Page 39 - Galveston Waves August 2018

Keeping the end of the mono away from the 2-speed reel sized to hold 400-500 yds of Spectra, mounted on a
other mono and about 1-1/2" away from your 5 -1/2 ft., 80-130# tuna stick, all on and in a rod belt and har-
left thumb and forefinger with are holding it. ness that's on you. No rod is a rod holder waiting for a hit, you
Carefully heat the end of the mono with a grill must be ready to apply immediate max pressure. Strip baits of
lighter until it melts. Take away the flame and bonito, black fin tuna, bluefish, etc. or whole, live blue runner of
blow on the end to cool and set in. The knob 10-12" are all outstanding baits. When at the bottom with big
on the end is the bulb. Next, pull the knob against the end of the strip bait, all bait nibbles that give rod tip twitches must be ig-
crimp using the crimper's 1.0-2.0 position. Crimp tightly with the nored. Only when the rod bows down 90 degree and stays down
look on the illustration. Use a similar procedure when readying are you hooked up.
to crimp the sleeve that sets that bait/hook leg length.
The Long Leg - Deep Drop is the safety factor making the dif-
The purpose of the swivel at the bottom is for when you might ference against mainline cutoffs. It's a problem on its way to
use multiple sinkers... their helicopter spin on the drop can being solved by the addition of a few feet of added mono with a
prematurely part the breakaway loop, a must-have item. The mountain of benefits. The Long Leg - Deep Drop gets it done!
purpose of the 6", 50# mono breakaway loop is that it's the
weak link in the entire system you have in the water; it's simply a
double length of mono with a double overhand knot one inch
from the open end. The sinker has the most likely chance of
becoming hung in whatever structure is down there. The breaka-
way loop is your insurance against having to over-stress any of
your tackle if a hang-up occurs. Breaking that 50# mono loop is
relatively easy, all you lose, tackle-wise, is the loop itself and the
weight.

Using this rig for Amberjack and other big bottom dwellers such
as groupers or sow red snapper, a short tackle list for above the
swivel would be 100-150# Power Pro Spectra in white or Hi-Vis
Yellow (you and others can easily monitor your line location). A
Chris Gonzales Jr. and Chris Gonzales Sr. with Serious Tackle

Waves Magazine | August 2018 Issue | 39