Making wind ons

[tasker]

Hi all I've recently started tying my own DIY wind ons, this way i can top shot my heavy braided overheads with a loop to loop connection of mono of the desired length with no bulky knot e.g 15 or 20meters of mono just for a little cushioning of the strike and hook pulling, I'm just wondering if anyone has much experience with tying there own what do you use as the serve to fix the Dacron to the mono, as I've experimented with 30,50 pound braid and dental floss but after a few tests I still get the mono slipping out of the Dacron a little bit, any info would be great,cheers

[fishmaniac]

Are you talking about a 'wind on' leader or a 'shock leader'. If you are tying 5-15m of 80lb mono onto say, 50lb braid, i would probably see that as a 'shock leader'.

In which case I would be using the slim beauty or PR knot. The slim beauty is good because it can be tied just with your hands.

Others may suggest the albright, but from personal experience it is good for a while, but with extended use I have found it fails.

Edited June 26, 2012 by fishmaniac

[boattart]

If you're still get slippage there could be one of two issues. Try using lighter or thinner dacron that will tighten down more or possibly your dacron splice could be too short. How heavy is the mono you're using as well relative to the dacron?

[tasker]

I'm using 50 pound Dacron and 80 pound mono, my splice is about 450 mm long, I might try some lighter Dacron as that theory makes sense and it's the one of the only things I haven't tryed.

[boattart]

The lightest I have made is 130lb with 80lb dacron up to 600lb with 200lb dacron. I use a minimum of 600mm of splice up to 900mm with heavier gear (although I know it works with less the extra is for my confidence). I also use some wet'n'dry sandpaper for the last 150-250mm of the mono to rough up the surface and help the dacron grip the mono. I also finish with a bit of wax over the dacron but not sure wether it helps the strength but again it works for me so I feel confident with the finished product.

Edited June 26, 2012 by boattart

[tasker]

Thanks for the tips Ill try making the splice longer aswell, What kind of wax do you use over the Dacron? And do you run this wax over the whole Dacron splice?

[boattart]

It's called Dac or Dax wax. I got it years ago in one of the Top Shot rigging kits.