Zip sliders, tube booms etc.

[Malc]

I don't tend to use bait from the kayak and usually on my friends boat I use flappers of one sort or another, however we are going back to Luce Bay in the summer for tope and the NE coast for flats.

I got some tube booms (kidde) and they are pretty rubbish, some booms have not been glued in, ends badly cut or sharp edges and they don't slide well when used with 80lb rubbing leader. I got some Cox n rawle and they slide well, but then there are the bright red/orange zip sliders?

For tope the idea is they should take off against the ratchet, so is a slider really necessary? Last time at the tope we had 2 screamer runs but didn't connect (both on hermit so probably smoothie) so again would it be better to have a fixed lead or short 2-3' "free run" and then a rubber or wire stop to get a bolt reaction. We mostly use barbless circles. 

With flats is a boom necessary at all?

Or is it mainly to do with preventing tangles?

[Andy135]

I only used booms when wrecking, just to keep the hook length from tangling on the way down. For general bottom fishing I only ever use the red zip sliders.

[JonC]

I think that they are all pointless, I just use a swivel and a link clip. By controlling the speed of on the way down tangles are easily avoided. 

[Saintly Fish]

As Jon says, booms etc are pointless. I do occasionally use a zip slider, but that's only if I need to use a real big 1.5-2lb lead. 
The less tackle the better. 

[JonC]

1 hour ago, Saintly Fish said:

As Jon says, booms etc are pointless. I do occasionally use a zip slider, but that's only if I need to use a real big 1.5-2lb lead. 
The less tackle the better. 

Further still I think our resident shackle dragger  @JDPsaid he doesn’t use swivels, depending on species I think he dropper loops etc? 

[JDP]

4 hours ago, JonC said:

Further still I think our resident shackle dragger  @JDPsaid he doesn’t use swivels, depending on species I think he dropper loops etc? 

On those dropper loops I have a swivel on two hook rigs as this is targeting smaller fish that can spin around twisting the line on the retrieve. Yes many species I don't use swivels with and suffer no line twists, however these tend to be fish that don't roll in their fight, staying the right way up like they naturally do. With plastics and live bait I don't need swivels as these don't spin around, if they did they wouldn't be rigged right. Most hard body lures are designed to work and hold in a certain position, not spin and twist up tackle, though depending on my target species some will need a swivel.

Dead baits, will obviously need swivels as these can often spin about.

From the shore or boat tope are common here, as are various other shark species. When I first moved here I fished with all the booms clips and bits that I brought from the UK (even had more sent out here if I couldn't make them. I also missed a fair few fish by targeting species that way. It didn't take long to discover a rig fished with well exposed correct sized hooks and no free line to pull got solid hookups, where rod holding and letting fish take line often resulted in those fish spitting the bait and moving on. If a fish pulls on a bait with well exposed hooks, it makes sense those hooks will hook. With every re-bait I check my hooks for razor sharpness.

I've just spent a couple of frustrating evenings with an experienced and sponsored angler who two nights in a run stuffed several decent sharks by holding the rod and allowing the fish to pull line each time he had a bite. Only one shark was landed which was when he walked away from the rod sitting in a holder with the drag set at strike (10-14lb). However, even that was lost by the erratic high sticking of the rod and allowing no tension on the line on the retrieve after the pump. Like the saying, Can't teach an old dog new tricks" was true.

[JDP]

Also a circle hook with hermit crabs could well be the issue of missing those fish. I would of thought a pretty large hook in a light gauge around 10/0 would be needed to leave enough gape to hook tope in the corner of the mouth with those as bait, even then you will miss some. With a J hook in 7 to 8/0 and the reel set so very little line could be pulled, you would stand a better chance of that first bite hookup. I rarely get a deep hooked fish when leaving my rig set at fighting drag as the sharks tend to hook instantly rather than being left to get the hooks in deep. If the bait is dropped on that first bite they will most likely come back and hit it again as the bait will not of been badly damaged normally, though almost every shark species I hook if from that first bite.

This is what I will use on tope sized sharks up to far bigger whaler shark species. I don't use any crimps on my short wire biting leader and find 90lb has yet to let me down. The short wire leader is joined to 50lb to 110lb mono trace, rigging without crimps. The 110lb leader allows me to get hold of the trace and apply a fair amount of pressure when the sharks are close to the boat or shore, crimps will only weaken those links.

The fact you mention screaming runs sounds like you had relatively light drag settings. Test all your joins and be confident you can hit that fish with a fair amount of pressure right at the start to set the hook.

 

 

Edited March 22, 2023 by JDP

[Malc]

8 hours ago, JDP said:

Also a circle hook with hermit crabs could well be the issue of missing those fish.

Sorry for the confusion, the hermit were on J hooks, 6/0-8/0 iirc

[mike farrants]

I always use zip sliders for all big baits!