Lessons Learned While Rigging for Monsters

More fish are lost as a result of connection failures than for any other reason. That’s a fact! When fishing for freshwater or inshore saltwater species, most connections are made using knots so being a proficient knot tier is critical. You can use the best tackle, line, leader and lures, but if your knots are poorly tied you’re going to be a very unhappy angler.

When fishing for the biggest fish on the planet, creating 100% connections is paramount because the margin of error is mighty slim. When I was on assignment Down Under for Yachting and Motor Boating with an Australian yacht builder, part of the trip included a few days of fishing on the Great Barrier Reef with Capt. Sharky Miles for black marlin, which grow to well over 1,000 pounds. Back in the States I’ve rigged all manner of big game tackle for tuna and billfish using AFW/HI-SEAS lines, leader materials, crimps, swages and special knots, but the game was nowhere near as large. The rigging systems Sharky used on his 130-lb. class outfits included tricks I had never seen before. He called it “fail-proofing” and when I hooked my first big black I could see why he took such extreme precautions.

To create a double line in the 130-lb. mono he used a modified Bimini Twist, but finished it with overlapping half-hitches of waxed floss so the knot couldn’t unravel or get chafed going in and out of the guides. Where the double line was mated to an extra-heavy duty snap swivel, he created a horseshoe on the loop with floss to prevent the swivel from turning over on the line and breaking it, a problem that can occur with huge fish that jump a lot and boy do black marlin jump!

The leader between the swivel and the trolling baits was 600-pound test and the connections were all carefully compressed aluminum swages, which won’t slip or cut the leader with sharp edges. The rigged baits weighed from 10 to 20-lbs. and were attached to 22/0 circle hooks strong enough to tow a car.

Even when taking such incredible care with rigging, the odds of landing one of these incredible fish are 50/50! On the second day I fought and released one estimated at over 1,000-lbs, my first Grander! The third day we hooked another that was even larger and fought it for 2-1/2 hours. As the mate was wiring the big fish to the boat to be released the 600-lb. leader popped. It had chafed through from contact with the rough bill.

Caputi’s Blog Tip: Time spent learning the right connections, knots, and the proper way to tie them is time well spent. The same philosophy applies to using crimps and swages. The complete line of matched components from AFW/HI-SEAS can meet any fishing need from making Carolina Rigs for largemouth bass to “fail-proofing” the biggest big game tackle.

- Gary Caputi

My First Open Experience

On the drive down to Amistad, I couldn't wait to get there and put the boat in the water and start practicing for my first BASS Central Open. After 600 miles and 9 1/2 hours of driving I finally arrived there, but the only bad thing was it was too late to start fishing that day. On the first morning of practice, I started throwing a DD22 on 15# Quattro Fluorocarbon and the first fish I caught was a 7! I ended the day with a little over 20 pounds but on Amistad - that is just an average day. The first day of the tournament finally comes and I decided that I was going to make a long run up the lake. The first fish I caught was a 6 and that just got the day off to a good start. At the end of the day I had 22.1, and was in 13th place and was really hoping the wind wouldn’t blow the next day, which it did. After the tournament was over I ended in 90th which was really disappointing. But I have to say that i was flipping trees in 20 feet of water with 15# Hi-Seas fluorocarbon and I never broke off. Its time to start getting ready for the next open on the Red River this should be interesting!

-Zach Gagnard

HI-SEAS and AFW are the Exclusive Line and Wire for Bill Dance Outdoors and Bill Dance Saltwater Television Shows!

HI-SEAS is proud to announce that they have joined forces as a sponsor of Bill Dance, world famous fisherman, and his television shows Bill Dance Outdoors and Bill Dance Saltwater. Bill is one of the world’s most famous fishermen and currently is featured in his two shows Bill Dance Outdoors and Bill Dance Saltwater. Bill Dance Outdoors premiered on a Memphis ABC affiliate in 1968 and has been growing in popularity ever since. Today the show is televised nationwide and its host has achieved celebrity status among the nation’s 45 million anglers. Bill Dance Outdoors is featured on the Versus channel five times per week and Bill Dance Saltwater is featured on the Outdoor channel three times per week.

Dance is excited to incorporate HI-SEAS fishing line in his show, “Today I'm doing just that with some of the fine products that Hi-Seas offers. Like Grand Slam mono and braid, Wildfire and Quattro Fluorocarbon. HI-SEAS was originally designed for saltwater, but several years ago it was also introduced into the freshwater market. To me that says a lot! If it's tough enough to withstand the punishment of salt and all its toothy creatures, it's more than adequate for fresh.” He also says, “I'm highly impressed with Hi-Seas and proud to tell America that they are now a major sponsor of Bill Dance Outdoors and Bill Dance Saltwater.”

