New Gear - Any good?

[4liters]

If you are fishing with bait then it's all about your terminal tackle and how you are presenting the bait/getting it to the snapper. Whether it's on an el cheapo/mac daddy combo isn't going to phase the fish. The only thing more expensive gear is going to do is make your fishing that little bit smoother or offer some extra functions like a bait runner reel.

The gear you have is perfect to start with... If any of it fails when pulling in a fish you always have your hands to finish the job.

I would be putting your focus into buying quality terminal tackle and most importantly learning the techniques to catching snapper!

I reckon ive got all the right stuff except im lacking in swivels that i actually trust! Ive got some big barrels on at the moment which i bought in a value-pack type thing but I have a preference for rollers, not sure why, and i dont have any currently rated 30-40lb+, so ill have to pick some up.

In terms of hooks im using double suicides but im starting to hear that circles are the best way to do it, thoughts?

Cheers,
Ham

I exclusively use Rigmaster swivels and snaps now, heaps cheaper than from the tackle shops and I have had zero issue with them so far. Free postage over $20 and they also sell hooks, ezy rigs and a bunch of other sh*t too
http://www.rigmastertackle.com/

My standard running sinker setup for snapper and gummies is as follows:
braid mainline [FG knot] rod length of 20-50lb mono leader [smart ezy rig][snap swivel] 50-100cm of 20-50lb mono [hook]

This lets me take off the ezy rig so I can change rigs to a pre-tied paternoster or clip a lure on without needing to cut the line. I use pretty much the same thing on my lighter rods too, just with lighter line

Ever have problems with the ezy rig getting caught on the fg knot?

Yes, but only when I hook something big that goes on a really big run. Nude Up or someone reckons you can drill them out to widen the channel the line goes through which would probably solve this problem. My own solution is to be mostly incapable of catching anything that goes on a big enough run to cause any problems

[yepi'mon]

If you are fishing with bait then it's all about your terminal tackle and how you are presenting the bait/getting it to the snapper. Whether it's on an el cheapo/mac daddy combo isn't going to phase the fish. The only thing more expensive gear is going to do is make your fishing that little bit smoother or offer some extra functions like a bait runner reel.

The gear you have is perfect to start with... If any of it fails when pulling in a fish you always have your hands to finish the job.

I would be putting your focus into buying quality terminal tackle and most importantly learning the techniques to catching snapper!

I reckon ive got all the right stuff except im lacking in swivels that i actually trust! Ive got some big barrels on at the moment which i bought in a value-pack type thing but I have a preference for rollers, not sure why, and i dont have any currently rated 30-40lb+, so ill have to pick some up.

In terms of hooks im using double suicides but im starting to hear that circles are the best way to do it, thoughts?

Cheers,
Ham

Mate it depends on the style of fishing you are doing. When we are targeting snapper it's from the boat and we usually have 6 rods out the back with strayline style rigs/baits floating down the burley trail. We then have another two paternoster style rigs over the sides.

For the strayline rigs we use suicide hooks as this leaves a nice point out of the bait. I would only switch to circle if A) I wanted the fish to self set the hook or B) I wanted a better chance of returning the fish to the water. I would also switch to only one circle hook.

For the paternoster rigs it would either be circle, suicide or penetrator... depending what I had in the tackle box.