Why do we so often fish so heavy?

[no-one in particular]

I ask this because it sometimes surprises me, locally the current it not so strong, then there’s the difference between tides, neaps and springs and there’s a period of slack water when the tides change. A big spring tide is a lot stronger than a small neap tide and the strength of current will differ a lot. I mostly see sea anglers using 6 oz grip leads whatever the tide or wherever they fish and they never change them even though they could with clip attachments. Even if there's no wind and a calm sea it does not matter, same weight. It’s like a standard thing; two anglers I have met recently were most surprised I was using a 2oz recently and sort of looked at me like I was dumb but it holds the bottom perfectly well, actually it might even be smaller as I am not sure. I use a 12lb line, the thicker the line the more weight is needed which I understand but I should land anything I am likely to catch with that although I do worry a bit about a real monster latching but it has not happened yet and is unlikely to. 20 / 25lb lines are the about the norm for most anglers and they catch small cod, soles plaice, whiting, mackerel etc which are all small fish.
I sort of get it beach casting as the standard gear will cast further but I still get a good distance on the light gear on a calm day or a fair wind, but for most it's this kind of standard gear come what may in any conditions.
I am not having a go just wondered if any thoughts on this.

 

[jimlad]

I only tend to dabble in sea fishing, and enjoy blasting out a 6oz gripper in search of winter cod on the north east coast. That said, last year I did flick some ragworm out into the surf using barbel gear and caught some schoolies, smashing sport that.


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[Ray Roberts]

I would guess that you are fishing over a pretty clear bottom with minimal snags to get away with using 12lb line.

It is often advantageous to keep the weight near where it was cast rather than have it trundling about finding snags. Additionally most rods have an ideal casting weight, similar to a fly rod having an ideal line weight. This means that you can get more distance with less effort which in turn is less likely to throw the bait off during the cast.

Lastly if you are fishing near other anglers then a lighter weight is more prone to tangle other anglers lines.


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[no-one in particular]

Very good points Ray, it is true I fish over a clean bottom most of the time and tend to fish away from lots of anglers, on the jetty or pier they tend to congregate near the ends and I will often fish further in where it's quiet. If there is a rocky bottom , I tend to float fish or look for the gaps in the rocks at low tide. And the 12lb line doies bother me a bit, I will get caught out one day I suppose but I find it performs well enough and helps me get away with lighter leads.
I have all the traditional beach gear but have not used it for a long time, not such a bad weather angler these days, rough sea strong winds put me off a bit now. They bring the fish in occasionally but I have lost the appetite for all the uncomfortableness. Bones are getting old

Jimlad fishing the NE coast, I understand it gets pretty wild up there but on calm days and a bit of lighter fishing seems to have been good fun and I bet not many try it when the conditions suit.

 

[kenpm]

In most cases the grip leads are used to prevent your gear rolling into snags and most of the rigs are self hooking bolt type rigs so the firmer the better for hooking.
Even clean ground is abrasive in the sea and finer lines are degraded quicker than say 20/25lb mono just due to the movement of the tide.
25lb hooklengths are much less likely to tangle than 12lb.
Many competition anglers will use main lines down to 12lb on clean beaches to get more distance less drag but would always use shock leaders and heavier hook lengths.
Flicking a 2oz lead out for a flattie or a Bass is a fairly common method for short distance work and if you are happy with its limitations carry on enjoying yourself but the foregoing are the reasons why the gear you consider crude is used likewise the most popular hook is a 1/0 when for the size of fish you might think a 4 or 6 more than big enough but part of the reason is the size of bait which also acts like a swimfeeder to attract fish to the area prior to hooking them.

 

[thameside]

I normally fish 15lb mainline with a 60lb shock leader. Rig bodies are normally 60-80lb with hook snoods of 10-15lb. So the leader & rig body is because of the casting weight of 5oz+ . That is based on the theory that you base your shock leader on 10lb breaking strain to each ounce of weight being used to avoid crack offs.
You can always fish lighter weights such as the watch type that will hold bottom in an estuary. Where as the standard weights people just normally buy 5-6oz weights.
As most of us live in hope of catching the big one,I assume that is why such heavy line.
Amnesia tends not to link & I use that from 8lb upwards,but am also using 10lb fluro carbon.
So I normally fish lighter hook lengths when making rigs for flounder,dabs & sole.
Only go heavier when making rigs with 3/0 hooks or bigger hoping to catch the big one on but usually getting Whitting on them.