“We are extremely excited to have teamed up with Bill Dance. Bill is a fishing legend and icon in the industry and we are looking for Bill to help us grow HI-SEAS to the next level.” says HI-SEAS Sales Manager Steven Miller.

“HI-SEAS is well established in the saltwater market with over 30 years of successful product growth. We introduced our quality freshwater products 5 years ago and have had a fantastic response from the industry. Bill’s support and following will help us educate anglers more on HI-SEAS and continue to establish HI-SEAS as a household brand name in both the freshwater and saltwater markets.”, responds Mike Shields, HI-SEAS Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

Bill Dance Outdoors and Bill Dance Saltwater provide a primetime platform showcasing HI-SEAS line and leader products to over 20 million households. This platform will educate anglers nationwide on all of their unique quality products such as Grand Slam Mono & Braid, Wildfire and Quattro 100% Camo Fluorocarbon. Stay tuned to the Versus Channel to see HI-SEAS featured on Bill Dance Outdoors and on Bill Dance Saltwater featured on the Outdoor Channel.

First Stripers of the Year

I don’t truly believe it’s Spring until I catch my first striped bass and this year it happened on the first Sunday in April (4/4/10). I hooked up with my buddy, Capt. Terry Sullivan of Flats Rat Charters, and we launched his 21’ bay boat on the Shrewsbury River in Oceanport, New Jersey.

The Shrewsbury and Navesink Rivers wind their way through some very scenic areas of northern Monmouth County before joining into one and then emptying into Sandy Hook Bay under the Highlands Bridge. They are part of a massive staging area for mature striped bass prior to the spawning run up Hudson River late in May. This estuary complex encompasses waters in southern Connecticut, western Long Island and northern New Jersey and is also the nursery area for millions of smaller stripers. That’s what we were out to catch.

The rivers warm much earlier than the nearby bay and ocean. As temperatures rise into the mid 50’s the stripers begin hunting the river’s abundant baitfish population presenting an opportunity to catch them using tackle that would be more appropriate for freshwater bass fishing.

I had three outfits with me, two spinners on 7’ light and light-medium action rods, and one small baitcasting reel on a 7’ straight-butt trigger stick, also light action. All three were loaded with HI-SEAS Wildfire, a fused Spectra braided line that has all the best properties of braid; extreme sensitivity and almost no stretch for great hook sets even at the end of a long cast, which is a good thing considering no line I’ve used casts further. Unique to fused Spectra is that you can use all the same knots you use with monofilament. The lightest spinner was filled with 10-lb. and the other spinner and baitcaster were spooled with 12 lb. All three were tipped with a three-foot leader of HI-SEAS 100% Fluorocarbon in 20 lb. for two reasons—to reduce visibility of the line nearest the lures and because it has excellent abrasion resistance. Stripers don’t have teeth, but do have sandpaper-like surfaces on their jaws and there is structure in the form of rocks, docks and pilings where we would be fishing.

We ran down the Shrewsbury and into the Navesink where we started exploring coves on the north side of the river using a bow-mounted electric trolling motor for a quiet approach. South-facing coves warm quickly and we encountered water temps to 60 degrees by mid morning. Once the tide started running we saw bait schools moving through the coves, some being harassed by feeding stripers. We started ripping four inch swimming plugs through the shallow water. They are a good imitation of the prevalent baitfish in size and color, but the bass ignored them so I switched over to a 4” paddle-tail plastic shad in white and chartreuse. The first cast with a fast retrieve was rewarded with an aggressive hit by a small bass. After a short tussle my first striper of the year came to the side of the boat where it was unhooked and released. A few minutes later Terry had a bass take a shot at his lure, but miss. There was another one was with it so I made a quick cast and hooked up immediately with a much larger fish. It took off smoking the 10-lb Wildfire off the reel as a huge smile broke out on my face. Striped bass in shallow water are an absolute joy to catch and this was one no slouch. After a spirited fight the 12-lb. bass was subdued for a quick picture and release. Spring had definitely arrived!

-Gary Caputi

HI-SEAS Pro Staff, Jeff Kriet, set the lake record and caught this 12lb 10oz Largemouth last Wednesday on Lake Murray in Oklahoma using 15lb HI-SEAS Fluorocarbon Line.

