My Favourite Things - Part 1

The 'catch everything' snapper rod

While initially bought to target large snapper, the Daiwa VIP 870 also proved itself on other gamefish, including this modest 22kg yellowfin on 8kg line.

A contrast of styles; with the writer already fighting a tuna, Howard Oliver took over another hooked on the writer’s second 870 outfit. Howard survived several near-spoolings throughout the multi-hour fight, and ended up next to Ian MacDonald fighting a massive ‘something’ on heavy stand-up gear. Both fish were eventually lost.

The Daiwa 870 helped the writer land three marlin on 8kg line in one day (‘technically’ – it’s a long story) when aboard Bruce Smith’s Striker.

Several wonderful reels have accompanied the 870, but in all cases they fit nicely within the hand and enable the base of the thumb to be positioned just below the gear-lever.

Just another big snapper’ for the 870 – its primary role these days.

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Over the years, some fishing products prove themselves time after time. That’s how we end up with favourite tackle.

So, as a man who enjoys a wide variety of fishing disciplines and has access to a lot of tackle, I’ve ended up with quite a few favourites that really do the business.

Possibly these stand-out performers will be of interest to you too, so this is the first of a sporadic series I plan to write featuring various outfits and tackle accessories. However, keep in mind that while they work very effectively for me, they may not suit your fishing style and circumstances. Also, while these items of tackle are the best I have used, there may well be others that work as well or are even better; either I haven’t had the opportunity to try them, or else failed to realise their full potential when I did for some reason.

Bait fishing for snapper
I fish a lot for snapper – it’s my favourite species – so it’s not surprising this aspect has produced several pieces of tackle I absolutely love using.

The rod
While many things have changed in the last 15-20 years, one thing that hasn’t is my go-to, all-purpose snapper rod – a rather battered looking Daiwa VIP 870. As well as helping me land lots of very big snapper in different situations using both weighted and unweighted rigs, it’s also overcome several yellowfin tuna to 40kg, and – its claim to fame – three striped marlin on 8kg in one day (with Striker’s Bruce Smith and ‘wonder decky’ Brian King playing major parts in this success).

The rod’s effectiveness is due to its combination of construction, action and length. It’s made from impressively thick-walled hollow fibreglass, which means a heavier and more forgiving (‘bendier’) blank than one constructed from graphite. It’s almost bulletproof, too. However, while the rod’s ruggedness can prove a godsend during moments of potential catastrophe, it’s the VIP’s forgiving action that makes it a real star. For a start, a rod that readily bends provides better shock-absorption, allowing me to consistently cast lightly weighted baits with a freespool reel (its seven-foot length helps a great deal in this respect, too).

Even more importantly, a snapper can grab a circle-hooked bait and move easily off with it, the rod tip initially bending readily to follow the line (which should be nylon in this instance, as its elastic nature also aids in masking angler presence). Then, when the rod’s heavier butt section smoothly kicks in and the line runs out of stretch, the hook is dragged into the fish’s jaw hinge.

Of course, this same fast-action quality means the tougher the drag pressure and the harder the angler pulls, the further down its length the rod bends, effectively shortening the lifting length so it becomes an increasingly efficient lever. Having said that though, the VIP 870 is designed for lines between 8-15kg (if your knots are well tied, it happily fishes 6kg line, too), so there are limits.

Best of all, this rod is still available – further testament to its capabilities and popularity – with the only difference a superficial make-over to update the look and Fuji guides replacing the Perfection all-metal guides – a good move, I believe (having replaced my own with Fuji silicon carbides).
A great rod requires an equally good reel, and right now the nicely compact Shimano Torium or Trinidad models in size 20 fill this spot very capably; they hold around 500m and 385m of 8-10kg nylon respectively, and combine wonderfully with this rod to provide a nicely balanced outfit.

Just as essentially, even my rather stumpy-fingered left hand can encompass the lower side-plate to leave my thumb perfectly positioned on the upper spool/line, with my other hand right next to the gear-engage lever (requiring just a slide forward to engage it). This provides a very firm and secure grip on the outfit (one-handed if necessary) as well as excellent control of the reel and line.

However, the drag system really gets me singing the praises of these reels – my line simply slips off in a silky stream year after year.
Their retrieve ratio is a major feature, too: at 6.2:1 a heap of line returns to the spool for every turn of the Shimanos’ bulbous yet comfortable handle, instantly taking up any slack to set the hook or keep the pressure on.

All these attributes combine to provide the sort of versatile outfit we keen anglers love to own; after all, one never knows when a jigging, popping or spinning opportunity might arise. (If I intend to predominantly jig or popper fishing, I load these reels with 24kg braid and set the hardest practical drag for 15kg line – they perform nicely this way.)

As previously mentioned though, I’m more likely to use nylon when targeting snapper – and I’m a big fan of Momoi. While not the thinnest of lines, it has something much more important: great ‘tenacity’. It seems to really hang in over the longest and most torrid of battles, retaining its breaking strain and knot strength superbly, and it also has very good abrasion resistance, which is essential to a foul-territory snapper fisher such as me.
Nor does Momoi’s light-blue tint do it any harm; it generally disappears nicely in the waters I like to fish – a useful attribute when using the very short traces I favour.

