Whine - On Leaders

[Victor78]

Hi all

I do a fair bit off LBG fishing with big live baits ie: bonito and salmon during Spring, Summer and Autum and this season starting very soon i was thinking off using a whine - on leader around the 200lb mark which ive never used before and some some questions to ask.

1st question is how long do they last being used??? like do they last 1 fishin trip only then you replace it??? or do they last like 5 or more trips??? or do they last for months???.

Has any1 had much experince in the amount of time they last berfore they deteriorate as long as i dont scratch or scuff them up on the rocks or reef???

And my 2nd question is what is the best way to finish off my double plaite knot to attach my whine - on leader too??? or is there another knot used to loop the whine - on to my main fishin line???

[rickb]

Hi Victor, give nightstalker apm.

He has all the gear to make his own.

He will fill you in,on the pros and cons

cheers Rick.

[Evets]

Hi Victor,

The wind on leaders are simply a loop of dacron and a length of leader (mono or flurocarbon) joined together - so they last the same as any other leader. It just removes the swivel or ring connection between your leader and main line.

The best way to join the wind on leader to your double is with a cats paw (or one of its variants). Its a bit hard to explain how tie it but if you do google search youll get heaps of hits showing how its done. Should only take 10 seconds or so do a cats paw.

Evets

[Kiwi]

Hi Victor,

I use a wind on for game fishing and also chasing kings for about 15 years.

I tie a short double with a bimini twist in the main line and join it to the leader with a cats paw.

I pass the leader through the loop 3 times as I feel it spreads the load under tension a bit better.

I make my own wind ons and have no problem under strain on a big fish.

The commercial ones are ok just check the jion where the mono goes into the dacron.

They retail from $15-$25.

Cheers Rowan

[AndrewNR]

The advantage of the wind on leader is you can have a real long leader and can wind the hook or lure right up to tip of your rod as you don't need a swivel or crimp to join your line. As far as lasting longer it will last the same time as a normal leader. I use a Bimini twist in the main line and a cats paw to join the wind on to the mainline. I like it as the knot going through the guides is real smooth. I use them as it's easy to join the mainline and cheap off the shelf. Also to make them yourself you need special needles to double through the Dacron which are not cheap. Definatly worth using. Hope that helps. Andrew

[Daniel Frost]

If you make your own just make sure the Dacron is rated for the same [or higher] breaking strain as your leader and that the leader will fit into the center of the dacron . I did not know you could buy a tool to help with the dacron , but I was shown how to do it by my boss years ago have made heaps of wind on's you can just use a bit of single strand wire about 35 to 40cm long , fold it in half then push it up through the center of the dacron about 15 to 25cm then out through the side of the dacron then you have say an extra 10 cm of dacron above the point of your dacron where the wire comes out of the side , so then you just put the end of the dacron into the wire and pull it back through the dacron [making the loop your braid will join to], this takes all of about 15 seconds and anyone could do it . Once that is done you just feed the lead up the other end by pinching the dacron together it expands and then you inch the leader up into the dacron to the desired length and bind and glue it down . Once you have done a couple it becomes a quick process . It can save you heaps of coin and is a good skill to have . Your leader material mono or fluro will be worn out before the dacron.

Im sure that someone has probably taped them self and put it on the net.

[AndrewNR]

That sounds easy that way Dan. Will try that. Just need to figure out what Dacron for what leader. I saw some one on youtube with 300lb leader and was using 130lb Dacron. About one third the breaking strain of the leader the Dacron was. Does that sound right?