AboutKit Belen Expertise I can help with tackle making questionsinshore/offshore fishing from trolling,drifting, bottom fishing,light to heavy stand up style fishing, SoCAl iron, japanese vertical jigging,surf/shore/rock fishing...done it all!!!
Been a Pro at one time and I used to produce my own lures for trolling and I tie my own jigs and flies as well. More importantly, I'm always glad to help.
Experience I was a professional guide and a tackle manufacturer, was taken under the wing of a retaired marlin skipper who showed me the ropes and later joined the tournament circuit in my country.
I have put those on hold to pursue a career in the corporate world, but I still fish regularly and make my own lures and flies...I get the chance to travel the world and fish all around. I have experience on making the most out of fishing situations like when you have to fish on boats that are not designed for sportfishing. I generally make things challenging just to see how things tick, along the way, you would be amazed at what you learn.
Education/Credentials I hold a Marketing Degree and am currently work for a hotel company in the eMarketing and Communications field, here in Dubai, UAE.
I had undergraduate studies in Business Administration, Psychology and Economics.
Expert: Kit Belen Date: 8/25/2007 Subject: Fishing line
Question Ok, I had a question about a 1/2 day charter with my 2 baitcasters and 1 spinning rod setups. For bottom fishing, would braided line be the best bet due to low light conditions for standard mono or fluoro. And for flylining for barracuda, yellowtail, and bonita, would 20 lb. flourocarbon be the best bet or standard monofilament. I hear that flourocarbon knot strenth is significantally reduced. Can you give me a line recommendation...Seaguar? Trilene? P-line? and what type. Also, one last thing...,I have had really bad luck using palomar knot with 20 lb. and is supposedly to be the strongest. Can you give me a good knot that works best for you for 20 lb. line? Thanks
Answer Hi James, Thanks for asking.
Braids are good line if you know how to handle them, it took me about a year to get used to them.
The most important thing to remember about braid is that you have to set your drag a little loose than you would if you were using mono of he same tensile strength. For example, on 10lbs test braid, I would set my drag not at 3.3lbs (1/3 the breaking strain which is standard) but at 1.5lbs test (less than 1/4 of the breaking strain). This is because braid does not stretch and setting your drag loose will compensate for it.
It is also very important tohave a long leader as this will limit the fish seeing your main line. I use more than 10 feet of 20lbs test florocarbon with 10lbs test line.
Florocarbon is tricky to tie, people find it hard to really sindge it down tight. This is the main reason why a lot of people say that it has lesser knot strength.
Seaguar have really good FC leader materials, other brands (leader material FC and high strength mono) are Jinkai and Momoi (japanese brands that are sold thru e-retailers and mail order catalogs like Melton International)
Personally for mono, I use Berkley Big Game and Stren High Impact. Yo Zuri Hybrid is also a very good line, its a copolymer-florocarbon mix and works really well. Ande is also good. Honestly, at the end of the day, its all about personal preference. Use that that I mentioned as a starting point and decide for yourself which one fits your style.
