The Main Line – Braid.  

The main advantages of braided line are it’s thin diameter, lack of elasticity, and elevated breaking strength.  All pluses when it comes to spinning, but in the hands of a new comer it can cause problems with wind knots while casting, and it’s resistance to abrasion is very poor compared to nylon.

Braided lines for spinning are almost exclusively made from Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene, or just PE for short.  There are other proprietary brands such as Dyneema and Spectra, they are essentially the same thing, they only differ in the manufacturing process and are produced by different companies.  The density of PE is just slightly lighter than water so it makes these lines float in the majority of the cases.

Cost will dictate what you buy.  As a general rule, the more strands the braid contains the higher the cost, so do some research on-line.  Braids with 3 or 4 strands will tend to be flat when dry and rounder when soaked with water. Round braids will contain 6 or 8 strands.

For our purposes, if we take into consideration the rod and reels I mentioned in the first article, all we need is a good quality 4 strand to keep costs down.  The strength of the braid should ideally be between 15 to 20 pounds(lbs). This will give you a good compromise between strength and casting performance.

Tip: When spooling braid, keep it under tension, and spray Silicon lubricant at regular intervals. This helps the braid remain in good shape!

Never spool a reel to the max with braid, always leave it a little under filled. This helps avoid wind knots during casting.

The Leader

The purpose of the leader is two fold in my opinion.

• To break the visibility of the braided line from the lure.
• To provide a form of resistance to abrasion close to the lure.

The leader can be Nylon or Fluorocarbon.  Nylon is the cheapest option, and if the fish are not too picky or the water is not too clear, it will work just fine.  However Fluorocarbon is the best choice as it becomes close to invisible in water.

The thickness of the leader is the most important factor here.  The thicker it is the more resistant to abrasion and cutting it will be, but it will be at a cost to visibility, and to a certain extent lure action.  A leader of 0.350mm to 0.420mm will work fine for the braids I mentioned earlier (15 to 25 lbs). The knot to tie the two together is not exactly easy but it is essential to make a knot that grips the leader, since braids has the nasty habit of slipping in knots.  For this I suggest mastering the Tony Pena knot.

On the other end, an Improved Clinch Knot or a Grinner Knot will definitely be adequate to tie the leader to the clip.

I’ll try and walk through all the kit that you will need to have with you on the fishing spot, to make life a lot easier for you.

The Rod

The rod and also the reel will most probably be the two most expensive parts of all your Kit.  Mediterranean spinning generally revolves around the Barracuda, Sea Bass, and to some extent Bonitos most of the time.  You will encounter other prey too, but in Malta this is what we mostly get.

Most of our good fishing spots will see you a meter or more higher than the water, and if you factor in rocky out crops then a long rod will definitely be useful.  I always try and recommend a rod length between 8ft and 9ft6in.  The Shorter rod will offer better lure control, and less straining on the wrist and shoulders, while the longer rod offers better clearance from rocks and better casting performance.  So it is a matter of finding a balance and of personal preference.

When it comes to casting weight I recommend a 15g-42g rod, with a regular to fast action.  A rod like this is really an all rounder, it will let you work minnows, walk-the-dog lures, poppers and little jigs.  If on the other hand you already know that you’re going to stick to minnows then lighter is better and go for a 10g-30g rod, with a slightly faster action.  Most minnows fall in that weight range, so it is the ideal tool.

Spend as much as you can afford because a cheap rod will only give you trouble in the future. Always look for quality materials when it comes to the carbon, the guides and handle parts.  Fuji components are something to definitely go for.  Today we spin using braid in 99% percent of the time, so the guides have to be compatible with these super lines.

The Reel

Presuming you follow my advice for the rod, the size of the reel will be pretty easy to determine.  If you go for Shimano sizes then you need a 4000, in Daiwa numbers you need a 3000.

The reel must be front drag, because rear drag reels are too delicate for the strain that certain fish can put on it. Same here for the reel, the more you can afford the better. Do not go for the lower end models, try and get at least a mid-range model.  No matter how many gazzilions of ball bearings it has, if it is not a quality reel, it will rust up in no time.

For spinning the reel needs to be fairly fast, and ideally you would need around 150-200 meters of braid in it. 150 meters being the absolute minimum.

In the next update I will write about braided lines and leaders.

Weight: 9g – Suspending
Length: 8.5cm
Depth: 1 to 1.5 meters

These are the colours it is available in

This is the text from the Molix Catalog …

The JUBAR SMART is the perfect lure that combines a synthesis in casting performance and movement that produces predatory strikes. It has been designed to satisfy the needs of highly demanding anglers and for those that expect the best from such lure.

The Jubar Smart has been completely redesigned inside with new weight partitions that give this lure extraordinary performance and balance. Innovative resins used to mold the body and a special painting finish have been used to improve the casting performances.

The result obtained by our Molix technicians is a perfect suspending lure that works within 2,5 meter depth range, right where the majority of the baitfish spend most of their time feeding. The Jubar Smart is definitely an easy and effective lure for all anglers.

