How Many MONSTAHS Did It TAKE,,,,,,,,,,

[Clogston29]

sometimes you just don't land them

with a glass rod and mono, i'd really concentrate on the hookset with eels, don't think you'll be able to set too hard, so give it hell

if they take you in the rocks, don't be afraid to take the line off the pickup and let them go just holding the line between your fingers and applying enough pressure to keep slack out. once they move out of the rocks, just start the fight all over.

and don't be afraid to let them run on a looser drag. they usually wear themselves out that way and are more controllable in close. if you fish a tight drag and don't let them run, they tend to dive for obstructions more.

just a few ideas that i've found have helped me, but sometimes the fish wins. Its part of the fun (i think )

[RIROCKHOUND]

[QUOTE=Clogston29;647697]sometimes you just don't land them
with a glass rod and mono, i'd really concentrate on the hookset with eels, don't think you'll be able to set too hard, so give it hell[Quote]

First off, by your definition of 'Monstah' almost no one in this thread have landed one, with a few notable exceptions...
But on 'Decent' fish...

I agree 100%.
As a mono/composite rod guy (1201m) Hookset is vital. I fish next to a guy who fishes braid and stiff graphite. he flicks his wrist and is hooked up
And I fish Mustad hooks....

I learned by watching a crew from Newport that specializes in chunking and big fish. Drop the tip, extend your arms, AND when it comes tight, set the hook.Your reel should be behind your ear!

other than that, it's half luck, half skill and half circumstances

[BassDawg]

Originally Posted by RIROCKHOUND

First off, by your definition of 'Monstah' almost no one in this thread have landed one, with a few notable exceptions...
But on 'Decent' fish...

I agree 100%.
As a mono/composite rod guy (1201m) Hookset is vital. I fish next to a guy who fishes braid and stiff graphite. he flicks his wrist and is hooked up
And I fish Mustad hooks....

I learned by watching a crew from Newport that specializes in chunking and big fish. Drop the tip, extend your arms, AND when it comes tight, set the hook.Your reel should be behind your ear!

other than that, it's half luck, half skill and half circumstances

thanks Bryan for more wise words,,,,,,,,,,,

by monstahs, my attention grabbing title, i meant 50's and up
or the trophy variety of our beloved species. i like mustads as well, but have difficulty
in finding them regularily and big enuff. will have to buy them buy the gross from the Boyz
at the Edge or from Kevin or at Sam's the next time i get to NPT.
Kay prolly has them as well,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,i will look into it for next season.

the Owner hooks i've found to be excellent, as you said Steve.
they are tough to find in Saugus as well. am very willing to try any product at least once,
although i DO have considerable confidence in the Gammi line.

THANKS a million to everyone for contributing so generously!

[BassDawg]

Originally Posted by Clogston29

sometimes you just don't land them

with a glass rod and mono, i'd really concentrate on the hookset with eels, don't think you'll be able to set too hard, so give it hell

if they take you in the rocks, don't be afraid to take the line off the pickup and let them go just holding the line between your fingers and applying enough pressure to keep slack out. once they move out of the rocks, just start the fight all over.

and don't be afraid to let them run on a looser drag. they usually wear themselves out that way and are more controllable in close. if you fish a tight drag and don't let them run, they tend to dive for obstructions more.

just a few ideas that i've found have helped me, but sometimes the fish wins. Its part of the fun (i think )

well said Josh and thanks for your insights. and YES!!
it is the best part of this surfcraziness that we ALL aspire to,
letting them take all the line they think they can. i LOVE that part.

only this biggun from last year i let almost spool me four times and
she took me straight into the boulders in my avatar(dead low/the water in the foreground is about 4 inches deep) at the start of the second run. that is where she began to rub me after the last run, and i chose to try to bring her up after strumming the line to no avail~~~

her head was turned, she hunkered down and i had about 3 wraps of line left on my spool
when she began to rubb me,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,4 pumps and she was gone. i could feel my line ticking back and forth off of the rocks before i stopped her the 4th time and i could feel it getting weaker and weaker with each turn of the reel. should've replaced the spool line from the 38#er, a 30#, and a 25#er the night before same tide/same place/ALL on eeeeeeeeeeeels. the saddest part was that this was the AM of 9/21, bro,,,,,,,,,,we fight and we learn!!

my hook sets seem to be fine. bow to the cow, 1-Mississippi, 2-Mississippi, 3-Mississi; with a verrry loose drag. then i roll it into her maw, thanks to Vic for that, and tighten the drag only slightly. i use 6/0 to 8/0 Gammi Octo's (depending on the beefiness of the snake) that i snell with Ande 60 pink or Ande 50 IGFA and have never had one snap. i only cross her eyes after she's taken it for awhile,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,had no problems with them coming unbuttoned, so faaaaar.

thanks again Clogston, for yer helpful suggestions.

[Back Beach]

Originally Posted by Brian L

Been using Gami Octos(usually 6/0) for a long time and have landed dozens of big fish with them. Never once had one snap or straighten out.

Is this a common occurence?

No.

[Clogston29]

i think, but am not sure, that luds is talking about the gami circles. a buddy of ours was using them and losing some good fish. it took a while for us to notice that the point of the hook was breaking at the bend - and he was fishing them "right", not setting the hook.

octi's are decent hooks. but try out the gami live bait (not live bait hd) and you won't go back. best eel hooks out there IMHO.

another thing that i noticed (and it may just be me) but i've had better hookup ratios when using my 1213m (glass) for eels with 7/0 live bait hooks than the 6/0 that i typically use. i've also found that the glass rod sucks for riggies (not only because its too heavy) because its too soft to drive the 9/0 siwashes home.

