Ever since i can remember the Florida east coast shark fishermen used single strand wire leaders and monofilament line while the Florida west coast guys were known for mostly using cable rigs and dacron line .Those are recollections of my expieriences from the 1970's and 80's but nowadays things have changed quite a bit and the internet has given most access to so much information and fishing advise pertaining to tackle and new styles of fishing ,newly developed equipment ,upgrades to old tackle and the choices have become mind boggling but the basic fundamentals of fishing and what it takes to catch your target fish should make the choices simpler.
KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID-you ever here of that well it will keep the clutter in the mind to a minimum and make your choices easier.
I personally prefer my rigs in the style that I have developed based on proven methods by some of the best all time shark fishermen ever including Frank Mundus .We keep the rigs we use affordable which seems more important then ever nowadays .For south Florida shark fishing we often get hung up on bottom, on coral heads or sea fans ,so our rigs have to be many and the cheapest possible.With that in mind I steer clear of expensive cable rigs that can put the cost of a rig at $8 and above.For beach fishing I prefer to use 10 feet of #19 wire ,a heavy swivel and 10 feet of 300 to 600 lb mono at the top with another swivel and 10 feet of double line.I don't use complicated wind-on leaders that require intricate knots with crazy glue or special braided lines,,,,,,,,to hell with all that mess-- I keep it simple and very strong.Double strength hooks quality fray free line on my reels and a strong back to handle my big guns.I'm good to go and I hope my advise on keeping it simple will help you steer through all the bad advise weed eater line and zip ties that make a bait look like a Christmas tree with decorations and get you to your mOnster Shark quicker and without getting confused with all the Bulls#$%T that's out there.Good luck.
SOUTH FLORIDA SHARK CLUB -President SFSC-Founding Member est 1983 SFSC-Website Administrator BIG HAMMER SHARK TOURNAMENT -Founder Rene Memorial Sharkathon -Founder NMFS Shark Tagger
I use my wire size according to what line i have on my reel, I like to use somewhere between 4ft to 12ft depending on what im trying to do with it. For example I use 6ft riggings most of the time because I can cast a 3-7lb bait a pretty good distance on my 12/0 or 9/0.
Im not sure why but I prefer offset J hooks at least double strength, I believe hook up ratio is increased.
I have never used any type of knot to attatch my mono to my wire, i prefer a heavy duty swivel. Some people think a spro is the only way to go, but really, any swivel that says 300lb-400lb-500lb test is more than enough cause your wire will actually break be4 one of those swivels do, unless it is faulty.
Just an average fisherman.
Normally I just use 10-12ft of #19 haywired to a 400-500 pound swivel. Also I always use double strength mustad J hooks, only way to go. I use this on my 14/0 on down the the 9/0. On occasion i will just use about a 6ft. piece of #19 to a single hook rig. Clean, simple, cheap and effective.
-30 ft of double line, i use a spider hitch for that
-about 20 ft of heavy mono, 250-500# depending on the rod and reel..I use 250# on my smaller rigs, and 400 or 500 with my 12/0 senator
-a swivel and hook haywire twisted onto about 3 ft of malin wire (I like shorter wire I think it is a stealthier presentation and also less likely to kink up and break. I've been using #15 with my smaller rigs and will step that up to #19 for the big reels.
If I am using a weight I usually just use an 8 oz egg sinker. Its usually all I need, I have held baits in place up to about 15 pounds with these without them getting swept over. On the west coast beaches there are not rough waves and strong currents most of the time unless there is more severe weather so keeping your bait in place is easy. If the bait is real big with rougher beach conditions then I will just use a rock or brick and light mono fishing line tied onto my hook.
We use the same rigs that blackbart has proven to be tournament winners. Go from your 150lb or 200lb topshot to a 6/0 rosco swivel, they're cheap and rated for 550lb, use a uni knot to tie mainline to swivel, then 20' of400lb momoi x-hard crimped to the swivel then another swivel at the other end then #19 single strand wire, we'll use 10' of that then a 12/0 gamukatsu bigeye circle. It's not that cheap of a rig though, $1 in swivels, $5 hook, $3 worth of mono, and $1.50 or so in wire, $10 down the drain when you get broke off but it's worth it.
sorry for the double. 
from me my leaders are....
8/0 rosco swivel,(50').130 sthl (weedeater line), 8/0 rosco, (5') #19 piano wire w/24/0 circle.
mako how much of the weedeater line do you use thanks
I use 25 ft of 500lb mono with a snap swivel for the spider weight then a 400lb swivel then 5 ft of 480lb cable and a 12/0 or a 14/0 hook depending on the size of bait
10' #19 single strand wire with a 500 lb ball bearing swivel , a 12/0 owner tuna hook. and 75 yrds of 200 lb shock leaderon the reel. i do not fish the bottom rather ballon or drift the bait i have better luck that way
mako how much of the weedeater line do you use thanks
Depends on the leader, some are 45ft and some are 40yrds to let them run.
I use 15 feet of 400 lb American fishing wire with 2 14/0 3x strong j hooks attached with a 1000 lb swivel to my Main line 100lb diamond momoi
My team and I use 6 feet of single strand # 19 wire to a 20/0 owner tuna hook on the other end its a 1000 lb spro swivil then 20 feet of 500 lb seagaur leader to our main line of 130 hollow core power pro and sufix perfermance power braid on our 80 wide avet and okuma alucentos those our the big guns yes we do get stripped but i fish in myy skiff half the time so we do chase them and getting stripped is such an amazing experiance thats once in a while i like it and i have landed monsters with these rigs a 12 t head so we know there legit rigs no mader what anyone says
is there anything wrong with attaching my line to a swivel and then to my steel leader?