Outrigger Tag Lines?

[Fluka Brasi]

Plan to (finally) drop a set of riggers on the t-top of my 24' CC. What are the pros vs. cons of rigging with tag lines as opposed to standard rigging?

[hubris 1]

Plan to (finally) drop a set of riggers on the t-top of my 24' CC. What are the pros vs. cons of rigging with tag lines as opposed to standard rigging?

in my opinion, they are nothing more than nonsense. c,mon do you really think they provide a drop back? NO!keep it simple and rig your baits right. dont know a single person that employs that old myth and would not want to fish on a boat that did.

[wauwinet]

I thought tag lines were meant to lessen the drop back when fishing lures?

I've found them useful on bigger boats, but anything less than 38' and I think you're just asking for another way to get a huge tangle and lose fish.

[Fluka Brasi]

Funny, I thought the main purpose was to make re-deployment easier after a knockdown (the weight brings the clip back down to the base).

[cavalla]

Indeed tag lines are utilized to lessen the dropback on your rigger baits. The tag line comes of your rigger creating a smaller angle to the release point between your bait and rod tip. I have onl seen them used effectively on larger boats. On a smaller boat i guess it is all dependent on your outrigger position and rod postition to the rigger.

[Deep C]

If I'm pulling plastic I use tags. Period friggin end. The drop from a rigger clip is say 25' til you come tight. You are moving roughly 10 feet a second. Thats 2.5 seconds before you come fully tight. (not including fish going away speed) So lets call it still a second or so. The tag eliminates that "decision" time. The longer the less drop back.
I run about 30' on my tags which is long but really cuts any dropback out. I also use #64 bands for large and 32 for small lures. The fish actually is hooked by the band if they are fresh and full breaking stength.
The draw back is that they require more work. In turns you should be letting one line out while bringing one in. Its a little confusing at first but comes around to being second nature after a while. You can tell the lure pullers on the dock by the bands they wear on their wrist...

[clt_capt]

I first used Tag lines in Hawaii - we were fishing on a 28' Bertram - I was very impressed how well they worked - especially with rubber bands instead of rigger clips.

I added a set of tag lines to my riggers - and was very disappointed at how poorly my spread ran - Most likely my tag returns were too heavy for our typical ballyhoo rigs (rather than the big plastic in Hawaii)

I'm back to plain old halyards with rigger clips - and I'm satisfied.

[Deep C]

I do not use them for bait or combo. Those baits need at least some drop...
On white marlin class or tuna class lures I dont use a return. Only my blue marlin baits get the return...

[wauwinet]

How does the band connect to the rigger and also to the lure?

[Deep C]

The tag line itself has a snap swivel at each end. I just clip the one snap to where I have my rigger clips already set.
The rubber band gets wrapped around the troolling line about six or seven times so it wont slide. One loose end is then drawn through the other and then that is attached by the other snap swivel...