[BLUEFISH9]

Had an idea today but wanted to pick some brains first. Sometimes when making up sword rigs, I find that cripming the hook obviously creates a small loop therefore making the hook "swing". In my opinion, it makes the squid look kinda unnatural since it sorta "bends". I thought that a piece of shrink tubing placed over the leader, crimp, and upper part of the hook would help to keep the whole thing a bit more rigid. Question is, do you guys think that the heat from shrinking the tubing would compromise the integrity of the leader?

 

[clementine]

Heat-shrink

I would be very careful with heat-shrinking on Mono, but it might be worth a test.
The black chafing gear that looks like heat-shrink will probably cut down on the "bending", without compromising leader strength. Also, just crimping the line tight to the hook will prevent much of the swing.

 

[Bruno1]

You can try liquid electical tape or do like I do on my shark rigs and just use regular electrical tape, after that the hook is solid with no swing.

 

[canyonfvr]

there is a name for it i cant remember what it is though you use regular or colored electrical tape and wrap it around the loop in the line to keep hook straight

 

[gverb1219]

Bruno1 wrote:
You can try liquid electical tape............

That would work the best and you wouldn't have to worry about the mono.............

 

[STRIKERTHREE]

you can try cold shrink tubing theres no heat involved just pull a plastic cord and the tubing shrinks around the crimp and mono

 

[tunaorlater]

canyonfvr wrote:
there is a name for it i cant remember what it is though you use regular or colored electrical tape and wrap it around the loop in the line to keep hook straight


Stiff rigging?

 

[canyonfvr]

tunaorlater wrote:
canyonfvr wrote:
there is a name for it i cant remember what it is though you use regular or colored electrical tape and wrap it around the loop in the line to keep hook straight


Stiff rigging?


yup thats it thanks i remember reading about it here and had no idea what it was until it was explained to me then it all made sence

 

[NanbayFluker]

The chafing tube that is used on the assist hooks of butterfly jigs looks like something that matches the purpose you are looking for. I have heard it contracts well under heat and it is fairly stiff. The only problem would be melting it down to the diameter of the mono if you aren't using too thick of a leader. Too much heat and its worthless. Good luck finding a solution. I would like to hear one.

 

[CaptAndy]

I just read an article in SWS I think on how to make your own assist hooks. Instead of heating the shrink tubing with a flame or hair dryer they place it in boiling water for a few seconds. It ensures a good even shrink and may be more forgiving on Mono.

Andy

 

[MakoMike]

BLUEFISH9 wrote:
Had an idea today but wanted to pick some brains first. Sometimes when making up sword rigs, I find that cripming the hook obviously creates a small loop therefore making the hook "swing". In my opinion, it makes the squid look kinda unnatural since it sorta "bends". I thought that a piece of shrink tubing placed over the leader, crimp, and upper part of the hook would help to keep the whole thing a bit more rigid. Question is, do you guys think that the heat from shrinking the tubing would compromise the integrity of the leader?

Are you using double hooks in your sword rigs? With single hooks in the tail of the mantle the "swing" will make th bait look more natural? I'm not sure what you are trying to do.

 

[BLUEFISH9]

Mike, what I've been doing is running the leader through the body of the squid, leaving the hook next to the head. I measure the distance from head to the end of the mantle ("winged part"). I then place a crimp about 1/2" short of that measuring point along with a short piece of copper rigging wire. I then put the hook through the head and the use the copper wire to "stich" the mantle to the leader.

The hook up ratio has been good but im still not happy. When I send it down I can see it for a while and the head can "bend" from the body (as the hook swings on the leader loop). I thought it would be helpful to "stiffen" the hook to the leader so it doesnt swing. I've never been a fan of making the loop real tight. I dont know if it's true but I just feel it compromises the integrity of the loop. This leads me to wondering if the shrink tubing will work.

I hope that was clear. I should have specified how I rig them in my first post. Mike, I'm assuming you thought I place the hook through the mantle? I only do that with live squid. My fault..I guess I should have specified that I'm talking about rigging dead bait.

This post edited by BLUEFISH9 08:47 PM 01/13/2008