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Okay for tope?

Standard issue in the Thames area is 4-10oz uptide with 7000 size reels. Although these rods have soft tips they have a decent middle to fight with. An off the shelf standard 12lb class is floppy in comparison and will take a bit of time playing the fish, to the fish’s detriment( if anyone gives a toss about the fish)
 
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JonC said:
Standard issue in the Thames area is 4-10oz uptide with 7000 size reels. Although these rods have soft tips they have a decent middle to fight with. An off the shelf standard 12lb class is floppy in comparison and will take a bit of time playing the fish, too the fish’s detriment( if anyone gives a toss about the fish)
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Well said Jon. It’s a shame not everybody has the fishes best interests at the forefront of their minds. Especially seeing as tope is a protected species.
 
Depends on tides & conditions such as weed etc.- uptiding is one way so a rig mentioned using an uptide rod suits strong tide and down tide up to 6oz depending on depths.

Where I fish for tope - its either as above or in the deep gullies where uptide is a waste of time. 20-30 if you have to use lead above 6 oz.

The gullies are full of rough ground & so a bit of power to get the bait etc out the bottom is sometimes needed due to the sea growth below.
 
Cfish said:
Why try to catch them??
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Good question indeed. But the point is that if you do want to catch them, which we can safely assume he does by the nature of the post then at least give them a better chance of surviving by not exhausting them as they aren’t going to be retained so they should be returned safely. One could play them for days on a spinning rod over clean ground if you was so determined but why do it?
 
Cfish said:
Why try to catch them??
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Well if your a fisherman you should know why. For the sport. But you can have sport with a fish and show it respect by trying your hardest to return it in top condition. You do this by using the correct gear, not the gear that you think is more fun for you (not you specifically btw).
 
As long as it’s not a rubber band rod, I can’t see it being a problem for tope.

Tbh I’ve not found tope ALL that on pretty standard 20lb gear. They go a bit but they’re not that special.

That’s 20lb rod, none of this 12-20 rummage lol
 
well not that it's much help to you but I'v seen one landed on a handline lol
...not done much boat fishing , but enough to be familiar with the set up kbe mentions and yes I'd be happy to use that tope fishing m8 unless extreme tides and heavy leads needed
 
Mr Fish said:
As long as it’s not a rubber band rod, I can’t see it being a problem for tope.

Tbh I’ve not found tope ALL that on pretty standard 20lb gear. They go a bit but they’re not that special.

That’s 20lb rod, none of this 12-20 rummage lol
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Can land blues on 20lb class gear.
 
Cfish said:
Surely if tope run better it's ok if you have plenty of line??? You know better than me.
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Decent tope does not run far, 30 -80 yds, normally the tide you are fighting. Blues, well, what can I say, fly rod for those things unless they are way over 100lb, most in UK are 50 -60lb scabs, better off with a 15lb pollack
 
stan m said:
Decent tope does not run far, 30 -80 yds, normally the tide you are fighting. Blues, well, what can I say, fly rod for those things unless they are way over 100lb, most in UK are 50 -60lb scabs, better off with a 15lb pollack
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We had a 120lb blue come in fairly easy on 50lb class gear. Agree with pollack a decent ones first dive is pretty explosive!
 
I’ve lost count of the number of Tope I’ve caught over the years. They are typically 30-50lb in my area (North Wales) with the odd 60-70lber. My preferred set-up is a 12-20 Saltist braid rod and an Avet 5.3SX reel with 30lb braid. It’s a nice “sporting” set-up: light enough to enjoy the fight; but not so light as to prolong the fight unnecessarily.
 
Mr Fish said:
As long as it’s not a rubber band rod, I can’t see it being a problem for tope.

Tbh I’ve not found tope ALL that on pretty standard 20lb gear. They go a bit but they’re not that special.

That’s 20lb rod, none of this 12-20 rummage lol
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I've just realised I am a conservationist!!!!!! I used to use a 50lb rod and big reel with 40lb line to catch bass!!! Sweet!
 
I don't think there's anything remotely sporting about using overly light tackle. The Yanks and in particular the IGFA etc have undoubtedly fuelled the trend by having line class records that are just way too light - have you seen the flyfishing - if you can call it that as there's not much casting involved in many cases - so called 'tippet' (more correctly described as a weak link) classes and the size of fish they target to claim a position on a list? Crazy! It's bad for the fish even if it's to be dispatched and eaten. If the fish are to be released then it's just damned wrong
 
Topwater said:
I don't think there's anything remotely sporting about using overly light tackle. The Yanks and in particular the IGFA etc have undoubtedly fuelled the trend by having line class records that are just way too light - have you seen the flyfishing - if you can call it that as there's not much casting involved in many cases - so called 'tippet' (more correctly described as a weak link) classes and the size of fish they target to claim a position on a list? Crazy! It's bad for the fish even if it's to be dispatched and eaten. If the fish are to be released then it's just damned wrong
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It`s actually correctly called a leader which includes a class tippet and optionally a shock tippet. There is normally a fair bit of casting involved as regulations state "casting and retrieving must be caried out in accordance with normal customs and generally accepted practices. The major criteria in casting is that the weight of the line must carry the fly, not the fly carry the line."
 
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stan m said:
It`s actually correctly called a leader which includes a class tippet and optionally a shock tippet. There is normally a fair bit of casting involved as regulations state "casting and retrieving must be caried out in accordance with normal customs and generally accepted practices. The major criteria in casting is that the weight of the line must carry the fly, not the fly carry the line."
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I knew a bunch of worms was the right thing to use.
 
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