Optimal nylon diameter for surf fishing

Fly-aholic

New member
Good afternoon to all Sealiners.

I am only concentrating on surf fishing and was wondering what line diameter would be optimum according to you.
Just a few guidelines regarding surf fishing:
1. Mostly edible fishing, every now and then a duckbill will take a cobbie bait.
2. Fishing multiplier and will use appropriate leader for lead weight
3. Fishing circles and dangles, so bait will be clipped
4. Rock fishing very little, will adapt leader accordingly.

I realise that there is always a compromise, however distance is the most important aspect with line integrity to land the fish as soon as possible.
I also fish fixed spool on my other rod, however I really enjoy the multiplier as I have always been multiplier fishing since a child.
And I do not do drone fishing.

Your input would be most appreciated.

kind regards,
Pierre
 

Stefan001

Senior Member
I personally use .40mm awashima nylon for spesifically fishing for steenbras off the beach. This because current and distance plays a huge role.
Fishing for sharks and sliding I use .50mm awashima nylon.
For your type of fishing I would go in the middle at .45mm. Definitely adequate for edibles and the odd shark. Current will also not have a huge affect.
 
for distance casting i normally used 0,45mm mono.

it also depends on the tackle at hand.
if it is shorter rods you might get away with 0,40mm main line.

0,45mm is a happy medium line.

we would use 0,50 mm for sliding, and up to 0,60mm when cast out.
 

Spool-Song

Sealiner
For eds without rocks to snag on, 0.40mm is nice. But you will see your mielie if a spotty or a big cracker picks you up in the rocks.
 

Fly-aholic

New member
Dear gentlemen.

Thank you for your opinions. I have been thinking along the lines of 0.40mm.
You all have the same diameter more or less. To further elaborate on the above is the 2 points:
1. Line with the smallest diameter versus breaking strength - this is not primary as we will never exert a force of 40 pounds on the fish in any case.
2. Some of you have indicated your line preference, and I have been fishing Awa-Shima for the past 7 years and find it to be supply enough when you have an overwind for the kink not to have an effect on your subsequent casting. Any other lines that comes of the spool nicely?
 
Spool-Song wrote:
For eds without rocks to snag on, 0.40mm is nice. But you will see your mielie if a spotty or a big cracker picks you up in the rocks.
100% I spin with 0.55mono and cast a mile with 4oz and a ten foot rod, so when bait fishing I'm not fussy and reels get swopped..though I've cried when I grabbed the one with 0.50 and put it on the bottom stick for a trip to sea and the big tail pitched up and showed me what they think of 0.50 LOL..though I'd caught a cracker and a few jumbo gallies on the same rig happily the week before..If a big cracker had picked me up then I'd had wished I had 0.55 or like sparra 0.60 maxima green stuff..but it all depends on where you do your fishing and what swims there and what the bottom looks like..0.45 I use as my sinker line baitfishing and I catch bonnies and leeries on the 0.40 on the light spinning rig and caught a few jumbo grunters on it and had it handed to me by medium rays in the river. But lighter than that and its bass territory for me..for reaching the far far banks for steenies maybe go 0.45 but only if no other things around that eat the same bait like cracker and gulleys...or it will be tickets unless you are one of a few that specialize in that of which there are but they generally know their fish and spot like the back of their hand, every rock, hole etc..surfed the spot, grew up there, dived sinkers out there hundreds of times etc..those guys fish 15kg crackers on 20lb rigs cause they know how..its is not recommended LOL will end up just leaving the beach littered with bundles of line to tangle all the wildlife up..
 
Double x high abrasion is expensive but good, the extreme abrasion is beautiful but really expensive...sufix also proven in my circles and also perline, kingfisher high abrasion and on a real budget the elbe cheap high abrasion is not too bad...
 

