704c...stout enough?

[civicrr]

If you ever get a 795 in your hands though, that't it for heavy cover fish extractin...nothing else feels the same....

So very true!

[froteur]

it's a question of balance (sounds like a great title for a song). what you are using is a heavy duty hook meant for heavy duty equipment. many have said a 5 power or higher rod would be better. i concur with that. there has also been mention of braid. what has NOT been mentioned is that fluoro usually has as much or more stretch than "regular" mono. so, with that heavy of a hook and a 4 power rod, it sounds like you would really have to whack them .... hard! i am not really talking out of experience, though, cuz i only use those hooks with braid.

[fishindrummer217]

I am really glad I asked this question and now I know that I need to quit using these hooks with that rod. Last summer I started fishing a new lake that is absolutely full of standing timber and big fish so I started using those hooks, but what I really need is a 5 power rod, I can't wait to get one and see the difference. It was starting to hurt losing those fish, I lost a 6-7lber right at the boat and said something that would not have made mama proud

[Steve Williams]

what has NOT been mentioned is that fluoro usually has as much or more stretch than "regular" mono. so, with that heavy of a hook and a 4 power rod, it sounds like you would really have to whack them .... hard! i am not really talking out of experience, though, cuz i only use those hooks with braid.

That is another KEY right there that most folks don't think about. They buy into the marketing hype the fluoro has no stretch when it does. I believe the tackle tour tests showed that well. If using fluoro, you need a stout rod and high quality fluoro to absorb the impact. In my opinion, you need at least 20lb and I prefer something in the .018" diameter or higher due to fluorocarbons poor impact resistance.

[capt1fish]

Last summer I began using the paycheck punch hook on my beavers with a snell knot. I was using this setup to pitch beavers around standing timber and laydowns. For some reason as soon as I started using these hooks I began not hooking up with fish and losing fish. I would either have the fish come off or it would be barely hooked when I landed it. I could not figure out why this was happening but it certainly cost me some good fish. All I have heard is round bend hooks hookup better and snelling the flipping hook helps hookups even more but I was losing fish way more than I do when I use normal ewgs. The only thing I can think is perhaps the rod I was using (Powell 704c) was not stout enough to bury this big hook. Anyone else have any ideas or think I am right about this?

Though its been a couple years now, I'm still not exclusively using these larger round bend hooks made by Paycheck, RI, Gambler, etc. Truth be told these hooks do bend out a little under heavy load. In the rotation now I have Gamakatsu's new heavy cover hook and their old school braided line flipping hooks.

A side thought....why don't you go back to the hook that was working prior on the 704c? The old term, "if it's not broke..."

what has NOT been mentioned is that fluoro usually has as much or more stretch than "regular" mono. so, with that heavy of a hook and a 4 power rod, it sounds like you would really have to whack them .... hard! i am not really talking out of experience, though, cuz i only use those hooks with braid.

That is another KEY right there that most folks don't think about. They buy into the marketing hype the fluoro has no stretch when it does. I believe the tackle tour tests showed that well. If using fluoro, you need a stout rod and high quality fluoro to absorb the impact. In my opinion, you need at least 20lb and I prefer something in the .018" diameter or higher due to fluorocarbons poor impact resistance.

Sorry for going off topic but....

Steve, help my ignorance here. In your opinion, why is FC more sensitive than traditional mono if it can exhibit as much stretch? Is it more dense and therefore transmits better?

[fishindrummer217]

Yes floro is more dense than mono that is why it sinks and mono floats.

[Steve Williams]

fluoro sensitivity comes from it being much denser than copolymer, monofilament or braid. The density transmits the vibrations much faster and harder than with a copolymer. To me that is the only benefit it has over a high grade copolymer. It doesn't have the knot strength, impact resistance or even abrasion resistance that line like Fluorohybrid Pro, Pline CXX or something like McCoys Mean green. However, you will feel more bites with it than any of those.

Braid is very sensitive when it is tight because there is not any stretch and you can feel every movement. Fluoro is sensitive on a slack line because you can feel the bite. You can detect bites just as easy with braid or a high vis copolymer if you are line watcher. I just think fluoro gives me a better feel.

I've been fishing seaguar's tatsu for a year and it has been the exception in my opinion. Knot strength and abrasion resistance are as good as anything I have ever fished. it is EXTREMELY expensive, but i use backing. I filled up three reels with 1 spool of 20lb test last February and fished them until this pas November. I fished 5-8 times a month depending on the month. A few months I fished more as I could fish 3-4 days consecutively. Never changed the line and I never had a breakoff. I sprayed after each trip with KVD's conditioner and the night before each trip with the conditioner.

[georgeweeber]

I use 25lb abrazx on a dobyns 765 flip. Works great.