Hooklength Query

[Trevski]

Hi all!

First post (of many I hope) after spending an enjoyable day lurking.

I've just started fishing again after a break of about 16(!) years.
I used to go alot when I was a nipper but was unable to continue.

Anyway, I have a question regarding hook lengths that I hope someone
will be able to enlighten me about.

The hooklength should be slightly lower BS than the main line, but if
I use the same line to the hook and then attach to the mainline with
a tucked half blood knot the knot only retains 90% percent of the
original BS (according to what i've read).

So why the need for a lower BS line when in theory the knot should
break first anyway?





"That fish hasn't got a willy.
Thats because it's IN the water.
It doesn't have to aim" - My son (age 5)!

 

[MALC]

Firstly Trevski

Both back to fishing and to the Mad Maggot House

regards your Hooklength question in my opinion your correct in so much as the knot should be the weakest point the setup as you describe.

The main reason Hooklengths are used (by me anyway) icon_smile.gif is so the line nearer the hook bait is thinner and less visable to wary fish, although must admitt this time of the year at least 90% of the time i wont use a hook length and just fish straight through.

But come the winter all my fishing is done with hooklengths.



Malc
Fish with Friends @ MaggotDrowning.com

 

[Steve]

Hi there, I'm new to this forum too but I can assure you will not be disapointed.
The point about knot strength is theoretically correct but it assumes you (and I speak from vast experiance, a lot of which was gained last Sunday morning) physically "hook" the snag. A lot of the time it is a tangle from a stray cast into a difficult swim or a fish taking you around a hidden snag. In this case you rarely part company with only the hook, hence the vast number of floats you see hanging from bushes etc. Another benefit that is sometimes missed is, if you have spent time disrupting your swim plumbing the depth, providing you are using a make of hooks to nylon that are consistent in length with each other (or make them yourself) there is no need to re-check the depth and therefore no need to re-plumb the swim.
So unless ledgering in some way in a known area I always use a lower strength hook length.

 

[esox.20]

Like most things in life its a comprimise. If you use the reel line straight thru then there is a risk of breakage any where along the length of line used. To cut down on this risk a hook length is used and in so doing a knot is introduced. A lighter hook length allows a more delicate presentation of the bait. It can also be looked on as an extra safety feature in that a weak point exists a comparatively short distance from the hook. If the attachment to the main line is with a loop and all hook lengths are the same length then this makes it far easier when the need to replace the hook length occurs.


chill out go fishing

 

[Dave]

Hi Trevski and welcome on board icon_smile.gif

Apart from the above, one reason I use a hooklength is that I tend to use the 'Double Strength' lines such as Drennans for hooklengths. This is approx half the diameter of normal mono for the same breaking strains but if used as a mainline it has a nasty habit of twisting.
Generally I use a hooklength of about half a pound less than my main and join them loop to loop.

Dave

 

[Trevski]

WOW! what a warm welcome!!

I am using a lower BS hooklength on my rigs currently, mainly because
everyone else does! I just didn't really know why!

Thanks for all the info!





"That fish hasn't got a willy.
Thats because it's IN the water.
It doesn't have to aim" - My son (age 5)!