Leader down for lingcod?

40 years? That's a long dang time!

I use 30 lb power pro on the mainline. 30- 0r 40 lb. blue label seaguar fluoro. I like the seaguar its really tough. I fish very close to the bottom for big lings. I also never use any swivels to attach the main line to the leader. An uni to uni knot works best for me. If I have to break off it always breaks at the palomar knot I use at the terminal end of the leader where I have a black duo-lock snap for quick jig head changes. If I have to break off I wrap the mainline around the fish bonker then reel down with the rod vertical. Wait for the swell to lift the boat and bingo it breaks easy. Get used to tying the uni to uni on the water it only takes a few minutes. If you got sensitive hands that cut easy, Id just stay home and use lotion. hahahaha

Craig - I use the same setup on my swimbait casting setup except I directly tie the leader to the lure with a San Diego jam knot instead of a palomar and don't use a terminal duolock. You are correct that the line tends not to break at the double uni but it is not because it is stronger than a palomar or SD jam knot, it breaks from abrasion. I use the double uni because I am casting through the knot and the double uni does not hang up in the guides. I use rubber bands to manage the leaders. You will recognize some of your old friends in my tackle box. Scott

Tried the bonk stick/ rod method ...works for me...been snagging  a lot lately so I'm gettin' practice....just my .02...which ain't worth .02...

i have pretty good luck freeing snags by putting it in free spool, paddle opposite direction then bring in all the slack and pull opposite of the snag.  9 out of 10 it works.  Prob seems obvious...just my 2 cents.   

I hate duo-lock snaps. Regular swivels are fine.  I also think it's funny people are so concerned about using line "too heavy to break."
And I would not advise wrapping the line around an object to break-off...that's a recipe for getting flipped. I need to make a dang video of this technique because I feel like I've suggested it a thousand times and it always works, for me. When you're snagged, paddle upcurrent to position your kayak directly over the snag (you want to be pulling straight up; not at an angle..that way, if it breaks or abruptly unsnags your momentum is going straight up instead of over the side). Hold your rod upside down and point the tip directly at the snag (half of your rod s/b underwater). Reel down to absord slack in between swells and place your thumb on the spool...with a loose drag...this way you have control over the line and you can allow the drag to pull out line by loosening your thumb on the spool...or keep your thumb tight to pop the snag. OK that does sound kinda complicated when typed, I'll try to make a video for next time this comes up haha. 

Oh, and I prefer 50lb braid with 30lb mono leader (about 4ft) connected via barrel swivel. I tied a bunch of dropper loop leaders the night before, so I don't have to tie knots OTW. And store them inside a clear travel-toothbrush bag (with cheapo twist ties keeping the leaders seperated).

Wrapping the bonk stick is the last resort, but I'm not spending too too long trying to paddle uphill to free the snag (works 70+% of the time), then point the tip straight down and thumb the reel letting the swell do the work (works over half the time you get to this stage), then I'm just wrapping and breaking off. I want to be fishing, not spending my time trying to free a snag.

I've never felt like I was going to go over breaking off a snag with the shampoo stick.   The paddle uphill, slack and jerk in sloppy seas is more likely to get you swimming imo.

Wrapping the bonk stick is the last resort, but I'm not spending too too long trying to paddle uphill to free the snag (works 70+% of the time), then point the tip straight down and thumb the reel letting the swell do the work (works over half the time you get to this stage), then I'm just wrapping and breaking off. I want to be fishing, not spending my time trying to free a snag.

I've never felt like I was going to go over breaking off a snag with the shampoo stick.   The paddle uphill, slack and jerk in sloppy seas is more likely to get you swimming imo.

+1 on that Doug. I have never felt like I was in danger of rolling off the kayak using the wrap and break method. Plus like Rich was saying the braid will cut you to the bone and strip the meat right off. I don't tie the braid> I just wrap it around the EWB round bonker. Right above the reel. Im using a revo toro most all the time so grabbing the spool isn't really an option. 

With 30# test mono and a Hobie one can pedal hard enough with line directly behind the stern and thumb on spool and break off. No sideways leverage to flip the yak.

I don't understand how a bonkstick can flip your yak. When you have control to just let it go. And with the reel with a very light drag on.

Do whatever works best for you. But I've seen 3 people go overboard while pulling on a snag...not naming any names haha. It's physics. And I don't wrap the line around my EWB bonker anymore because it doesn't provide as much control/ability to release the line when a swell picks me back up (compared to my thumb on the spool of my Revo Toro held upside down). That's just what works best for me...when the situation calls for it.

Maybe it's a technique issue. You don't actually pull on the line with the bonker. You wrap the braid, hold each end with both hands and hold tight. Let the swell come under you and do the work. You should be still as a statue.

+1.

Maybe it's a technique issue. You don't actually pull on the line with the bonker. You wrap the braid, hold each end with both hands and hold tight. Let the swell come under you and do the work. You should be still as a statue.

^this is what I've been doing, without any problems...but I see the logic in Pat's method as well. Basically get the line vertical and let the swell do the pulling.
Only time I've been sketched out on a snag has been with 30lb mono...the stuff was like a rubber band. For me in a RF/jigging situation it's braid all the way, to a 30-40lb mono leader of 10' uni-to-uni to the braid, and either a direct palomar to the lure, or maybe to a swivel if I don't feel like tying knots that day.

I've done both methods, bonker and reel down upside down.  Both worked for me, and were much better than trying to horse the snag loose by jerking on the rod.  That's when people sometimes flip, they are pulling hard on the rod like they are fighting a fish, and then it snaps free and they cant counter the sudden release and just go over. 

But I've also learned to fish without getting snagged as much.  It seems like i'd loose all of my gear whenever I went fishing when I first started.  Now I seem to return with all of my gear, just a bit more chewed up than it used to be.    Secret is not dragging bottom, using touch and go, constantly making sure it's near the bottom, but not dragging bottom.  And when there is a snag, dont set the hook!  Immediately release the spool and paddle back over your snag, or farther, and try and jiggle it free.

Remember your fulcrum point and Newtons law that for each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Like Al said, if you are loading up your rod to the side like fighting a fish, all the energy you expel is instantly snapped up and back when you break off. In flat water it might be ok, but with swell, depending on where you are at on the wave when you snap, you will flip. Been there, done that, got the t shirt. Never again. Shelter cove this year was perfect for teaching my son how to manage snags in swell, wind, and fast water. Sometimes when your hands are wet, you cant put enough on the spool to break it, so the bonker comes out to help like everyone says.

Yeah when I am trying to free it I don't lean to the other side or put my shoulder into it. I use elbow strength only so even if it snaps I don't end up going over the side since I wasn't leaning there to begin with.