[steve]

Clgston and brian are right on!

[Back Beach]

Originally Posted by Clogston29

another thing that i noticed (and it may just be me) but i've had better hookup ratios when using my 1213m (glass) for eels with 7/0 live bait hooks than the 6/0 that i typically use.

Bigger gap on the 7/0, so I would agree the hookup ratio would potentially be higher.

[Mr. Sandman]

1979 SW point..had fish every single cast all night long and only got one to the beach. (And I thought I was pretty accomplished then) All the fish were monsters. I was outgunned, tired and frankly pretty embarrassed. I had 3 empty spools by daybreak. Walked into Twin Maples the next morning and told the old man what happened to me that night...first question was, what kind of line were you using...I said 17# stren...he didn't say a word an plopped a big fat spool of 50# ande pink on the counter with a thud. I said I don't think I can cast that line all that far. His response was "Distance is not your problem son." The next night was epic.

The next thing that went were those crappy mustad trebles that came on the gibbs plugs (and rebbles/redfins). I replace all the them with hand brazed stainless steel trebles from Eagle claw (they don't make them any more...I asked, I still have a few they bring back found memories, I remember they were $100 per box and some thought I was nuts, but after loosing fish of a lifetime, you don't care what it cost you just want another shot at them.) (this was pre-vmc days). Then moved to ultra heavy split rings.

[Sea Dangles]

I also use the Gami Octopus in size 5,6, or 7/0. I like the fact they are slightly offset and have a hunch it increases hookups. I always snell the hook and feel more confidence since switching to that knot. It's fun to tie, especially in the dark. I will say the 7/0 size had reports of snapping but I've heard it has been resolved. I have never had one bend or snap though.The short shank in addition to the straight eye make snelling the live bait difficult IMO.I love going to M&D's in the Spring to say Hi to Mike Thomas who is the true definition of a gentleman. Mike has great prices in bulk and I will buy packs of 100 pc. hooks in addition to bulk packs of spro swivels in size 4 which are rated to 130#. Probably overkill but I feel the heavier guage wire will not cut into my leader or braid, also a confidence booster when fighting large near the rocks. Very strange year for me as I have always used the method RIrock employs for setting up on a fish. This year the majority of fish were nibblers regardless of size therefore I pulled the eel out of many mouths before I switched to fishing eels with the line between my fingertips and letting them take the bait. I would then place the line on the roller and set the hook. Every year we learn more and expect the unexpected.

[steve]

Mr. Sandman, your response brings back memories! I wish we had VMC trebles back then on the Island. Sea dangles, over alot of years fishing with live eels I too like the Gami 5/0 and 6/0 octupus. I've only had one snap mid shank and will throw the m away ( hooks) after a good night. I also use Gami 7/0 's on the rigged sluggos and had one get completly straightened ot on Cutty one night. Other than that, these hooks are dependable I think. Also, this season I really got back into live eeling and tried octapus hooks by Owner and was really impressed. They are alot like the Gami's but I think a little stronger and more expensive though. A little smaller too. In the Owner I had to use 6/0 and 7/0. I don't use really big eels like some.

[Vogt]

Originally Posted by steve

Mr. Sandman, your response brings back memories! I wish we had VMC trebles back then on the Island. Sea dangles, over alot of years fishing with live eels I too like the Gami 5/0 and 6/0 octupus. I've only had one snap mid shank and will throw the m away ( hooks) after a good night. I also use Gami 7/0 's on the rigged sluggos and had one get completly straightened ot on Cutty one night. Other than that, these hooks are dependable I think. Also, this season I really got back into live eeling and tried octapus hooks by Owner and was really impressed. They are alot like the Gami's but I think a little stronger and more expensive though. A little smaller too. In the Owner I had to use 6/0 and 7/0. I don't use really big eels like some.

I used to use the 6/0 gami octupus religously for eeling, untill I picked up a pack of owners. The hook point on the gami's have a tendancy to bend or even break off if you make contact with the bottom, whereas the owner's seem to have MCUH stronger points. They also seem to be a little bit thicker than gami's for their size, which is a plus.

[BassDawg]

Originally Posted by Sea Dangles

I also use the Gami Octopus in size 5,6, or 7/0. I like the fact they are slightly offset and have a hunch it increases hookups. I always snell the hook and feel more confidence since switching to that knot. It's fun to tie, especially in the dark. I will say the 7/0 size had reports of snapping but I've heard it has been resolved. I have never had one bend or snap though.The short shank in addition to the straight eye make snelling the live bait difficult IMO.I love going to M&D's in the Spring to say Hi to Mike Thomas who is the true definition of a gentleman. Mike has great prices in bulk and I will buy packs of 100 pc. hooks in addition to bulk packs of spro swivels in size 4 which are rated to 130#. Probably overkill but I feel the heavier guage wire will not cut into my leader or braid, also a confidence booster when fighting large near the rocks. Very strange year for me as I have always used the method RIrock employs for setting up on a fish. This year the majority of fish were nibblers regardless of size therefore I pulled the eel out of many mouths before I switched to fishing eels with the line between my fingertips and letting them take the bait. I would then place the line on the roller and set the hook. Every year we learn more and expect the unexpected.

good stuff, Chris!

i'm a big fan of the spro 130's, it's all i use.
thanks to you, also, for your technical pointers.
i cain't wait to try all of these advices out when

THE COWWWS COME HOME!!!

[NIB]

Originally Posted by Sea Dangles

This year the majority of fish were nibblers regardless of size therefore I pulled the eel out of many mouths before I switched to fishing eels with the line between my fingertips and letting them take the bait. I would then place the line on the roller and set the hook. Every year we learn more and expect the unexpected.

Hmm.