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Leaders- leaders serve two purposes.. to prevent bite off and to provide a way of handling a heavy fish at boat side. There are three options which should be used according to conditions.

1. Monofiliment... a good all purpose leader where bite off is not a problem. Use a good quality mono.. ANDE premium is very good, tournament grade even better. Make all knots and connections as small as possible.

2. Multistrand wire... Good for live bait rigs in small sizes. Must be crimped with sized sleeves and crimping tool or it won't be strong( HiSeas makes an excellent Crimping tool; less than $30.00). Don't use coated wire , much harder to work with!

3. Single strand wire...Excellent for trolling or live bait leader for toothy critters. MALIN

   brand wire is the easiest to work with, brown finish can be helpful but you can't see rust spots. Sizes from very small(#5-45lb) to very large(#15-220lb). Must be tied with Haywire twist for strength. see illustration and article.

   A few thoughts on leaders.... trolling leaders should be 20ft. long. About twice the line test of the tackle is a good rule of thumb. Knots or twist must be good and must be clean. The object is to prevent the lure as naturally as possible.

Again there are three choices according to needs.

1. Braided dacron... The very best line available. Has excellent abrasion resistance, good knot strength, and small diameter per breaking strength. Is best for trolling, tends to backlash mightily if poorly cast. Will last several seasons if taken care of, but is several times more expensive than mono, also has very little stretch so requires more angler finesse.

2. Monofiliment Nylon ..Quality of line determines suitability. Cheap line is worthless. Use "premium or tournament grade". Has good strength but knots must be right or all strength is lost. Use only UNI-KNOT for all connections. Stretches 10 per cent of length before breaking.

3. Cofiliment Nylon ... Combines the best qualities of dacron with nylon. Should make excellent casting or trolling line.

Remember .. No line is better than it's knots. Monofiliment breaks down rapidly in sunlight and should be replaced when it shows sign of wear.

When tying any knot the "Tag" is the short piece and the "standing end" is the long end.

1.Clinch Knot (fisherman's knot)- 80 % strength- Do not use in salt water.

2. Uni-Knot... see Illustration. A very good knot with 98% breaking strength.

3.Surgeons End Loop... see illustration. A knot with 80% breaking strength. Makes a quick end loop. Bimini Twist is better, but is harder to tie. Makes a quick bottom rig with multiple hooks.

4. Snelling a hook... You snell a hook when you use a needle eye hook, when you are using large Marlin baits, or a series of hooks. see illustration.

5. Haywire Twist- see illustration. Important Consist of two parts: the spiral twists and the finishing barrel turns. One will not work without the other. NEVER cut wire unless absolutely necessary. Wire when cut will leave a barb that will cut you (Meathook). OUCH!

Use SAMPO or POMPANETTE brands. Use coast lock style, because they have ball bearings and eliminate line twists. Do not use the stamped brass type. Always use the same strength swivel and your leader. Black finish stainless are the smallest and least visible.

Do not use stainless steel hooks, except when replacing hooks in "Clark spoons"

Use cadmium(Zinc) plated forged hooks,. "Double" strength hooks can be used if necessary.

1. Standard trolling patterns... Mustad 7731 9/0 for King Mackerel and similar fish.

2. Needle eye trolling pattern... Mustad 7731A for Tuna and Billfish. 7/0 through 10/0 according to size of bait.

3. Dropped point tuna pattern... Mustad for all large trolling fish, 7/0 through 10/0 according to size of bait.

4. Live bait patterns... Eagle Claw or Mustad #4, #6, or #2 treble hooks, Quad strength 4X, brown finish.

A few more thoughts on hooks... the hook is the business end, keep them sharp. Always sharpen with the flats on the point. Attempt to make a knife edge. All hooks need to be sharpened before each outing.

Slow trolling requires good bait. Best are small blues, menhaden, or small jacks. They should be kept in a round live well with sea water exchange pump. Aerators won't work.

Chumming always helps. Ground fresh fish in a mesh bag is excellent. Prepared fish oil and frozen also works.

Where to go...

Fish like structure, rocks, reefs, wrecks, inlets or anywhere that food is concentrated.

Whether trolling or live baiting look, for bait concentrations. A fish finder is crucial. If you don't see fish in the area in 30 minutes go somewhere else.

Blue Water ... for Tuna, Dolphin(mahi-mahi), Billfish, Wahoo.

1. All purpose baits...

Ballyhoo.. may be rigged plain or behind a skirt/feather. Use 12 pack mediums rigged on #10 wire. 

Mustad 7731-A needle eye 7/0 hook. 1/2 oz. egg weight in the loop of the haywire twist helps stabilize the bait so it will swim.

Plastic squids... Usually rigged on 150lb mono or #10 wire with 1 oz egg weight in head. Many sizes available. Best seem to be 4 and 6 inch natural color. 7/0 to 9/0 7731-A.

2. Billfish baits...

Swimming Mullet... 10 to 12 inches either deboned or split tail. Two 10/0 7731 hooks on

#12 or #15 wire. 2 oz. egg weight in loop of twist.

Use 12lb - 20lb test tackle ,6-7ft. rod (trolling) or a conventional reel on a live bait rod.

Boat spinning rods have a stout tip and a long butt, fit the rod holder and much easier

to fight the fish with.

Best Brands: Garcia, Cardinal, Penn, Diawa, Shimano

Use ceramic guides

Do not buy commercial King rigs, they are way to heavy.

