HLF

Hello Fishing Kakis,

It been a while I have asked question in this forum.

I would like to check the Ibs size / yards of the fishing line to be used to land fishes in Bedok Jetty (GT, Queenfish, Chermin etcc..)

Should I be using a 30lbs / 300 Yard line or 50 ibs 150 Yard line (braided - power pro line)

As I’m still an beginner, I got different options from people - some said 30lbs is good enough so said better get 50 to 60lbzs.

So I checking with the Lao Jiao here to see what advise you can give me

Hi Foli, there are few things to consider here.
1. You want to make sure the line you're using match your rod rating to prevent the rod from overloading.

2. Consider the reel's line capacity; having enough line/line to the brim helps you cast further(especially for spinning reels). Loading heavier lines although usually strong, will create a lot of drag against wind and water. This will affect the flexibility of your fishing.

3. Minimum line strength. Fishing from Jetty can often be a challenge when fighting fish with other anglers' line close by. Going too light on the line or drag and you lose control to larger fish, resulting crossing lines and fish dashing below the jetty, etc. You may need to lift the fish out of water if there's no one with net/gaff to help you land the fish, the alternative is to drag the fish to the beach if it's too heavy(long way!)

Generally, you should decide the min. length of line you absolutely need (ie. do I want to cast? how far? how far am I comfortable with letting a fish run with my drag setting?). Then look at the reel/spool spec for the diameter of line that will give you full spool at your required length of line.

Loading a reel with 300m of 20-30lbs line is recomended for all-rounded jetty fishing. You don't need that much line in actual fishing but more for compensating line breaks and adding more backing as you lose more line. It's more economical this way. For the more serious angler, their tackles will be more finetuned for their specific fishing style. 50-60lbs setups are typically used by anglers targeting for bigger game fish like Cobia, Stingrays, Sharks, etc. on those long surf rods.

Always enjoy reading replies from Peace. Always things to learn!

Heavier setup to aim biggies - may end up empty handed at of the session, but you're be glad that you're with that setup if biggies really visit. Heavier setup also means more tiring since you'll need heavier sinker, etc to counter the drag due to heavier line. There are lao jiao who will Go Big or Go Home, but that's most likely because they already fish so much and seeking big game.

Personally, I enjoy fishing because i can get some fish. i'll go for lighter setup to improve my chance of hooking up something.

Hello Peace,

Great advise from you !! appreciate it.

Hello Limpeh,

I do agree that going back with some fishes (tablesize) is good enough.

You mention about lighter setup, how light (rod, reel, Lbs) are you using to improve any chance of a hookup?

Regards,
Foli

Hi Foli,

I'll recommend 20lb-30lb as Peace mentioned. Typically, a reel size of 3000 should able to load your 300m, depends on the line diameter. As for rod, depends on your playing style, if you wanna bait, lure, cast far, sensitivity, etc. Just match the rod to the line lb.

Lighter line although it's more sensitive, less resistance with current/wind, cast further, etc. But some negative things comes together with it was mentioned in Peace's post: cannot zhang the fish back, harder to land the fish by pulling off water to jetty, if line rub against structure the line may break much easier than heavy lines, etc.

Gonna think through your preferred style of playing and pros and cons of lighter/heavier setup.

i have experimented a fair bit as to what line fits what reel size

referencing a daiwa 2500, with loading of 300 yard 8lb spiderwie
machine load - to snuggly fit, after a few cast you get bee hoon, wind knot machine load, the machine would be able to apply enough force to control the loading till max so nobody question wastage.
advise is prevent overloading it

hand load which i do it all the time, be it onboard, luring, or at home.

be adequately equipped. lip grip, gaff, avoid lifting fish with your set up a lot of accidents can happen, rod break, holding fish with lures in it's mouth, and hook on you

there's hardly a one size fits all set up

there are parameters on the line spool

you target a drop off that is 20 meters away, you load your reel with 150 yards would be sufficed, if it is a whiting, if it is the great reef giant barracuda, imagine it, stength of line is related to line thickness, and the thickness affects the amount of line you can load to the depth of your reel spool

go out, buy one tackle, eventually you will get one that suits your style and understanding of fishing

people post catches of your prize does not mean they catch fish every single trip
mark your calender, time location of the days you catch and don't, you could develope your own fishing ground habit.

Good guide. I personally apply extra pressure on the bottom half layer of line when spooling, reducing pressure gradually as it nears the the top layer. My reasoning for tighter backing is to reduce chance of line digging in, particularly if you intend to use high drag settings.

I'm guilty of overloading line from time to time, sometimes there's just a little more line leftover and I can't bear to just cut it off.