Rock fish Rigging and set up Ideas?

Need input as to rigging for lingcod and rock fish. I tie my own jigs I like the lures further out than the store bought type. I use the Dropper Loop for this.
Main line pound test?
Braided or mono?
Jig line pound test ?
The reason I ask is I lost a very nice ling wed. and it was all my fault the jig line had been around for years it always worked its 40# mono thinking of going with 50# for the jigs but the main line cant be 50# if I got a snag it would pull the kayak over trying to break it.
I DONT want to lose another ling like that boy that was painful...I might have to go to therapy over that one.

Fish Irons or swim baits for the Lings. Lots of luck with rockfish on those as well. Lings will hit just about anything that gets near them.

Personally I think that it's more about the strength of your knots, not so much your line. Some knots are much stronger than others. I have thought about getting away from the dropper loops and using beads and crimps to hold a swivel. Or tying a series of slip snells.

50# braid with a 30# mono leader is a good combo. Check the mono and replace if abraded. 30# test will be ample for large lings. 40 or 50# test starts to be tough to break from a yak.

Sounds like ur doin it right.  Everybody loses a fish now and then. 

You were using 40 lbs mono that had been around for years?

Throw out that spool and get a new one.

40lb braid, 30lb leader. I use Pline CXX and Pline TCB. I run a hobie so I can peddle hard and break off pretty easy.

If you're new to saltwater fishing I can make a couple suggestions.
1. Don't get a broomstick rod. If you look at newb setups, they all seem to be this crazy massive reel on a broomstick rod. Over kill. Get a rod that has a fast tip but with some lower end backbone. Get a rod that will do the work if you're going with braid. I run a Shimano Travala Medium and a MedLight Daiwa Proteus ss, they are very effective. They have enough tip to jig 5-6oz deep but flexes well to handle the headshakes of a big ling, keeping the hook buried.

2. Pre tie your leaders and daisy chain them on a old line spool with a rubber band. Add a quality clasp on your main line(braid) and add the leaders (swivel, leader, clasp) as needed. Don't retie every time you break off OTW, great way to get sea sick plus if your line is not in the water you're not catching fish. 

Mike

The other guys that have chimed in are spot on.  I think 40-50# braid main line and 30# max is enough for your mono/leader.  I tie mine using 25# or 40#.  When I do get into a serious snag with the 40#, even on a hobie pedal kayak it gets difficult to break off.  I'm probably going to stick to 25# or 30# at most. 

40-50 braid to 30 P-line flouro. I used to use dropper loops, but they tend to be a little weak. I am now going main line to a 3 way, then line to my jig or iron and the 3rd line to a shrimp fly. Seems to take more abuse that way. Pre tie like Wingshoter says. saves time and seasickness.

Loosen your drag.

I use 30lb braid uni to uni'd to 17lb mono tied straight to my lure. I've been using this set-up since 2003 and have only been broken off by a fish once.
My "for fun" set-up is a little spinning set-up with 12lb mono tied straight to my lure. It's handled 33" lings with no problems so far.

Great suggestions guys thanks. I did some test I had some brand new 40# and last year 50# mono (i date my spools) I do believe that
 dropper loop is part of the problem it seems to be a little weak like others have suggested. I could use a 3 way for each lure but I don't like the looks of it. Is there another type of loop knot that I could test? All the pre done fly jigs use a dropper loop so not sure there is a better knot.

As for the braided vs mono its just old school for me. I have come home from a day of rock fishing and ran my finger over the mono and felt all kinds of lesions and never a break. Also is it me or it seems I miss a lot of bites with braided because there is no stretch with braided I pull the hook out because I am used to setting the hook fast mono has kind of a forgive to it and give a split second for fish to grab or am I thinking baloney?

It seems like tying a blood knot and leaving one of the tag ends long would work well.  I use that method for a dropper while fly fishing and doesn't seem to be a problem.  A blood knot is super easy to tie and about as strong of a knot as your going to get.

It's the age old question of line and leader, will get you a lot of different answers    Myself, I like 30LB braid for mainline, and 25LB Mono for my tip and for most of my leaders.  Might go up to 30LB for leaders some days.  I use an Alberto knot to join my braid and mono when at home, and a uni-uni if I have to re-tie it on the water.  I also love dropper loops, and use them like i'm dropshotting with a 4-6oz weight and just a single hook and a B2 squid with pro-cure.  Works great for me!

Nice ling on straight 12lb mono.

For heavy fishing, like salt and bay, I use a 30# braid for mainline, regardless of what I'm doing I attach a quality snap swivel to the end of that line using a surgeon's loop.  After 2 50#+ sturgies I have faith in that knot for that purpose, quick, and simple.

For rockfish leaders I take about 4 ft of 25# mono and tie a surgeon's loop at about 1/3 of the way from the end, this leaves a long end and a short end. Adjusting length for personal taste I tie a surgeon's loop on each end then attach snaps to the loops. Mine usually end up ~24-30" on the long end and 3-4" on the short end.  Again these leaders are quick and simple to tie even with uncoordinated fingers(in my mind anyway).

With all that said I'm not sure how the knot strength in these leaders holds up, most of the time, like when I have to break one off it seems pretty tough, but occasionally it seems they break at a knot allot easier than I think they should.

Nice ling on straight 12lb mono.

PMB could use dental floss and catch fish...