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Instead of attaching the fishing line to a kite clip, the line has a ring on it that attaches to the clip, which prevents chafing of the line. Wound Up uses ceramic rings, but Get Lit uses stainless steel rings because, Miller said, ceramic rings can break. Styrofoam floats are placed on the lines to make the lines easier to see. Under the float is a lead egg sinker, which keeps the fishing line straight up and down, or close to it. "The heavier the wind, the heavier the lead," said Miller, who is the host of the Bass2Billfish TV show on Versus. "The key is to keep the bait in the water looking as natural as possible." The leader is attached to the main line with a small ball-bearing swivel. The maximum leader length for tournaments is 15 feet, but Miller noted that some tournaments require boats to turn in their leaders, so Get Lit uses leaders that are 14 feet, 6 inches to allow for stretch caused by a hard-fighting sailfish. The most popular circle hook size is 7/0, but some boats use 6/0 for smaller baits and some will use an 8/0 for a really big bait. Wound Up uses VMC hooks, while Get Lit prefers Mustads. The baits are bridled to the hooks with rubber bands. A rigging needle is used to run the band through the bait's back, then the band is twisted a couple of times around the bend of the hook. "With circle hooks, you have almost a 100 percent hookup rate," Dana said. RODS & REELS Almost all boats use conventional outfits for their kite fishing and they all have their favorites. Pop A Top uses Avet reels. Get Lit has Penn International 16VS reels on custom 7½-foot rods that have a roller guide for the first guide and a roller tip. Wound Up, a 57 Spencer, uses high-retrieve Accurate 655 reels with custom, 7-foot Leeward rods. "They hold a lot of line, the people can get the line tight very quickly, and the drags are super smooth," said Dudas of the Accurates. "The rods are light, the grips are positioned so they're easy to pick up, and the 7-foot length for kite fishing seems a little easier in a big boat. I know a lot of people like to use shorter rods when they're fishing in a smaller boat." Spinning outfits are used for flat lines (Miller said sometimes they'll attach a rubber core sinker to the line) and for casting baits to sailfish that can be seen just under the surface. Get Lit uses Penn 950SS reels spooled with 400 yards of 20-pound line. Wound Up uses Fin Nor reels with 20- and 16-pound line and a variety of leaders. The rods are color-coded with tape by the mates based on the leader strength. "When they grab a rod, they're not worried about what pound test the leader is," Dudas said. "If they've cast a number of times to a fish and don't get a bite, they'll try something different. Rings used to attach kite clips prevent chafing of the line.