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 25 2-Part Question (Read 41833 times)
Kingfisher
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Inukshuk
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Re: 2-Part Question
Reply #50 - Mar 25th, 2014 at 10:43pm
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I just tied up a couple dozen leaders so I’ll pass along a few observations and some of my experience that you might find helpful if you want to tie your own.
Here are the specs for the materials used:

Nickel-Titanium Single Strand Leader Wire
25lb Test - .014” dia

Eagle Claw Lazer Powerlight Swivel
80lb Test – Size 6

SouthBend Ball Bearing Coast Lock Swivel
B/BISS-1    35lb Test-Size 1
B/BISS-0    20lb Test-Size 0

Tied using 5 half-turn Clinch Knot

Here are the tools I used:

2 ea needle nose pliers
1 ea side cutter pliers
2 ea 5” pieces of coat hanger wire
*Safety Glasses*

One thing I noticed is that the new batch of wire that I received is thicker. Previously 25lb test wire was .010” dia and the latest batch that I just got is 25lb test and .014”dia.
It’s a little thicker obviously and a little stiffer to work with but I used the same clinch knot and it made a nice leader although slightly more visible than before. In the future I will likely downsize to the smaller diameter.
A few things I found out while tying.
-Work on a white background in plenty of light.
-Leave the stuff coiled and pull out just enough for the first leader you want to tie. Make the first knot and only draw it up snug, don’t try to pull it tight yet. Pull on the tag end only with a pliers, you don’t want to crimp the leader part. Cut off the length you want plus 2-3” then tie the second knot on the opposite end to the snap or swivel. With both ends tied and snugged grab both tag ends with two pliers and draw the knots tight – when the wire stretches (you’ll clearly feel it) you are done. Trim off tag ends close to flush with the knot and then do a final test pull using a pair of 5” wires (sections of a coat hanger will work) through the very ends of the finished leader. You are testing the overall integrity of the leader now so make sure you pull from the very ends so that all of the hardware gets tested under load. I had one snap fail doing this but no knots.
-16” of Nickel Titanium wire will yield a 13”-14” leader. The minimum waste I could achieve was 3-4” per leader.
- The most efficient and useful knot I came up with was the clinch using 5 half-turns. This produced the strongest and tidiest knot with the small terminal hardware I selected.



  
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Puckster
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Re: 2-Part Question
Reply #51 - Mar 25th, 2014 at 11:27pm
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Thanks KF.  Very nice!

prouboy
  
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Magicpaddler
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Re: 2-Part Question
Reply #52 - Mar 25th, 2014 at 11:40pm
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Thanks KF I was using 8 half turns and 5 would make it easier to get a neater knot. So far just learning using some 15 Lb Swivels.
  
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pine_knot
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Re: 2-Part Question
Reply #53 - Mar 26th, 2014 at 1:33am
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Excellent...thx, KF.
  
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solotripper
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Re: 2-Part Question
Reply #54 - Mar 26th, 2014 at 1:26pm
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Thumbs Upup KF
  
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Kingfisher
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Re: 2-Part Question
Reply #55 - Mar 26th, 2014 at 2:35pm
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Magicpaddler wrote on Mar 25th, 2014 at 11:40pm:
Thanks KF I was using 8 half turns and 5 would make it easier to get a neater knot. So far just learning using some 15 Lb Swivels.


The clinch knot becomes significantly more difficult to manage with more turns. The photo on the package shows 8-10 half turns which would be very difficult to tie and in my opinion entirely unnecessary. I tested a lot of knots with 5 half turns and some with 4 half turns and in every case I could get the snaps to fail before the knot. And remember it really only needs to be stronger than your main line. In my case the main line is only 8lb test. If you use 20-30lb fishing line (not sure why you would for canoe fishing but some people do) then you will need to do your own series of tests to see how things break down.

The materials detailed above....high quality ball-bearing swivels with good quality coastlock snaps. You can get cheaper low quality hardware but I would not recommend it. The weakest link in this setup is the snap. Constant opening and closing creates unavoidable metal fatigue until the bend cracks and fails. An indication that the snap is about to fail is when it feels like it is getting easier to open and close, less tension.....the metal hinge is getting weaker. If you tie your leaders at least 12" long you can easily tie on a new snap swivel after that happens. I can usually get 1-2 complete trips out of a single leader.
I'm always on the lookout for better value in terminal tackle but so far this is the best I've come up with in 3 years of looking. You can easily spend more but in my opinion it is money wasted.

  
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Kingfisher
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Re: 2-Part Question
Reply #56 - Mar 26th, 2014 at 2:44pm
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The reason I harp on the quality of materials and the longevity of components is because these leaders last for such a darn long time. Unlike standard cable style leaders that become kinked gnarly garbage after a couple of feisty northerns or trout. I would typically use about a dozen of those leaders per trip. These Nickel-Titanium leaders will handle an amazing amount of abuse and you will find that you can actually wear out the metal components before they kink or become twisted.
  
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db
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Re: 2-Part Question
Reply #57 - Mar 27th, 2014 at 6:55am
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KF wrote: Quote:
You are testing the overall integrity of the leader now so make sure you pull from the very ends so that all of the hardware gets tested under load. I had one snap fail doing this but no knots.

How did the snap fail? Did it straighten out? I remember seeing the snaps on the leaders you brought to copia. How hard were you pulling do you think?

Sometimes I have a hard time breaking 8# test mono when I snag and often have to be almost on top of it in a solo and I know I've caught bass that somehow opened my snaps but I've never retrieved an open or broken snap.
  
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Magicpaddler
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Re: 2-Part Question
Reply #58 - Mar 27th, 2014 at 11:55am
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KF
I have taken some snaps off of the swivel and put then on the other end of the leader.  The Coast Lock Swivels look difficult to reuse the snap.  What do you use for a snap or are you putting the swivel on the lure end of the leader.
  
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Kingfisher
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Re: 2-Part Question
Reply #59 - Mar 28th, 2014 at 4:40am
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db wrote on Mar 27th, 2014 at 6:55am:
KF wrote: Quote:
You are testing the overall integrity of the leader now so make sure you pull from the very ends so that all of the hardware gets tested under load. I had one snap fail doing this but no knots.

How did the snap fail? Did it straighten out? I remember seeing the snaps on the leaders you brought to copia. How hard were you pulling do you think?

Sometimes I have a hard time breaking 8# test mono when I snag and often have to be almost on top of it in a solo and I know I've caught bass that somehow opened my snaps but I've never retrieved an open or broken snap.


The one snap that failed broke at the ball bearing.......obviously defective.
I pull until the wire stretches. When it does it goes all at one time not a slow gradual stretch like you might think. Trust me this is some weird stuff. Guesstimate - 20-25lbs load.
  
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