New to fishing

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Egg sinkers, good to know. I hadn't heard of those before. So with 15lb line and fluorocarbon leader on my light/med rod I should be fairly well set up for course fish then? If catfish are bottom feeders are pike and carp similar?

no.....you'll want steel leaders for pike......they're basically a freshwater baracuda

 

[OCDComputing]

I still say...if you are going for coarse fish (Carp esp)...you need more than 15lb test...otherwise you are going to be looking into an epic land otherwise they are just going to snap off in a hurry. I've run 20lb braid and hit carp that after 10 mins of them stripping off line and almost spooling me...I tightened up the drag and ended up straightening my hook when I tried to horse them in (and have snapped off as well). I know that people may disagree but for me (notice I said me)....I prefer to get them in and back in the water as quick as I can. It truly is a bit of a balance between straightening hooks and drag settings....lol...but what the heck it's all about learning. I know with my rig it will take me 15-20 minutes to land a large carp with line being stripped and just riding that ragged edge of bending out the hooks...lol!

Note: for Pike...I actually don't run leaders but tend to fish for them using top waters and since they hit the lure, it really isn't required.

 

[BowSlayer]

i run thick fluro or braid for pike, if its a sunny day or if they are picky, they might not hit the steel wire, especially the bigger ones, its all a matter of setting your drag right and having patience to land it, this is if you're using lures, if you're using live bait such as minnows with a float, then forget about the braid or thick fluro you're gonna want a nice steel wire, as thin as you can find, they aren't overly picky when using live bait. For carp, i find 10 lb is enough, you just gotta have a good reel, and lots of patience, I've used 20 lbs for carp before but i find that honestly you don't need more then 10-15 pound braid for carp with a leader, i like using dough for them, corn works as well, diving lures work as well, i enjoy fishing for them with lures and with a float made of a goose feather, no sinker, just a good hook, that won't bend and a big ball of dough, they suck the dough in, then when your float starts going side to side then stands up, set the hook, these guys can be anywhere from 1-50 pounds and I'm sure there are bigger ones then that. All you gotta do is have patience, a good reel, don't set the drag too light and don't set it too tight, remember these guys have no teeth, you gotta let them suck the bait in, don't be afraid to pull but within limits of the line, its a good workout when you get a 15+ pounder on, you even gotta run for it sometimes, there easy to catch and tons of fun!

 

[Irishangler87]

I still say...if you are going for coarse fish (Carp esp)...you need more than 15lb test...otherwise you are going to be looking into an epic land otherwise they are just going to snap off in a hurry. I've run 20lb braid and hit carp that after 10 mins of them stripping off line and almost spooling me...I tightened up the drag and ended up straightening my hook when I tried to horse them in (and have snapped off as well). I know that people may disagree but for me (notice I said me)....I prefer to get them in and back in the water as quick as I can. It truly is a bit of a balance between straightening hooks and drag settings....lol...but what the heck it's all about learning. I know with my rig it will take me 15-20 minutes to land a large carp with line being stripped and just riding that ragged edge of bending out the hooks...lol!

Note: for Pike...I actually don't run leaders but tend to fish for them using top waters and since they hit the lure, it really isn't required.

 

[Irishangler87]

I hear what your saying about it being safer to go with super strong line. It would suck to have the line snap after hooking something. My only concern though is the reel I have right now is rated for 6-10 lb test. Does that mean that any fish that can snap 15lb test can also destroy my reel? If that is the case maybe I'll leave the carp alone for a while and try for pike or catfish with minnows or night crawlers. (Smaller bait, smaller fish?) I've never caught a fish bigger than 1lb so even 3lb would be a great fight for me!

 

[[email protected]]

I hear what your saying about it being safer to go with super strong line. It would suck to have the line snap after hooking something. My only concern though is the reel I have right now is rated for 6-10 lb test. Does that mean that any fish that can snap 15lb test can also destroy my reel? If that is the case maybe I'll leave the carp alone for a while and try for pike or catfish with minnows or night crawlers. (Smaller bait, smaller fish?) I've never caught a fish bigger than 1lb so even 3lb would be a great fight for me!

no, the line rating on your is your line capacity ie 180yrds of 10lb test 200yrds of 8lb test 220yrds of 6lb test, most cases this is the line capacity for mono, since braid is thinner, you'd have to go to something like 50lb test braid to have the same diameter of the mono, so you can actually spool on more braided line than you can with mono.

also as a side note on carp, i have landed carp with a 6ft medium action rod sporting 6lb test mono on by catches, and its an incredibly long fight that end up with stretched out line or a lost lure

for line weights, i use 15lb braid with a 10lb fluoro leader for pier salmon using a 9ft medium light rod, carp pull like a freight train, salmon run like a high speed express train in the lake

 

[rich_ace_G]

It is very common that most anglers starting off go for the safest line because they are eager to land fish so they pick 15lb and above. If you are going mainly for pike, you will need a wire leader if you're using small lures like spinners and small cranks, i would recommend it...once pikey swallows it and their teeth touches your line, say good bye to your $5.00 lure. I have fished for bass with spinners only to get a pike zone in on my lure and snap it. If you're using suspending plugs, attach it straight to the line because a wire leader will alter it's natural movement. but if a pike will still swallow the plug (that will be a big pike!) then you won't have luck on your side as well. I mainly use 8lb line.

 

[rich_ace_G]

I hear what your saying about it being safer to go with super strong line. It would suck to have the line snap after hooking something. My only concern though is the reel I have right now is rated for 6-10 lb test. Does that mean that any fish that can snap 15lb test can also destroy my reel? If that is the case maybe I'll leave the carp alone for a while and try for pike or catfish with minnows or night crawlers. (Smaller bait, smaller fish?) I've never caught a fish bigger than 1lb so even 3lb would be a great fight for me!th

the rate on your reel is the capacity of the line it can hold. for a 6lb test line you can spool more than the 10lb test line...this is due to thickness.

 

[Irishangler87]

Cheers for the info everyone. I have a ton of info on tackle now to get going.There's such an amount of different lures, lines, floats and weights in Can tire and bass pro it's good to have an idea what I'm looking for before going in. I'm going to target pike to start, they look nasty and should give a great fight. Hopefully we get a thaw soon so I can get out there. Weathers not looking good for the next week at least though.

 

[BowSlayer]

most new reels have "braid ready" spools meaning the spool is coated with a few thin rubber strips around it, it usually saids the mono rating andy he braid rating right on the spool or on the box that your reel comes with.

 

[Jet fishin]

Pike are not bottom feeders, they are strong ambush preadators :evil: , can grow 4 feet long, usually 2 feet long, they eat fish and 10% of their diet is everything else in the water (frogs, crayfish, ducklings if they are brave). Your line will probably be good as long as you don't catch a huge 4 pike :???:Use litres, but try not to make the transition from line to litre tooo obvious if you want to catch a big smart one. Tell us if you catch any, just search up the old title and reply on the discussion to tell us.

 

[Jet fishin]

From what if seen and heard stuff you catch them with is, spoons, large long lures, local forage fish looking lures, Big minnows, swimbaits, and large jigs and large spinners. I try not to buy anything under 4".