Jungle Tarpon

[WJC]

Thank you Paul. I never know how posts will be received.

Bernd, my apologies, for suggesting you do exactly what you already did! I think my brain is aging even faster than my body. It keeps misplacing information where I can't find it when I need it.

I've lost tarpon in so many different ways it no longer surprises me that much when I find another way to do it. So I keep picking away at it trying to eliminate the last way I lost one.

For instance, about ten years ago, the entire Keys ran out of Seaguar in 60 and 80 # test, so I bought a different brand, as did a buddy of mine. He bought his by the pound, I bought mine in retail spools of 35 yds.. We lost five fish in 2 days because it broke on a bias about 3/4" long nowhere near the knot or crlimp. This happened from 3 different spools of the same brand, so we went back to Ande mono until the stores got resupplied with Seaguar.

I wound up cutting the defective leader with a razor, and sure enough it split on a bias. So I slit the end of some Ande to see what happened, and it ripped straight. Ever since, I split the end of every new roll of leader and rip it up a ways to make sure it's OK before re-rigging. That's what led to the way I connect leader to fly line, that and having butted ends poking through the outer finger-trap.

There aren't many advantages to getting old and weak, but having shit happen to you is one of them so long as you can remember what they were.

Cheers,
jim

[Paul Arden]

I'll look forward to that.

[WJC]

Paul, off the subject, but I sent you a couple of PM's. Just checking to make sure you got them.

Cheers,
Jim

[Paul Arden]

Nope normally they are forwarded to my email. However I can see them now. Thanks!!