Patch reefs rising off the bottom in twenty feet of water will top out about three feet below the surface. The wireline method is popular in and around south Florida in the winter when big black grouper move into the shallower reefs.This makes the fishing outfit heavy and cumbersome at best. Very heavy tackle, including a rod with case-hardened roller guides and roller tip is necessary when fishing with wireline.A six-foot leader is tied to a one pound trolling weight and that weight is then tied to the wireline. Strip baits are cut and attached to a double hooked trolling feather. The second variation is to troll with Monel wireline using a trolling weight and trolling feather.It has worked for many anglers on more than one occasion. The savvy angler will give the fish a loose line for as long as thirty minutes to allow the fish to relax and possibly swim out from under the structure. When a grouper makes it into a rock or reef, many anglers will simply break off the line and try again.The battle now is one of brute strength between angler and fish. The circle hook will handle hooking itself. When a grouper strikes, anglers will lay their rod on the rail and start winding as hard as they can.The idea is to stop the grouper from taking the line and returning to his structure home. Serious grouper anglers will crank the drag down on their reel as hard as they can, often using a pair of pliers to lock it down. This habit will cause numerous lost fish and hung lines. Grouper run out, grab a bait, and head back for cover.The difference in and secret to grouper fishing comes in how you handle the strike. All of the preparation so far is pretty standard fare for almost any bottom fish.The sliding egg sinker allows a fish to take the bait and swim off without feeling the weight of the sinker. The long leader allows a live bait to swim more freely and naturally than a short leader.Advertised as virtually invisible to fish, it does seem to draw more strikes than regular monofilament. The choice of leader material for most anglers is fluorocarbon. The hook of choice on this rig is a circle hook, normally about 8/0 or 9/0 in size (an 8/0 circle hook is about the same size as a 5/0 regular hook).īoth of these bottom rigs use monofilament leaders. The leader is long, sometimes five or six feet long. This one had a sliding egg sinker on the line above the leader. More serious grouper anglers will opt for the second approach, called a live bait rig.This rig will catch a variety of species, including grouper. The normal bait used on a fish finder is cut bait, either squid or small fish, and occasionally a small live bait.Even when the rig is dropped right into the bottom structure, it seldom hangs up, something charter captains love. It is excellent for fishing straight down under the boat. ![]() The fish finder rig is the favorite bottom rig of almost all the bottom fishing charter boats. ![]() A variation of this rig has a longer leader with two loops and hooks. The loop is about twelve inches long and it is to this loop that the hook is tied. Above about eighteen inches from the sinker is a loop tied in the leader. It is tied with a pyramid or bank sinker on the very end of the leader. ![]() The first way is called a fish finder rig by most anglers. The terminal tackle consists of a sinker, leader, and hook arranged one of two ways. Line much larger than that is overkill that is cumbersome, and, some believe, visible to the fish. A good rod and reel, with fifty-pound test monofilament line, can handle almost all the grouper you may encounter. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |