight wire, or anything over 125 for 7 strand.
Also use 80-100 pound braided line.
Also you leaders should be at least 12-14 inches. You can work ANY bait with leaders that long. Trust me I do, and none of my baits have a problem running correctly. |
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I've had 2 fish break my line by rolling up and getting it cut in the gills. I use 80-100 lb spectron, but any musky line can be easily cut by teeth or gills.
I've never had a leader fail, use only solid wire, usually 10-12 inch leaders.
I have had a couple of snaps break, learned to replace them regularily, repeated opening and closing will weaken the steel in snaps.
I don't use flouro, I don't see any advantadge to it over solid wire.
I just don't buy into it making fish hit more because it's clear, and it will break/cut easier than steel.
For trolling I like the Tyger wire stuff. I've used the 100 lb and heavier. Make 3 foot leaders, prevents the fish from breaking you off if they roll, and the nylon coated steel is pretty easy on thier skin if they do roll.
JS
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Posts: 366
| If you've never had problems with break/bite offs, then congratulations on being lucky, good, perfect, or how ever you'd like to view yourself. Yes it is best to buy top notch equipment and tackle and change leaders and re-tie regularly, but even when you do stuff happens. Things shouldn't happen, but they can and do. Muskies have the ability to be highly unpredictable when there are multiple trebles in their face. Usually they come straight to the boat and go into the net without complications, sometimes they don't. |
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Posts: 2361
| More than 2,000 fish, possibly more than 3,000 in the boat and not one bite off, or broken, or bitten through leader. That is certainly incredible.
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Posts: 457
| Huh, I tend to use shorter leaders. especially when fishing certain baits, and have not had a problem. Generally, I fish a pretty generic 8"-12" leader with snap and no swivel, unless I am throwing big bladed bucktails. I build all my own leaders with #11 wire. No need in going any heavier, at least none that I've experienced. Granted I don't have anywhere near the fish as some of you, but I would guess that were it going to happen, it would have in the number of fish that I've caught. |
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Bite-offs ??