Lucky Number Seven

One of the biggest trends on the tournament circuit right now is fishing light 6 to 8lb Fluorocarbon lines either straight or as a leader to deliver quality bags under tough tournament conditions. Here in a The Bass Angler exclusive 5 Top competitors from across the country weigh in on their preferred setups, tell why they switch to lighter line tactics and share insights how to ensure you land more fish when they do bite. 5 top anglers weigh in Giulio Nolli 2019 Back-to-Back FLW winner at Roodekoppies Itty’s Secret Baits Pro “For the Roodekoppies wins I definitely believe light line helped, especially when fishing deeper rock piles for a few reasons: it gives a little more action to the bait, there’s less drag when fishing deep water especially if there’s wind so you stay in contact with the bait, and scaling down helps to combat fishing pressure. “And honestly there’s not many times that fish break you up on the rocks. Always re-tie, and having a decent rod with a fast tip and a good reel with a good drag are tools that help with landing those better fish. “I like fishing braid to flouro too, using 10-15lb braid to a 7-10 flouro leader that is about double the length of the rod; I use a Uni-to-Uni knot for joining the leader to the braid with about 6-7 twists each.” Vincent de Boer SABAA Western Cape President 2019 WCMT Champion SABAA Presidents Team “I always have an 8lbs full flouro spinning setup on my deck and alternate to it as soon as I realise the bite for the day is tough, or a certain structure might require a softer more finesse approach. However, when I finesse shaky heads, Ned Rigs or wacky I switch to a setup with 10lb Black Velvet with a 2-3m leader of Berkley 100% Fluoro which I join with an Alberto or improved Bristol knot. “My light line setups consist of either an Abu Garcia Villain 2.0, 7ft Medium or a Premier Fantasista 6’8 medium light depending on the lure weight. I also prefer thin gauge 1/0 or 2/0 hooks for this, as I want to have the minimal effect on the plastics.” Guy Paulet Protea Angler Varkenelli Customs Pro “I mainly switch to ultra-light 6lb Gamma Edge fluoro when fishing 3” senko in super clean water for smallmouth. The low diameter enables the senko to have the right action and fall straight down. As for mainline I use 8lb braid and join the fluoro leader with an FG knot. I pair the setup with a Kistler KLX 7’0” medium light power spinning rod and a Stradic CI4 reel. I always insist on fishing the thinnest gauge wire I can get away with and pull the fish on when setting the hook, instead of a snap set that’s just going to end in tears. Robbie Olivier Protea Angler 2018 FLW Championship Winner “I often get asked the question of what line size do I use? Well, I always try getting away with the heaviest line possible but there are those times where you really have to downsize to maximize your chances of getting bites. You will generally get a very quick idea when you not getting any bites that it’s time to take some drastic steps. “With pressured fish or on extremely bright sunny clear days with ultra-clean water is normally when I will take the fitness approach. My preferred choice is 6-7lb Sunline FC Sniper Fluorocarbon paired up with 12-15lb Seaguar Smackdown Braid. This is my go-to setup to turn a bad day into a good one quickly. “6 to 7lb Fluorocarbon is surprisingly strong so the weak point is the knot joining the braid to the line - I always use a FG knot because it produces a very small, thin knot that passes through the guides with ease. When using small diameter line it is crucial to have the right rod and reel set up with a light wire hook because you can’t really set the hook - you have to just reel fast and pull into the fish. For this single reason I use a Gamakatsu size 1 or 1/0 hook but whatever you do don’t jerk or set the hook. I use a medium fast action 7ft Falcon Cara ST spinning rod with a 13 Fishing Source X Reel and always remember to check your drag with light line.” Neels Benneke Protea Angler 2018 FLW Championship Winner Abu Garcia / Outdoors 365 Pro “There are three reasons I change: when the dam is very pressured and fishing is very tough like during post frontal conditions, secondly when I’m finessing smaller lures it delivers better action and a more natural presentation where thicker line affects the presentation, and lastly when I’m fishing deep in the 15-20ft plus range I’ll scale down as thicker line impacts on your sensitivity. “I don’t like to use braid backing to a fluoro leader, I prefer to fish straight 7lb Sunline FC Sniper and there are only certain instances I go straight fluorocarbon - more specifically when I’m fishing a drop shot like we did at the recent Inanda FLW and when split shotting, which was the technique Robbie Olivier and I used to win the FLW Championship at Bivane. “I’m fishing it on spinning gear on a 7’0” Abu Garcia Villain 2.0 Medium and Medium Heavy power rods paired with a size 20 Revo Ike spinning reel and the Premier in the 20 size too. As for hooks I’m pairing the setups with a Gamakatsu G-Finesse worm light hook. It’s a light wire gauge for easier hooksets.” Light Line Fluoro Available Locally Berkley Trilene 100% 6lb (0.25mm) 8lb (0.27mm) Gamma Edge 6lb (0.25mm) 8lb (0.28mm) Sunline Shooter fc 6lb (0.21mm) 7lb (0.22mm)