Non-Yak rockfishing question....Ling breakoff!

I'm not equipped for the salt yet, I only own a 10' sink, but have been fishing from points and jettys on Mendocino coast with some luck (usually blacks with the occasional greenling). I usually go pretty light tackle, light-med action rod and spinning with 15-20# Seagar. Well this last weekend I lucked into a decent LC roughly 30-36" and stout on my 5" Big Hammer Sardine. I was pretty conservative with my fight, but alas he pulled off just a few feet from the net.  After inspecting the line I think he cut off with his teeth, at any rate can anyone recommend a line inconspicuous enough to entice my share of rockies and be durable enough for the rare ling?  Can I fish a 20-30lb braid and still expect the same catch rate in 8-20' of clear-semi clear water?

Is it healthy to have nightmares of the gaping jowels on that orange ling as he casually broke me off a few feet from exstasy? 

Rockcod and lings aren't line shy, just beef up the leader. 


Re: the one that got away. i still remember, and likely will for the rest of my life,  plenty of big ones I watched swim away just out of arms reach, they haunt eternally.

That's rough!

I wouldn't worry too much about the line thickness for rockfish and lingcod. Tie on a leader of 20-30 lb mono or fluorocarbon and you'll be good to go.

Also, keep the ling's head under water and lead it SLOWLY toward your net or gaff. Lings and halibut both go apeshit when their heads come above the surface, which can lead to sawed-off leaders...

Thanks for the incite guys. Nothing worse than throwing out tackle you don't believe in! haha
Now off to the therapist to talk through my ordeal. 

Heavier leaders work but if you don't use a heavy main line you will be re-tying the whole thing when you snag as opposed to just the lure. I like 2-3' of 50# mono and at least 50# braid with a swivel connection and uni knots. That will eliminate chew offs but it is still very important to check your leader often and re-tie every trip even with 50#. Go heavy as you can because having the strength to break line from shore isn't usually the issue it's the rocks chafing the line. The rf also don't care about line size at all. A few buddies use 130# mono for shore based leaders and do well. Good luck.     

Yeah I would echo going with maybe 50-65lb braid and a short top shot of 40 lb line or so...I've found if you use a mono as the top shot it usually has a much higher breaking strength than rated.  Braid usually breaks pretty consistent to what its rated.  If you fish 50lb braid and 50 lb mono you may break the braid if stuck before the mono pops.  I would fish either 65lb braid with 50lb mono or 50lb braid with 40lb mono.  One benefit of braid is that it also cuts through kelp very easily.

Also if fishing rocks use a short dropper loop for your weight of maybe 15-20lb test, if your weight gets stuck it will break off saving the rest of your rig.

Shore rockfishing can be really fun. And productive. But it takes some practice to avoid breaking your line. There's definitely a technique to it. I used to fish from the rocks a LOT before I got into kayaking & had kids LOL! Still enjoy it every now and then...but not often enough.

I use a 3 or 4oz end-line torpedo sinker about 16 inches below a dropper-loop knot. I will make the dropper loop about 3 or 4 inches and attach the hook directly to the loop. I use 5/0 or 6/0 octopus hooks. I also use 3-way swivels sometimes, like if its REALLY snaggy.
I like to use 4ft of 25 - 30lb mono leader attached to 50lb braid (spiderwire stealth if I'm using a spinning reel) via a barrel swivel. Back in the day, I'd measure a days' success by the ratio of fish caught vs break-offs (like 5 fish vs 6 break-offs etc)....but eventually I got to where I'd only break off 2 or 3 rigs per day.
Although, there is a trend of using heavy mono leader, like 80-120lb Cajun Red. It seems to be equally successful at catching fish--with the benefit of less break-offs. This is in very clear water too, btw.

Best store-bought bait is frozen squid. I like the big 3lb boxes of Seawave from Safeway...seems to be better quality than the 1lb box of Seawave from the tackle shops. I slice each bait into 3 pieces; the head, the middle, and the tail. Head works best, try to puncture the eyeballs so the inkish stuff seeps out into the water.

Best bait is abalone guts...supposedly. But sardines, chovies, herring, smelt, crab, and octopus all work too. But its tough to keep the dines and chovies on the hook once they thaw because of all the current, wave action, etc. There is this stuff called Magic Thread though that you can wrap around the bait to keep it on there better. I just stick with squid...or octopus if I can get it.

If you're fishing somewhere with big waves, try to hold your rod tip up high enough to avoid the whitewash from the waves. In other words, when the wave breaks it will catch your slack and cause your weight to move across the bottom, increasing your chances of snagging. I try to keep my weight in the same place by giving and taking with each wave...and always keeping the tip up high. As the wave builds, it takes line so you lower the rod tip towards the wave to give it a little line. Then it breaks and you raise your rod tip to absorb the resulting slack. It's just a slow pendulum motion with each incoming wave...no herky jerky movements.

And when you reel in, either with a fish or not, you gotta reel like hell to avoid snagging up. If you snag with a fish on, try to give some slack and hope the fish swims it out. If you snag while reeling in, try to aim your rod tip at the snag and talk small steps backwards, slowly increasing tension. If it's perma-snagged, I'll even put my hand on the spool but make sure there isn't and bend in the rod and line should barely touch the guides.

Don't plan to drink too many beers while you're line is in the water if you fish this way because you always have to be holding your rod (remember the give and take with each wave). Sometimes you can find a mellow spot where the waves aren't too bad and you can put your rod down for a couple minutes. But my technique is: cast, cast, snag...stop and chug a beer and re-tie...cast, cast, snag...more beer.
Its really a great way to get back to the basics and enjoy a relaxing day at the beach. Beer or no beer. Fish or no fish. A day at the beach is always good.

Here's some old pics
http://s449.photobucket.com/user/Sin_Coast/library/Shore%20Rockfishing

All those cabbys are makin me hungry

Setting the hook is job #1. Switching to a braided line will take out a lot of the stretch and give you more of a solid hook set. 20# braid is thin and casts great along with 17lb flouro leader. This will allow you to still use your ML rod and reel. Good luck!

Sin - Those are some great photos! Beautiful green spotted cabs. Thanks.

Rockcod and lings aren't line shy, just beef up the leader. ....

I thought that, too. I am re-considering that though. Saturday, in a small cove by Albion, within 10 feet of my buddy- kayak fishing in 15-20 FOW, he caught 4 fish - a really fat Greenling, a nice Greenling, a decent Cabbie and a freakin 26" Lingcod.

I got ONE bite. He was using mono in the 12# range, I was using 30# braid. Same bait. #1 size hook size. Maybe I just suck as a fisherman . . . .

The only thing I'd add to Sin Coast's excellent tutorial is that I ty the sinker on with a line signeficantly weaker than the rest of the rig, that way if the sinker is whats stuck, it breaks off first and I can get most of my rig and maybe a nice fish in.  I think I may loose a few more sinkers that way as well but,,,,,,,,,,,,

The memories of the big one that got away is a sturgeon for me that I never even saw, 30yrs later I still think about it evey time I drive by that spot.

durable enough for the rare ling? 
 

RARE Lings?  lol

Im no expert but caught rockfish from 100lb leader..  I dont think they care.. Especially lings.   I normally use 40lb braid and 30-60lb leader if it helps.