"I was just out with a buddy (Gene Eisenmann) fishing for smallmouths with spinning gear, and we'd probably caught about 50," he said. "Then we slid back in this little pocket and there's a swamp donkey sitting next to a stump. I said, 'Hey, there's a 6-pounder,' which shows how good I am at sight-fishing. It ran underneath the boat and got hung up in the keep protector. It was on the other side of the boat when I finally got the line out of there, and then it got hung up on my Power-Pole after that. If it was a tournament, that fish would've come off for sure. I'm just glad it wasn't on film because it would've been ugly, and if I'd have know how big she was, I know I would've lost her."
Once it was in the boat, he was prepared to call it an 11-pounder and let it go right there, but Eisemann suggested they take it to the marina because it might be a lake record. Sure enough, it eclipsed the previous certified mark by more than 2 pounds.

"I'd caught a few 10s, but I've been fishing there my whole life. At a jackpot tournament on Tuesday night it took 8 pounds to win, so it's not like somebody catches one every day. I fished that tournament and I caught five for 7 pounds."

Welcome!

Welcome to the first in a continuing series of blogs aimed at providing useful and entertaining information and advice for anglers from AFW/Hi-Seas. In the coming weeks and months it will feature ramblings from me, and a stable of guest bloggers. These will include TV fishing personalities like Bill Dance, host of Bill Dance Outdoors and a legend in the bass fishing community, and Dennis Braid, host of TV’s Monster Fish and one of the top big game fishermen in the world. You’ll also find helpful tips, tricks and techniques from our Prostaff of professional and tournament anglers include Cliff Pace, Jeff Kriet, Jeff Connella, Terry Scroggins, Elite B.A.S.S. anglers all, in addition to Kim Bain-Moore, the first woman to compete in the Bassmaster Classic. Kim is equally competitive fishing the SKA Professional Kingfish Tour with her husband, Andre Moore. And those are just a few of the dozens of pros who will be giving up secrets to help you catch more fish!

Fishing is as old as the human experience and as fresh as the latest innovation in tackle and techniques. It is an evolving sport that means different things to different people. To some it’s the opportunity to get on the water and enjoy nature to others it’s the ability to catch a few fish for table. For the more competitive among us, it’s the challenge of pitting their skills against other anglers whether the prize is bragging rights, cash or glory! Some fish from the bank or beach while others employ boats. Fishing is a diverse outdoor recreation, yet when all is said and done we are all members of a fraternity of anglers that is rich in history and tradition.

My name is Gary Caputi and I have been fishing since childhood and been lucky enough to spend most of my adult years working in the fishing tackle industry, writing for fishing magazines and hosting seminars aimed at teaching this great sport to others. My fishing experience runs the gamut—fresh water panfish, bass, trout, walleye, pike, salmon and brushes with exotics like musky and even peacock bass. And while there is nothing I enjoy more than making a delicate presentation to a trout lurking in a stream or the site of a smallmouth bass launching skyward after taking a tube jig presented with ultra light tackle, I must admit to having saltwater running through my veins.

Striped bass are a favorite quarry, as are redfish, snook and tarpon, but I am equally at home bottom fishing for blackfish, sea bass, grouper, snapper, amberjacks and even deep dropping for tilefish. Offshore, in the realm of blue water, I’ve caught every species of billfish including Atlantic and Pacific sailfish, white, striped, blue and even grander black marlin on Australia’s famed Great Barrier Reef! Some day I hope to catch the elusive spearfish, but I am not losing any sleep over it. Billfish are great fun, the fish many anglers feel mark the pinnacle of achievement, but the sheer freight train strength and bulldog tenacity of tuna is an incredible rush, not to mention back breaking exercise keeps me going to the gym so I can handle the punishment!

After more than 40 years on the water I can honestly say I love all types of fishing and I will use my expertise to help readers of this blog expand their fishing knowledge and improve their fishing prowess.

Those are my bona fides. Now a word about our blog hosts, AFW/Hi-Seas, two great fishing product lines under one roof that offer anglers like you and me a fantastic assortment of great fishing products. Based in Pennsylvania and family owned for almost forty years, their goal has been to provide anglers with the very best fishing line, wire goods, rigging components, tools and accessories. All of us on the Prostaff are proud to be associated with this great company run by such fine people.

So mark the AFWHISEAS Blog Spot on your favorites or sign up to receive the blogs regularly by email. We’ll do our best to keep the information coming and make the learning experience an enjoyable one.

-Gary Caputi