More to follow …

The Finder Jerk is one of Molix’s most versatile and productive long, jerk minnows. It was designed as an answer to many request by spinner in Europe that wanted a long jerk minnow designed for mediterranean fish but with japanese quality.

This lure is 15cm long and weighs 22g. It is a slow floating bait that will naturally and slowly rise to the surface when it is stopped. It’s most distinguishing feature is that this lure will remain absolutely horizontal once stopped. The largish lip gives it a depth of 0.50 to 1.00 meter, when the rod is kept at a normal body height from the sea surface. It is available in 13 colours, most of which are siutable for our maltese waters.

This lure is built with a single stainless steel framework and with a special internal transfer weight system named D.L.S. (Dynamic Load System). These weights give the finder jerk smooth and linear casting power. I find that the lip does interfere a little with the casting distance, but it more than makes up for it in action under the water. The small glass balls that are positioned in a specially designed compartment near the head emit vibrations and create a sound that attracts all predatory fish.

I generally fish this lure with a medium class rod, I use my GLoomis SAR1024S for this purpose and i am using a 25lb braided line with a 20lb leader. One thing that you notice right away with this lure is that it will tire your wrist if you spend a lot of time jerking it like other more traditional long jerks like the Mommotti or the Tide Minnow. This lure needs very little jerks and they have to be delicate because the large lip responds very, very well.

All in all I like it, the paint is very resistant, which is a Molix trademark. The Lip is tough, it will not break easily if it hits rocks, and the internal wire system will give you peace of mind it you do get a big one. The trebles are tough and good quality, size #4. Another good point for this lure is that it can be easily trolled at low speeds close to shore, by boat.

The usual suspects love it, the Barracudas are very good prey for this lure and it has worked on Blue Runners and Amber Jacks also.

What is a an Assist hook? Assist hooks appeared on the sport fishing scene with the introduction of the Jigging technique. The hooks employed are generally strong, wide gaped, with a short leg.  Almost all of them utilise an eyelet for rigging, but there is one manufacturer I know of that produces a hook that can be spliced into the assist rope.

The idea behind the assist hook is diabolically simple once you think about it really. 

The hook will hang loosely from the top of the lure most of the times, on a length of ‘assist rope’.  Once in the water, the hook becomes a lot lighter, thanks to the buoncy of the water.  The sucking action a fish produces when it attacks the lure will invariably cause the hook to be sucked into it’s mouth first.  These hooks are now being used in spinning too with smaller metal jigs, a technique popularily known as shore jigging.

The IGFA rule:

Assist hooks or other such single hooks that are attached to a lure with a lead constructed of monofilament, multifilament, wire or other such material must conform to the following: When using assist hooks on any artificial lure, other than a skirted lure, the lead cannot be more than 1 ½ hook’s length and the bend of the hook may not be more than 4 inches (101 mm), whichever is less, from the closest point of attachment on the lure. Double and treble hooks may not be used as assist hooks

The link to the IGFA website is this, IGFA Assist Hooks rule.

As far back as a couple of decades ago, there were a few individuals who practised a crude form of spinning locally, mainly with spoons and spinners, more or less designed to catch salmon or trout (courtesy of all the migrants who moved to North America after the war).  Fast forward to the new millennium and spinning is becoming a fast growing angling sport, with ever increasing numbers of enthusiasts every year.

We may not have the bountiful quantities of fish that are present in the tropics but we have enough for good sport.  Those of us who took the plunge into spinning would undoubtedly have come across the Mediterranean Barracuda or the Lizard Fish as their first catches.  However, the list of prey is long, Amberjacks, Blue Runners, White Trevally, Leerfish and Seabass just to mention a few.

So why don’t you try and give spinning a go. Visit the Malta Sea-Spinning forum for more information and buy your lures and tackle at LureHunter.com

This is definately a technique to keep insisting on this month, so maybe i will try to experiment with some more colours and different retrieves.

I personally like to use the PR Knot, sometimes referred to as the FJ or Bobbin knot.  It is fiddly to get used to, but done right it will hold on for dear life to the nylon leader for good.  The advantage of the knot is that the tight wrapping grips into the nylon or fluoro, and it avoids any knotting what so ever on the nylon/fluoro side.  This results in a smooth, strong knot that transitions perfectly through the rod guides, even when casting.

The video below, was posted on YouTube and it is the best I have found up to now.

If you are a fishing enthusiast in Europe, this fair is a must, at least once.  I will let you look at a few pictures I took and a few others I borrowed from SpinnerFrancesco from the SeaSpin forum.

Click on the picture to view the Album.

It is however JDM only, as most other good things are.

Here are the Specs:

Biomaster SW

• Model: 4000XG
• Ratio: 6.2
• Weight: 315g
• Drag: 10Kg
• Line Capacity in PE(m): 1-500、1.5-320、2-210
• Line retrieve per turn: 99cm
• Bearings: 5/1

The following link is a video clip from Shimano TV

Shimano TV Biomaster 4000XG