03-21-2019, 04:12 PM
[#0000FF]I can assure you that the big cats are not line shy. I know several guys who tie their hooks directly to stout braid and still get plenty of action. I once watched a guy fishing off the end of the south dike at Lincoln who had a wad of three or four sinkers on the end of his line...on a big snap swivel. And then he just added a 6" snelled leader on that same snap swivel. He caught several nice cats as I was prepping my tube for launch. So much for finesse.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]I used to use 14# leader in both Willard and Utah Lake. But I now use 25# Excalibur cofilament for Utah Lake. Very abrasion resistant...against the occasional rocks or rubbing across the serrated pectoral spines of catfish. The bigger cats no longer have sharply pointed spines...after rolling in the rocks for feeding or spawning...but they still have those serrations along the inside edge. And cats are cats. They will roll up in the line sometimes.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Even with the heavier leader I always tie on new leaders before every trip. You never know when a tiny invisible nick can cost you a nice fish...or a flig. Leader material is probably the lowest cost item in your gear arsenal for any trip. But it can cause you more problems and lost fish than just about anything else.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]One other observation after reading your post...about the "missed opportunities". You may want to upgrade your hook-setting. I haven't watched you in action, but I see a lot of anglers who just PULL back on the rod to set the hook. The example I use is that when you want to drive a nail into a piece of wood, you don't push it...you whack it. Same for setting hooks in the mouth of a big tough fish. You gotta have a rod with backbone and give a sudden sharp jerk hookset. And even a backup hard hookset can pay off in fewer fish lost after the initial hookup.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]The physiology of cats includes strong jaw muscles that make for a heavy bite-down force. If they are swimming around with your bait just clamped firmly in their jaws, a wimpy hookset will do little more than pull the bait and hook out of their mouth. So it may take two or more good "Bill Dance" hooksets to start the hook and then drive it home. Another good reason for having stout leader. A heavy hookset with a stout rod and wimpy line is an invitation to a "long distance release". TWANG. Been that, done there...or whatever.
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[#0000FF]I used to use 14# leader in both Willard and Utah Lake. But I now use 25# Excalibur cofilament for Utah Lake. Very abrasion resistant...against the occasional rocks or rubbing across the serrated pectoral spines of catfish. The bigger cats no longer have sharply pointed spines...after rolling in the rocks for feeding or spawning...but they still have those serrations along the inside edge. And cats are cats. They will roll up in the line sometimes.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Even with the heavier leader I always tie on new leaders before every trip. You never know when a tiny invisible nick can cost you a nice fish...or a flig. Leader material is probably the lowest cost item in your gear arsenal for any trip. But it can cause you more problems and lost fish than just about anything else.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]One other observation after reading your post...about the "missed opportunities". You may want to upgrade your hook-setting. I haven't watched you in action, but I see a lot of anglers who just PULL back on the rod to set the hook. The example I use is that when you want to drive a nail into a piece of wood, you don't push it...you whack it. Same for setting hooks in the mouth of a big tough fish. You gotta have a rod with backbone and give a sudden sharp jerk hookset. And even a backup hard hookset can pay off in fewer fish lost after the initial hookup.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]The physiology of cats includes strong jaw muscles that make for a heavy bite-down force. If they are swimming around with your bait just clamped firmly in their jaws, a wimpy hookset will do little more than pull the bait and hook out of their mouth. So it may take two or more good "Bill Dance" hooksets to start the hook and then drive it home. Another good reason for having stout leader. A heavy hookset with a stout rod and wimpy line is an invitation to a "long distance release". TWANG. Been that, done there...or whatever.
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