Tope Rig

Hey there I'm looking for a general rig showing the make up for a tope rig. planning to go out on the boat shortly to go on the search for more cheeky tope, I was just wondering what is your most successfull tope rig.

Many Thanks
Stevie

On the shannon trip i had 4 runs which resulted in four fish, never dropped a run... i had a foot and a half of wire, big game swivel with a running leader of 150lb , bout 3 foot or so...i had my L boom on that attached to another big game swivel... but the hook is important, i had a semi circle mustad big game hook... 6/0...fantastic for tope, hooked in the scissors every time...


Heavy mono L boom
(___========<>----------------====I
hook Wire swivel

good man thanks. :)

I got a 330gti and 30lb class rod. would it be ok to put 20lb line on it and put shockleader on it for 12ft or so then my tope trace. or would it be better with braid after the 20lb line.

cheers
stevie

theres nothing wrong with braid as the mainline, as long as you have a long leader/rubbing leader...especially if your fishing heavy currents...but mono will do the job too, but for the sake of losing fish i wouldnt put on a braid leader, mayb a 25ft 60lb mono leader

I fish braid straight to 5 feet of 80lb mono rubbing leader, and 2 feet of 150lb mono biting trace

The simpler the better

Kev

what lb of braid do u use kev for your main line.

cheers
stevie

i bought a new uptide rod before my last trip and like an eejit went down to the beach the evening before with a few leads to try a few casts. sometimes it landed on sand, but sometimes on stone, which weakened the mono, The lead looked like someone had tried to kick seven shades of s*** out of it.....so when the first tope took it...bang...it broke.

the point is if you have any weak point like this, they will smash it there, otherwise you will probably land the fish. I would prefer mono mainline for the added safety factor of stretch and abrasion resistance.

would 20lb be ok straight through or would u upgrade a bit to say 30lb

Last year I was using 30lb mono on the penn mag and had no problems

if you have a good quality reel so that the drag operates smoothly, good quality mono and are careful to tie and test good knots, 20lb would give you good sport. 30lb should give a lot more safety, but less excitement!

Your choice of braid or mono is dictated by the bottom ,depth and strength of tides you fish

I fish 30lb braid as we regularly get tope over 40 in a strong tide
30lb mono means you get to fish only when the tide allows, and reduces the length of time you get to fish where tides are strong

Abrasion resistance, mmmm. This season for the first time in 3 years I have had two fish part the braid when running through rough bottom. But prior to this I have never had an issue.

At worst, fish braid to a shock leader and that removes any issue there, and extends fishable time on tides and reduces the amount of lead required. I am a big fan of fishing as light as possible at the terminal end!

Kev

might you be using a little poetic licence there mate :lol:

the charter boats out every day can't even get one over 40lb

I've never had a license in my life. Er :oops:

5 tope last year between 40-45lbs
1 so far this year at 42, but the weather has seriously hampered my attendance :evil:

The larger fish tend to show in smaller numbers towards the end of august, usually you get em in ones and twos when the main run has dwindled

The large number of pups in the last two years implies the females must run this coast, but I've never seen one

Kev

the biggest problem on a charter boat is tangles with other rods, leading to hooks etc being dragged along your braid, and the braid rubbing off the bottom of the boat. This might be why charter skippers see braid subsequently parting all the time when a tope is hooked, but might be less of an issue on a private boat.

six or eight oz of lead easily held bottom on the beal bar when the tide was causing the anchor to drag and we had to leave. I would prefer braid if i needed a heavier lead, despite the risk it might be weakened in a tangle

Hi

Have always kept it simple 6 - 8ft 150 - 200lb mono crimped to 6/0 or 8/0
crimped to heavy duty swivel with 30lb braid other end.

never had a problem