Pulling strength of trout

Hi group.

I saw the television show Myth Busters the other day.
They were measuring the burst strength of a shark and the average pulling strength.

Their conclusion was that the burst pulling strength was the same as their weight and the average pulling strength was 30% of their weight.
If we could make the same assumption for trout, we could say that a 10 pound trout would be able to pull with a 10 pound strenth for a short while and the average strength of 3 pounds.

I have often wondered about which pound strength to choose for my leader, for some reason or other I would choose 10 pound leader if I thought it would be possible to get a 10 pound fish.
At the same time I have wondered if that was right...
And at the same time I have to say that catching too big fish for my leader has not been a big problem ;)

Do you think we can use the same assumption for trout and shark?
How do you choose leader strengt?

Thorarinn

I doubt sharks & trout have the same burst strength. There are many fish out there that make trout seem like pikers when it comes to fighting ability & overall strength.

That being said I base my leader or line choice on several things but the size fish I anticipate is seldom the biggest factor since the reel drag or lack thereof and the rod can soften surges that far exceed the pound test rating of the line. When fishing for trout I let the fly size determine my tippet size.

I think a factor you might consider while making leader choice is water current pressure. A fish broadside in the river current that does a head snap and makes a run can exert a lot of instant line torque. SNAP!

Sorry I miss that episode, I would have like to have seen their methodology. The efficiency of the swimming motion is not the high in the world of propulsion mainly because it occurs in a liquids as opposed to walking which occurs on a solid and result in a higher efficiency of work done. I know I can pull about 250 lbs. (me on my floattube) on a calm pool of water with a 4 lb. line, the dynamic coefficient of friction is very low less than 0.016. The federal govt. requires a 0.5 coefficient for walking surfaces. All of which really means nothing to most of us.

I would think the highest stress a fish can put on a line is at the end of a jump when even if there is no slack there is a bow in the line that suddenly become taut. Then the fish has hit you with its full weight, dropped at a speed generated from the effects of gravity and the high of the jump. I don't remember many physic formulas and am not inclined to go digging for them at the moment.

First of all. I don't choose a leader tippet by strength, but rather by diameter. The diameter would be selected by a few factors, first being the size of the fly, second, the clarity of the water, and third, the wariness of the fish. Size of the fish would be a minor consideration in fresh water.

Smallmouth bass and blue gill are the kings IMHO.

I doubt you could land a 4lb blue gill(if it existed). I've caught some ~2lb blue gill I swore were 5lb largemouth bass.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Big Bad Wulff

Smallmouth bass and blue gill are the kings IMHO.

I doubt you could land a 4lb blue gill(if it existed). I've caught some ~2lb blue gill I swore were 5lb largemouth bass.

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A 4lb 'gill would be something to see; not to de-rail the thread but a jack crevalle would pull any fresh water (nd most saltwater) fish of equal weight backwards up-and-down the beach. We got into some pods of 5 pounders busting baitfish at Sebastian Inlet last year using 9 weights and they wore us out after 2 hours. That may speak to our conditioning but those fish are amazing.

Regards,
Scott

"I have often wondered about which pound strength to choose for my leader, for some reason or other I would choose 10 pound leader if I thought it would be possible to get a 10 pound fish."


Since most of the fly fishers I know attach a tippet to their leader, is the question on what pound strength should your leader be or what pound strength your tippet should be?

I'm confused !!

Hmm.
Both, most of the time I put the same strenght of tippet material as my leader is.
But I'm thinking of the weakest point, so we could say the tippet strength (I could use weaker tippet than leader).

Thorarinn.

thorarinna,

You have a good question that makes one think, but, I cannot offer any answer because I am assuming you are referring to a tapered mono leader and I do not use them. I make and use a Furled leader out of Berkley Vanish Transition fluorocarbon. To it I attach my tippet and my tippet could be anywhere from 4 pound test tippet to 8 pound test tippet depending on what fish species I am fishing for or what fly I am using. On my Furled leaders, the weakest point would be the tippet end loop and I have tested it and it broke at 12 pound test. With that thought in mind, I use the same Furled leader make-up on my 3wt, 4wt, 5wt and 6 wt. So, my weakest point in my set-up would be the tippet and not the leader.

Sorry I could not be of more help.....

This is a most interesting topic and I'm hopeful I can learn something here.
Most of my fishing is done to wary trout in very clear water.
Thus, my tippets have to be rather small. Most times 6X, sometimes, depending on water clarity and fly size,
either 5 or 7X. Most fish average 12 to 14 inches. There's always the possibility of a much larger one. I've caught some of these bad boys and lost a lot more. Usually my fault in fighting the fish but several times I've lost them to various other reasons. Most times it's been at a knot connection, not any fault of the tippet or leader.

Educate me!

Bob

Once upon a time I caught a brown in the White River, below the dam in the proximate location of the state park (Arkansas), that measured 26" - not that big of a trout for those waters - and did not weigh same. In the same waters and on the same outing I also caught a 19" and a 20" and I was surprised that these two smaller trout gave a bigger fight. Some things in the fishing department are hard to figure.

I recently caught about a 12-14 inch brown in the Little Red that fought me tooth and nail. Took forever to land it. The very next cast I caught about 16-18 inch brown that I literally just pulled in like it was nothing. Same spot in the river, same fly, same rod, same everything. Go figure.

Smallies are strong, without a doubt. Bluegills too, for their size. Don't discount white bass and wipers either! Oh, and while we're at it, catfish and carp are mighty powerful as well.
Come to think of it... There have been very few fish I didn't enjoy catching. Regardless of species, there DO seem to be a few slackers in every bunch.

Doesn't body and tail shape affect a fish's pulling strength?

For nearly all my fly-fishing, I used 3x-0x leaders/tippet, simply because I can, and I have a lot of confidence that very few fish will be lost due to broken lines. For those who fish trout streams with tiny dry flies and midges, I can certainly see the need for smaller diameter leaders & tippets.

It surprises me that almost all of my broken lines this year were due to trout. Landing fresh stocker trout without a net
apparently takes its toll on the line. Those buggers won't hold still, and I suspect their toothy jaws wreak havoc when sawed against the line enough times.

I do the same in warm water. 0-3X.
Trout usually 6-7X unless it is early in am or late in evening, then I go to 1-3X in case a monster brown hits.

Same as people folks, IMO,, Genetics and enviornment will be the biggest contributing factors in this discussion

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FishnDave

For nearly all my fly-fishing, I used 3x-0x leaders/tippet, simply because I can, and I have a lot of confidence that very few fish will be lost due to broken lines.

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I should mention I use mainly 2x and 3x leaders/tippet on my 5wt and 6wt rods, and 1x and 0x leaders/tippet on my 7wt and 8wt rods.

I have caught huge numbers of different kinds of fish on the fly and trout are way down near the bottom for fight... Most incredible fighting fish I ever dealt with was a smallish tuna.

But I have also seen halibut hooked in shallower water do a very impressive tail-walk.
art