It’s an age old argument, when fishing for tope, should you use heavy 150 to 200lb mono, or 50/60lb wire?
The waters of Cardigan Bay are my home, so inevitably I’ve caught hundreds of tope over the years, both aboard charter boats and on my own boat when I had her. It’s helped me form a personal opinion that may not sit well with some charter skippers and anglers, but nevertheless it’s an opinion borne from genuine experience.
Those in favour of heavy mono say they never lose fish on it by being bitten off. Firstly, as recent as the third week of July this year, I had a 30lb tope at the side of the boat inside Blacksod Bay in Co Mayo, Ireland. The fish was beaten and I was fishing heavy 200lb mono to the hook, as that’s what the locals do and I’d no intention to offend. I lightly held the fish on the rod while the crew sorted the rope noose out. Three of us watched the tope, with the hook inside the scissors of the jaw, shake its head from side to side just twice and severe straight through the heavy mono. The cut on the 200lb mono was as a clean as a knife with no other abrasion, and this was quality commercial grade mono. The photo shows the exact trace the tope bit through.
I remember being on board a famous charter boat some years back with a great skipper who gave me a stern lecture about using wire instead of mono, which he preferred. He’d never lost a tope on the mono, so he said, but two bit through the mono that day and embarrassed the skipper, though he didn’t have the strength of character to apologise.
A quick look at a tope’s teeth should tell you all you need to know. Small, triangular in shape, the central teeth serrated on the edges not dissimilar to a Great White’s, but all viciously sharp with edges like a razor. They are designed to first impale, then cut through flesh and bone to kill or mortally wound their prey. Is it any wonder they can bite through heavy mono with ease!
Some also suggest that heavy mono is more beneficial to the fish should the fish be lost. I’d dispute that! They use nylon for polishing diamonds and its durability is immense. Wire is less durable actually as it weakens when it kinks, but granted is still there for a long period. However it’s the hook that is the weak link and this will rot out within days whatever hook trace material you choose to use. My preference is for wire as I rarely if ever lose a fish with the hook left in, so it pretty much eliminates the problem. Less experienced anglers are more likely to break fish off during the fight, but then they would with mono too, so for me any argument is negated.
I was also recently fishing with another top skipper who I also have the greatest respect for. He advocated heavy mono for tope, and again I fished this way out of respect to him. However, after the bite through episode in Blacksod Bay I switched back to wire when we started hitting bigger tope. He quickly noticed this and asked why. I ran through my reservations regarding mono and the ease with which tope can cut it, but also explained that wire gives much better presentation. It lays straight and is far less visible to the fish. I’ve seen tope in shallow, tide less water shy away from the coiled up mess that heavy mono sits in. He took this on board and has now switched solely to wire.
Yes I’m sure there will be anglers comment that they’ve had 50, 60 even 70lb tope using heavy mono without a problem, and I don’t doubt that. However my eyes don’t deceive either and I’ve seen too many good fish lost as a result of using mono to ever consider using it again. I would not forgive myself if I lost an 80lb plus fish because the tackle was not up to scratch. Nor do I inadvertently want to leave a hook in a fish, should it escape. My 50lb wire traces have landed three tope over 70lbs and one over 80lbs for me, so I have the utmost confidence in it.
This is a personal blog of my own thoughts. But it’s written from fact and designed to help those who remain unsure, or are just setting out after tope for the first time, and give them some genuine experience to base their trace designs on. Use mono by all means, but expect to lose tope on it, sooner or later, and pound to a penny it will be the biggest tope you’ll ever hook!
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