And while there are some very good brands of hooks around these days, I haven’t found any better than Gamakatsu and Black Magic (although VMC just might have something special coming up…) – they have never let me down. Consequently, my two-hook snapper rigs generally have a smaller, thicker Black Magic KL hook fixed to the trace several centimetres above a larger, but relatively slim Gamakatsu on the end.

The Black Magic hook is smaller because I want it to be less obvious (and less likely to snag up) when pushed through the tip of a long, triangulated strip bait or the nose of whole baitfish. However, it still needs to be strong – and it certainly is – because it catches just as many snapper as the trailing Gammie. Nor do I mind its slightly thicker gauge; as the leading hook takes much of the casting pressure, the extra diameter helps to spread the pressure better, so it’s less likely to rip out of any lightly hooked or soft baits. And they’re super-sharp, too.

I like Gamakatsu Octopus Circles for some of the same reasons. They’re sharp and more than strong enough for my needs, but their thinner diameter means they can be positioned in baits so they’re well exposed without looking too obvious/off-putting to interested snapper.
In this case the trace material is not that important to me, as they’re deliberately very short – 30cm or so – for minimum visibility, but I do prefer trace that’s tough rather than supple. Supple may be easier to knot, but it also tends to be more easily damaged.

Not all my fishing is done by stray-lining though; whenever there’s a decent amount of current and it’s an advantage to have my bait(s) presented up off the bottom, I reach for a pack of pre-made Black Magic ‘Snapper Snatchers’ – especially the 5/0 rigs in chartreuse and red. These are hard to beat, especially when fishing the west coast, where sharks and rays can be a problem, as they’re also very strongly constructed. And they’re my go-to rig for new chums when fishing deeper waters as well; provided they obey my instructions not to strike, just steadily lift when bites are felt, they tend to enjoy a very productive session.

Other top candidates
Before finishing, I must mention other deserving candidates.

Rods
Two other Daiwa VIP rods are nearly in the same grade as the 870, but for very different reasons: these are the 80J and the rather strangely labelled 196L-8.
The VIP 80J is a very useful rod that suits all sorts of fishing applications, but it’s definitely the leading contender whenever I go land-based snapper fishing. Almost 2.5 metres in length, it’s great for casting good distances, yet retains plenty of power for dealing to the largest of fish. I also use it when targeting really big snapper with monster baits from boats sometimes, but it lacks some of the 870’s sensitivity and ease of use.

As for the VIP 196L-8, it’s proved a gem when fishing the shallow waters of Auckland’s upper Waitemata Harbour with 3-4kg nylon. Almost 2.5m in length, this very forgiving rod is perfect for fishing my usual circle-hooked baits. The whippy tip enables excellent casts to be made with smallish baits, and when left in the holder it bends readily to fish moving off with baits before the lower section kicks smoothly in and hooks up for me, a strategy that’s further helped by the relatively stretchy monofilament line. Again, lots of fun, even though the snapper rarely exceed 2.5kg.

The 7’ Shimano Elite 6-10kg prevents this being a Daiwa festival. I LOVE this rod when using 6kg line, a line weight that suits it particularly well and which I favour when fishing for snapper. It has a crisp action that’s not too stiff or too soft, and is surprisingly light in weight, making it a pleasure to use. The fact this model’s also reasonably priced doesn’t hurt either.

Reels
More Daiwa product here I’m afraid, including: the Sealine SL20SH (4kg line); Sealine SL30SH (6kg); and Grandwave-Z 40HW (8-10kg). The reasons for concentrating so heavily on this brand in this instance hinges on their ease of control, speed of retrieve and a good drag. Indeed, I don’t believe there are any lighter, more responsive spools than those found on the Sealine SL20 and 30 models, which appear to be made from a solid graphite-composite material. This makes them incredibly easy to start up and slow down (minimum inertia), providing unbeatable control, both when casting and when fishing baits in freespool mode. My only concern (over the 20-odd years they’ve been made) is that the tolerance between the frame and spool doesn’t appear to be as precise in the models I have purchased recently; initially, this aspect was extraordinary, but very occasionally the line slips behind the newer ones’ spool, especially when 3 or 4kg line is used.

As mentioned earlier, these reels’ line-retrieval speed is also very handy. At 6:1 per turn of the handle, it’s possible to get lots of line back quickly, enabling any slack line to be removed efficiently, yet without sacrificing much in the way of winching power.

And yes, I did say these models have good drag systems, BUT they’re not great drags. I find they tend to give great service for a year or two before needing new washers – generally just the felt washers in between the metal discs, which can become compressed and/or contaminated by lube/water. Given their overall effectiveness, I’m still prepared to put up with these modest faults, though.

Next month’s ‘Favourite tackle’: soft-plastic gear.

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