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We really need a face palm emoji on this site doesn't quite cut it..
esox xtm has almost converted me to using wire.hard to do when ive had 2 or 3 breakoffs using 20 or 25 pound mono going on 30 years.i ordered some afw 7 strand this morning,and will use his tool and make up some leaders.im stubborn and get stuck in what works for me but ill expand some other proven techniques.
ok esox xtm is this a decent method on twisting up wire?getting ready to twist some up when my afw 20# 7 strand gets here.also does the swivel twist on the same way?looks so dang easy!!now where did my wife put my twizzle stick?thats the hard part..finding it!lol.
So heres my first twist.its kind of janky at the hook eye.its hard to hold it all together while twisting.esox xtm is this strong enough to try?or am I wasting wire.lol.i will get it down.maybe not this year.
Absolutely fine Doc. There's nothing wrong with those unless you are hopelessly OCD... You should have seen my first ones I made by the "twirling forceps" method. Janky doesn't even begin to cover some of those. Really, as long as you've got it through the eye twice and at least five wraps it doesn't matter how it looks (well, sort of ) because the connection will be good.You did a nice job for maiden voyage. Practice makes perfect.
Another little trick is for trimming the tag end - bend it back and forth until it breaks. It will break right at the twist and not leave a sharp end to poke your finger. I use single strand, though. I don't know if it will work with multi strand.
Yep on the shot. I often do.
nice thanks again.i may never use heavy mono again on my tipups.i did get a couple pokes from the treble hook points fumbling with my fingers/hands shaking due to severe arthritis.my shaking helps with the unintentional jigging motion for bluegills sometimes.. not so good tying anything on to line or wire.hahaha
Looks good. Better than the first couple I made. Hopefully with my twiddle stick I'll get them even better. I like the bronze short shank hooks also vs nickel.It is inevitable you will get one that swallows the hook. Cut the leader as close to the hook as possible and fish should be fine. Bare bronze hooks will rust or dissolve alot faster than nickel hooks. I did a test a couple years back with both kinds of hooks in a small filled tub. In 2 days the bare hook showed signs of rust. Took more than a week for the nickel hook. I don't have a problem sharpening the bronze hooks as they are not as sharp out of the box as higher end nickel hooks which I use exclusively for bass and like lures in open water.
I'm a big fan of steel. The other day I was getting a good amount of flags on a flouro set up, ran out of bait so moved a tip up with steel in that hole. Not a flag for the rest of the day. Put the gopro down to see what's up and this is what I got. Obviously they didnt like something. I think I had to much on the leader close to the shiner or that if I had the shiner a little higher keeping the leader above the pike it might have been different. What do you guys think? I really wanna keep my faith in steel lol