Hook-length Strength for Mixed Fishery?

[Truly]

I am a very infrequent angler on commercial fisheries, usually close-season or when the Nene is in flood.
Yesterday I had an enjoyable day fishing on a pool that I have always understood to contain much smaller fish than the carp lakes.

When I called in at the shop, one of the staff said that there were some much bigger fish present. I have fished this several times before but never hooked anything bigger than 2lbs.

I was float fishing with 4lb mainline, 2.5lb (0.10) hook-length with a size 14 Silverfish barbless match hook. Bait was punch and maggot.

I caught around 40 Rudd and Roach to 8ozs, 2x 2lb Mirrors, a Common of similar size, a 1lb Skimmer and then it happened!! As soon as the fish felt the hook, it took off. Pulled me all over the pool for 5 or six minutes, steadily taking line all the time. Eventually the hook-length parted, just below the loop.

I am now wondering what to do for my next visit? Could I get away with 0.13 (4lb12oz) or 0.15 (5lb14oz) Reflo as hook-lengths, perhaps with 6lb Maxima (0.22) as mainline or would that mess up the silvers? Water is well coloured. What's your thoughts please?

 

[Fugley-fisher]

Unfortunately the finesse needed for quality silver will not land larger carp, and the strength of line needed to land larger carp will at best be over gunned for silvers or you simply won't get any bites, i was fishing a local mixed fishery and started on a .11 bottom, after a fairly uneventful hour swapped to a .09 and lighter hook pattern it was like flicking a switch. Obviously you don't want to be loosing loads of hooklenths in fish, but if it only happens once every couple of trips I'm afraid that's the trade off, the only other thing is to use a very light pattern hook and hook will straiten and pull out before you break, gamma black or green. Gamma green makes a good barbless hemp hook as well.

 

[Scardinius]

I just go 2lb lighter than the mainline, so it breaks there and I don’t lose my tackle in a tree. My reels have 6lb line on and I have a 4lb spool spare for my float reel In case I want to try for some Silvers but catching them in a commercial can be hard and I find the 4lb will deal with carp into low doubles.
I would say in a mixed fishery you are unlikely to hook the really big fish unless you are specifically targeting them and they don’t have a massive row like wild fish. Therefore I think you could go with 4lb main definitely and 2-2.5lb hook length. I think it might have been luck you hooked a fish as big as you did given your targets.

 

[Silverfisher]

I’m much the same with you as to only really fish commercials in the closed season or when rivers are flooded in winter and on both those I fish regularly catching anything bigger than about 6lb is unusual with most topping out about 3lb so I can generally get away with fishing 0.10 bottoms fine but on the odd day that it gets a bit more carpy I’ll go up to 0.12. Depends how you view things really I’d rather go 0.10 when I can and risk losing the odd carp to probably catch more other fish. Probably be forced into 0.12 in high summer but I can’t remember the last time I fished a commercial later than early May or earlier than November tbh must have been a good few years ago.

 

[gixer 13]

On a highly stocked nixed fish commercial fishery get your feeding correct and you can get away with 0.14mm hook length with out any detriment to your catch rate. They will be up in the water competing for the bait and get you bait falling through the water correctly you could get away with even stronger hook length. This is coming from an advocate of size 24 hooks to 0.08 hook lengths for winter trent roach.

 

[Jimpanzee]

As a general rule of thumb, I tend to tailor my line for my target species. On mixed commercials I tend to go with 4lb main (maxima) and 3lb hook when I’m float fishing for a mixed bag. I’d be tempted to step that up to 6lb if my target was carp.

 

[Robwooly]

First thing to do if you suffer a snap is ask yourself what you could have done better rather than step up, there are ways of playing carp that can tire them quicker on finer line, a low rod, letting them go/giving them stick at the right time, backwinding etc If the carp is taking you around the pool something has gone wrong somewhere, or it's a foul hooker, back yourself next time.

I'd stick to the same gear your having fun with the silvers but the next time you will be more prepared, maybe step up a tad as 4lb can be coupled with 3,5 for little difference in diameter. I use 3,7 and it's 0.12

 

[Reuben]

I use Sensor 4lb (0.20) mainline on the float & up to 3.5lb hooklengths & don’t lose that many to breakages. In Summer I’ll step up to 5 or 6lb mainline & 4lb hooklengths as the carp will be far more active.

 

[TiggerXFM]

If you like fishing lighter set ups then a hook which will bend/open out before the line goes my be an option.

 

[Neil ofthe nene]

I will happily use 0.13 Reflo Power (probably actually 0.15) in Summer for commercials. Unless the lake is known to contain some real munters I expect to land anything up to around 8/9lb on that. If in doubt I go to 0.17 and still hook and land smaller silvers.

 

[Zerkalo]

Exactly as gixer 13 says.

If you're using something like 4lb Maxima as mainline it will have a diameter of around 0.18. I am happy to use hooklengths of high tech line even up to 0.16 with it so you won't need to step up your mainline. The hooklength even if it has a higher stated breaking strain will go first.

0.10 is lightweight stuff and I'd only recommend it for silvers only fishing on waters that demand it, ie. clear natural pressured waters and I would not expect to land every Carp on it. Just go around 0.2 to 0.4mm lower for hooklength than mainline rather than concentrating on having a lower breaking strain. Most reel lines break well over their breaking strain.

 

[Total]

..... Just go around 0.2 to 0.4mm lower for hooklength than mainline rather than concentrating on having a lower breaking strain. Most reel lines break well over their breaking strain.

You might wanna rewrite the above mate....

 

[Zerkalo]

You might wanna rewrite the above mate....

Why's that? If you were to have a lower breaking strain hooklength than mainline, it's that kind of thinking that makes people think they can't use 0.14 (4.9lb) with 4lb reel line, that's outdated thinking and I only give good advice. 0.16 hooklength to 4lb Maxima is fine for certain situations.

 

[Total]

Why's that? If you were to have a lower breaking strain hooklength than mainline, it's that kind of thinking that makes people think they can't use 0.14 (4.9lb) with 4lb reel line, that's outdated thinking and I only give good advice. 0.16 hooklength to 4lb Maxima is fine for certain situations.

.02/.04 smaller!

 

[Zerkalo]

.02/.04 smaller!

Ah right got you. The hush thing shook me up!

 

[davej1981]

Why's that? If you were to have a lower breaking strain hooklength than mainline, it's that kind of thinking that makes people think they can't use 0.14 (4.9lb) with 4lb reel line, that's outdated thinking and I only give good advice. 0.16 hooklength to 4lb Maxima is fine for certain situations.

Think total may have been reffering to 0.2 or 0.4mm lower? Perhaps you menat 0.02-0.04

 

[Total]

Ah right got you. The hush thing shook me up!

I was trying to be subtle as you're a good lad!.........Sod it, I won't be subtle next time!

 

[Fugley-fisher]

@Total and subtle not sure there compatible.

 

[davej1981]

Im sure 0.13 would be fine with your mainline as the mainline will have more stretch than the hooklength. I dare say before low diameter lines became the norm we probably used line thicker than 0.13 anyway. Also if your using a mainline like maxima the breaking strain of the line is underrated

 

[Zerkalo]

Just to confuse things further, if the 0.13 is Reflo Power then it's understated too and probably over 0.14.