Bass fishing line

Bb4sure

I'm using 7.5kg fishing line for bass under the directions of the local bait shop. Fisherman said thats far 2 weak? Anyone shed any light on it?

coolwings

it depends on your skills, the power of your rod to break line, and the proximity of snags or kelp which a fish may have to be pulled away from, as well as the hook size which may or may not be able to withstand a strong pull before failing, AND the strength of the tidal flow which will add power to the resistance put up by the hooked fish during the fight. So at high or low tide with no flow it is totally different from at half tide stage where there is effectively a fast flowing river going past and the fish can run downtide like a salmon in a river.
It depends on all these things. And some people need more spare capacity than others.

But to answer your question another way, I was spinning from a beach several weeks ago using 6lbs bs, which is less than half the strength you mentioned, and landed a 6lb bass. The tide was flowing, but I did not try at any stage to drag the bass upcurrent, but walked along and kept across the flow from it.
I had a 10lbs shock leader to withstand the wear and tear of repeated casting, the mainline was 6lbs, the hooks sharp enough for 6lbs to pull them in on the strike, the rod was incapable of pulling harder than 7.5lbs maximum. The system was balanced for fishing on clean ground.
Fishing off weedy rocks might require tackle double the strength you mentioned (7.5kgs) and 4x the tackle I just described.
Horses for courses and all that.

jArgHA

coolwings wrote: »

But to answer your question another way, I was spinning from a beach several weeks ago using 6lbs bs, which is less than half the strength you mentioned, and landed a 6lb bass. The tide was flowing, but I did not try at any stage to drag the bass upcurrent, but walked along and kept across the flow from it.

Nice going sir! I thought it was still too early in the year for catching bass on lures but it seems not. 6lb is a lovely size bass!

stevecrow74

its not the strength of the line that matters.. its how you play the fish, if you play the fish well you should be able to land a fish on a third of its weight breaking strain, its all about having the drag set and patience, and its usually more fun because you know the fish has a very good chance of spitting the bait or the line giving way..
my experience is catching an 85lbs blue shark on 30lbs line.. took over half an hour to land, but shows it is possible..

SeaFields

Also worth mentioning that scaling down your line too much could be considered unsporting.

If you're fishing a breaking strain which has the potential to be easily broken then you run the risk of leaving a fish with a team of flies, a lure or a rig inside in its mouth which it has to drag around with it and could prove fatal.

So if you think you may not be skilled enough to play a big fish on light line then best play it safe and fish a stronger line.

coolwings

SeaFields wrote: »

....So if you think you may not be skilled enough to play a big fish on light line then best play it safe and fish a stronger line.

Same goes for fishing in proximity to weed beds or snags. The line must be strong enough for the loads that can be expected to occur during battle.