SPARRABOS

Sealiner
Op skoon surf vis ek. 50mm maksima marine Green geen leader.... Soms. 55mm as ek weet daar dalk n klippie erens onder water op die surf is... Steeds geen leader.. 5 onz sinkertjie.. .... Lol... Hoor ouens praat van ver gooi en distance casting... Ek gooi nie eers waar Ander ouens wade.. :lol:1... Weer afgelope tyd gesien en geleer vis op surf byt vlak voor jou voete... Ouens gooi Bo oor vis.. Locals vang met safety boots... Maak nie eers voete nat... Vandat ek so begin hengel het op strand vang ek ook vir n slag vis...ek was nooit n strand of surf hengelaar. Eers onlangs begin leer by die ouer garde locals... Voel snaaks om so naby te gooi... Maar dit werk... Ek is ook in my Jong Dae vertel wade nek diepte en gooi op daai verste banke... Het ek maar eerder geweet... Lol.. So leer men's... Jy nooit te oud om te leer nie.. . Op die klippe is daar maar net een Lyn 65mm maksima marine Green.. Geen leader... 5 onz sinker... Werk vir my... Nog nooit n vis verloor... Behalwe as hoek dalk uit sy lip Kom of uit sy tande..... ;)_seal1_
 

SPARRABOS

Sealiner
Natuurlik verwys ek na eetbare vis soos steenbras kabeljou baartman elf tiger stompneus kolstert en sandstompkop as ek nou van surf of strand hengel praat... Rotse is dit nou weer vir galjoen mosselkraker en poenskop..... Wanneer jy vir haaie hengel Sal jy natuurlik Ander gerei gebruik.. Vir haaie was ons lief vir. 55mm suffix rooi synergy met so 1mm of 1.4mm shogun leader.... Baie haaie so gevang op Robberg.. Vandag se Dae is dit braid en wat nog... Ek maar ver agter tegnologie... Kyk maar en leer maar... Interesant
 

Fly-aholic

New member
Thank you gents for your reply.
I am purely talking surf fishing. Sparra I agree, I grew up in PE and we used to camp at Van Stadens 4 times a year. On high tide the steenies, grunter and Belman are right in front, waiting for the snails, crabs and mussels to be washed their way.
Here in Cape Town, most of the cob are caught on the banks. You do need a good distance to get there. Also since beach driver is not permitted and you need to 'walk and seemore' to find a bank that is potentially holds fish, distance does make give you more options. I do have my braid and grinder setup on a 13ft rod, but I still enjoy my mutliplier very much.
Doc, you are spot on with the line, however I will only be surf fishing. When I do venture to some rocky areas I will leader for the situation.

Thank you for your inputs to my questions, much appreciated.
 

DJP

Sealiner
In Cape Town I won't go lighter than 0.42mm because you will get the odd sandstone outcrop or piece of kelp/debris snagging your line. Also, to me 0.40mm line is limited to about a 5 oz sinker, if you are going to cast anything heavier, which you may want to do in a strong south east, a bit larger diameter line will drastically reduce the chance of casting off your line. Lastly the different brands of lines measure differently even though they may state the same diameter, so in reality the strong 0.42mm may actually be 0.45mm...
 

Fly-aholic

New member
Thanks DJP.
I am inclined to go either XX at .40mm or KF giant A. Not sure yet but XX is nearly the price of braid!
Will be at Jacita this afternoon and have a look.
I have 1 day a month to fish, due to work, with the SE blowing 45kph tomorrow I am not sure where to fish, any ideas?
 

Spool-Song

Sealiner
I've always used Maxima, but the price is crazy these days. I switched to double X as it was cheaper, and I am very happy with it. I bought Kingfisher once.
 

DJP

Sealiner
There is so much bait fish in the water it's difficult to say where the cob/geelbek/elf will pitch up. Friday evening and Saturday morning the swell period is quite long, up to 18s so I would say try to fish deeper water spots on the low tide. This time of year it's often worth a drive around Clarence drive thto target summer fish in the deeper kelp beds.
 

Kassie

Member
I fish mostly in gulleys for bronze bream - everything else is a by-catch.
My SL30 is spooled with Double X Extreme Abrasion 0.43mm - it is expensive, yes - but it really works for me - no leader-line.
My confidence is super high that I have plenty distance, throwing a 4oz + appropriate size bait, if I need it.
The abrasion resistance is top drawer - just like the label says.
 

Jihaad

New member
I use .36 DoubleX or Extreme and have no issues. I do use a leader depending on the area I'm fishing. Leader would be between .50 to .70
 
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