Use 27lb. test coffee colored cable or #5 wire leader., and 3 #4(4X) coffee colored treble hooks. For Amberjacks use single hook and #7(40lb) wire

SLOW TROLLING RIG

Albacore make the best strip baits. To catch them troll 1 1/2 oz. sea witch without a strip at 15mph.

The grain of the albacore strip must be with the flow of the water. Make the strips about 6-7inches long, shorter strips in the fall(4-5inches).

The faster you troll the thinner and longer you cut the strips.

Bevel the edge of the bait. Make the strips thin, if need be they may be shaved down.

Pull at 3-4kts. , 1/2 the speed of spoons.

You actually use 2 leaders with strip baits

1. Use 3-4 feet of #9 wire attached to the feather with a Haywire twist, leaving a 2 1/2 in.

tag for attaching the strip bait. Leave the tag pointing in the same direction as the point of the hook.

2. Use 20 feet of 150 lb. test monofilament, attach a 1/0 black coast lock swivel on the end of the monofilament leader. You attach the wire leader to the monofilament and the swivel with a haywire twist.

If the sea witch will not stay under the surface from it's own weight either go to a 1/2oz. feather or attach a light bead chain weight at the end of the monofilament leader.

BASIC KING MACKEREL TROLLING

Use #31/2 Drone spoon either silver or chartreuse, pull at approx. 6-8kts. The hook in a Drone may be replaced when it wears out or rust. Simply bend the tab on the back of the spoon with pliers and the tab will snap off and the hook will drop out. You then put the new hook in place and bend the tab one with pliers.

After you use a Drone spoon for awhile you will notice it will "rattle". You can tighten it up by putting it on a hard surface and pushing down on the bend of the hook. This will tighten it and stop the rattle.

Use 20 feet of 150lb. test monofilament. Attach the spoon using a uni-knot and a Surgeons End Loop at the other end. Use a 8oz. to a 1lb beaded chain weight. Pull at 6-8kts.

Use 150lb.-200lb.monofiliment for the hand line. A #4 or #5 planner is preferred. Use 20 feet of leader made of 150lb. test monofilament. Make one hand line 60ft. long and the other 100ft. long. Be sure to one hand line out at a time as to prevent tangling.

The two best brands are Sea-witch and Manley. They start from 1/8 oz to 3 oz. The most

frequently used weights are 1/8, 1/4, and 1/2 oz. They come in a large variety of colors, but the favorite colors are red & white, blue & white, pink, chartreuse (bright green) and white.

Uses: 
1. May be pulled at high -speed

2. With a strip bait.

3. With a ballyhoo

Thoughts on blue water fishing... Bright trolling feathers produce best results. Pink or chartreuse. Teasers can help(4Xstrong, 34 treble hook), refer to diagram on slow trolling for Kings with live bait, teaser is similar.

Lures... 0 RBM Clark spoons

00 RBM Clark spoons

Rig on 20 to 40lb. test clear mono. I use 40#! Must use 4oz. bead chain weights or No. 1 planers to eliminate line twist. Troll at 4-5 knots, many people pull to slow. Fish close to the beach (depth permitting), just outside the surf out to 30 to 40 ft. depth. Clear water good for Spaniards, not necessary for Blues.

Rigs vary according to technique. Standard rigs sold in stores don't perform very well.

Pier fishing... egg weight sinker with small treble hook with live shrimp or minnows

Drifting... two hook dropper rig made with bear paw flicker spinners and casting weight.

Best bait...Squid strips 2 inches long., should be hooked through the end. Flounder belly, shark belly, and live minnows also work.

Drift channels rear inlets; good drop offs and deep water are essential. Although I've caught flounder drifting in 6-10 ft. go figure!

Best times... first two hours of each tide.

Mostly caught by jigging on the bottom. Deep water in or near inlets best. Use stingsilver or Hopkins spoons tied directly to line or Betts speck rig tipped with shrimp. Late summer and early fall in this area.

Mostly caught by casting lead head jigs w/ grubs (chartreuse), retrieved slowly along the bottom. Mirror lures are effective in cold water. Mostly found when feeding close to marsh on high tides. Also in surf in cold weather. Rig all baits by tying directly to lure. 6-8lb. test outfits are ideal for casting light lures.

Good night fishery for trout around bridges, trestles, and piers by catching minnows in lights or minnow trap earlier, then using for bait.

Trolling... I use a Penn Senator Special 3160RW 6/0 rod; there's probably a newer model

now. A Penn 114H reel packed with 50lb. test ANDE premium grade minimum or

tournament grade best. Add a 50'ft 100lb test shock leader(tie with Blood knot).

Surf Casting... I use a 10ft. Ugly stick spinning rod and a Penn 750SS reel packed with

20lb. test premium or tournament grade mono

(upper) How-not-to. Although at first glance it might appear to be a twist, one strand is merely wrapped around the other. This wrap is bound to uncoil under strain. The barrel loops are sloppy, adding nothing to integrity and making a clean break-off of the tag end difficult.

(middle) A moderate haywire twist, sufficiently shallow to develop maximum strength without slipping. With practice, this spiral is made almost automatically when the loop is rotated while the ends are held stationary, but allowed to slip through the fingers as the twist are taken. Maintaining a wide loop provides added leverage for this method. Note that the barrel turns are tight.

(lower) This haywire is considerably tighter; generally indicative of holding the loop and twisting the ends, although it can be made by the reverse process. It is more slip-resistant than a moderate twist, but the sharper bend will fail at a slightly lower load.

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Boot Key Harbor website created and maintained by Capt. Gregory T. Absten, Marathon.  - A Boater's Guide to the Florida Keys & Cuba
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