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I have been looking into some bottom fishing set-ups....I would like to get my Father a level wind...Which would be best for this type of fishing with braid? Thanks for the help!
What brand of braid do you prefer? Also, how is your rig set up? How much weight? Leader? How many hooks and how are they rigged. Do you know of a website that shows how to make a cod/haddock rig? I have to admit I am a newbie at groundfishing in the NE. I now live in NH and am looking to go out in the coming months. Much appreciated!
I would second the Penn345 over the 330GTi. I have both.
I make my own bottom rigs with 50lb or 80lb clear mono. I keep a couple spools of Ande clear in my Cod bag. You are allowed to fish up to two hooks so...
The total length of my leaders are about 30in. I do it by eye and never measure them so I can't be more exact. They are cheap to make so you can experiment. I start with a loop (at least as long as a sinker) at the bottom. This is so you can change out your lead really easily. Next I put two (4in - 6in) dropper loops in to hold the hooks. Again you can experiment with where you place the loops. I think 8-12 inches up from the sinker loop for the 1st one is good, then you want the 2nd one far enough up from the 1st so they do not interfere with each other. The nice thing about the dropper loops is that you can remove your hooks really easily to undo tangles. If you make up a bunch the night before you go, you will not have to tie dropper loops on a bouncing boat, and you can avoid having to tie one up when the fishing is hot which (of course) is when you will break the one you are using :-) I tie the leader to a swivel attached to the main line. I keep pieces of red and green plastic around to slip onto the dropper loops then down on to the top of the hooks. This can help sometimes. Again you have to experiment.
If you go on head boats, and the ones you go on frown on the use of braid, you might consider Yozuri Hybrid. It is not as good as braid, but stretches less than regular mono, and the 50lb test has a much greater than 50lb breaking strength. I have some reels spooled with 65lb power pro or spiderwire stealth, and some with 50lb Yozuri Hybrid. The reels that have the braid have 150yds of braid backed up by dacron braid (which is cheaper).
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Newburyport, MA
Eastern 35 FB
Door#3
I have both thr 320 and the 330 on a7'and 8' Gatorglass blanks .The 330 IMO is an absolute disapointment,Was considering a 345 the shop was out of stock .I was however convinced to try 65' power pro on an Ambasadour BG 7000 Nld which I purchased afew weeks earlier for a trip to key West. By no means is it rated as heavy, but the lever drag,I was told, is about the size of that on the 330 .It is much lighter and jigging with it was pleasant , You can easily cast a country mile and certainly better than the Penn 330 .The 4-1 ratio was a tad high but tollerable.Would be useless w/60 -80" mono Don't believe they make anything much larger .A definite canidate to replace the 320! I am interested in feeling the shimano tekota before I decide
I've got 320's, 330's and 345's and they are all used for groundfishing. The 320's don't last long, maybe a couple of seasons with good care. The 330's have been the workhorses. The 345's are a heavy rig to jig all day. They get used when in bigger fish or sharks are around. 320 and 330 are loaded all the way with 50lb. braid and the 345 are loaded all the way with 80lb. braid. I mix the colors of braid to make it easier to untangle. I load the reels with braid cause it's easy to hook on footballs while your jigging and the limited drag of these reels , you need some line on them to wear those guys out and the 330 does it fine. BW had them on sale (rod & reel) this winter for around a $100.
I agree with Door#3. Tie your own cod rigs. Learn to tie dropper loops in your sleep. The dogs will make it a necessity. I use 80lb. mono and have them on leader wheels ready to go.
Weights--- use the lightest ones to keep your line STRAIGHT up and down. Horizontal jigging = no fish. For beginners take the treble off the jig and replace it with a heavy single or give them a cannon ball weight (16 - 24oz.). they are really hard to hang up and lose.
HEY GUYS,I USED TO DO UP ALL MY COD RIGS.THEN I FOUND A PLACE ON EBAY WHO SELLS THEM CHEAP.THEY'RE TIED WITH 5, 4/0 CIRCLE HOOKS AND A DOUBLE EYE SWIVEL ON THE TOP AND A SNAP SWIVEL ON THE BOTTOM,80 LB.TEST.WELL,THE LAW HERE IN ME. DICTATES THAT I AM LIMITED TO ONLY 2 HOOKS PER RIG ONLY ONE LINE PER ANGLER.SO I JUST CLIP THE TOP TWO HOOKS OFF SKIP ONE THEN CLIP THE MIDDLE HOOK OF THE REMAINING THREE.I REMOVE THE BOTTOM SNAP SWIVEL AND TIE A LOOP TO ATTACH THE WEIGHT.THE BEST THING IS THE PRICE 14.95 FOR 15-5 HOOK COD RIGS,SHIPPING INCLUDED,HELL,I HAD 45 HOOKS LEFT OVER FOR MY CHUNKIN HOOKS.CAN'T BEAT THE PRICE,NOT WORTH MAKIN THEM FOR THAT PRICE.JUST TYPE IN CIRCLE HOOK COD ON THE ITEM PAGE.HIS STORE IS MYVET GENERAL STORE.
cod bottom set ups 
