Snap swivels for leaders

[Fab1]

Anyone use a snap swivel on mainline for attaching pre-rigged leaders?I usually just tie on a swivel on mainline and leader to that but thinking of giving it a go next time out to save time when getting bitten off or snagging up,etc.

  I was thinking a snap swivel on mainline and swivel on leader (it probably is overkill) or just a snap on mainline and tie a loop on the end of my leaders to attach instead of swivel.

I need to buy smaller snaps and swivels than the ones in photo and in black.

cheers.

 

[Green Hornet]

Personally I prefer not to use snaps as I believe that’s just another part of your rig that can fail and really it doesn’t take too long to tie a new rig if necessary.

If you do decide to go with a snap get rid of the one in your photo, they’re junk and quite weak considering their bulk. Opt for something like black crane, snap/swivels instead.

[noelm]

Yep agree, never been a fan of rigging gear at home and clipping it on, it's just as easy to tie a new setup if/when you lose it, rather than having to store premade rigs. (In my opinion)

[noelm]

In the example shown, running sinker to hook rig, in reality there need only be one knot (at the hook) tying on swivels and snaps way over complicates the simplest rig ever, and introduces more knots and gizmos to fail.

[Rebel]

I use them all the time. Different sizes. Even use them for casting metals off the beach.

Saves a lot of time changing lures & leader.

The ones to buy are on E/B X China. They all lot smaller than you use, but are very strong & well made.

Cheers.

[Fried Rice]

Agree with most posters above. Way too complicated. If your leader is the same breaking strain as the main line just tie the hook on with the sinker running above. Another tip, I never cut the tags too short. Makes no difference to the fish and if you hook a good one and have a longish fight the knot can slip a little (particularly if using fluro). Really short tag and the knot will let go. 

[Fab1]

4 hours ago, Green Hornet said:

Personally I prefer not to use snaps as I believe that’s just another part of your rig that can fail and really it doesn’t take too long to tie a new rig if necessary.

If you do decide to go with a snap get rid of the one in your photo, they’re junk and quite weak considering their bulk. Opt for something like black crane, snap/swivels instead.

They are the ones I’d buy.

3 hours ago, noelm said:

Yep agree, never been a fan of rigging gear at home and clipping it on, it's just as easy to tie a new setup if/when you lose it, rather than having to store premade rigs. (In my opinion)

Fair enough.I find it way quicker having a paternoster or sliding rig pre-made and just tying one uni knot to attach to leader.I have a cd wallet full of rigs and some in snap lock bags which don’t take much room if any.My mrs and my boy are pretty slow rigging that’s why I make them.If it was just me I wouldn’t bother as I can tie any knot I use in the dark,wind,etc I know.

3 hours ago, noelm said:

In the example shown, running sinker to hook rig, in reality there need only be one knot (at the hook) tying on swivels and snaps way over complicates the simplest rig ever, and introduces more knots and gizmos to fail.

Agree,I currently tie hook on with uni and drop sinker on top but I always use a small swivel between leader and mainline.

2 hours ago, Rebel said:

I use them all the time. Different sizes. Even use them for casting metals off the beach.

Saves a lot of time changing lures & leader.

The ones to buy are on E/B X China. They all lot smaller than you use, but are very strong & well made.

Cheers.

The ones I showed I never use I just used them as an example when playing around.I had them given to me ages ago.

2 hours ago, Fried Rice said:

Agree with most posters above. Way too complicated. If your leader is the same breaking strain as the main line just tie the hook on with the sinker running above. Another tip, I never cut the tags too short. Makes no difference to the fish and if you hook a good one and have a longish fight the knot can slip a little (particularly if using fluro). Really short tag and the knot will let go. 

I do that currently.Sinker to hook or sinker to swivel.I only use mono and tie good knots with tags about 5mm long(Hard to see in photo) I’ve had bite offs and rub throughs on line but don’t ever recall any of my knots letting go when I’ve tied a licked half blood knot or uni knot.I’ve read/heard Fluro is slippery.I’d up the turns when tying knots in that if I used it.

[campr]

I rarely fish with sinker sitting on the hook and pre-tie all other rigs.  I rig swivel to trace to hook and roll rig up and store in tiny zip bags.  This way I only need to put on sinker and tie one uni knot to attach pre tied rig.  Ron 

[Fab1]

13 minutes ago, campr said:

I rarely fish with sinker sitting on the hook and pre-tie all other rigs.  I rig swivel to trace to hook and roll rig up and store in tiny zip bags.  This way I only need to put on sinker and tie one uni knot to attach pre tied rig.  Ron 

That’s what I do now.

[Little_Flatty]

I have read that gun jewie fisho Sol Bannura rigs all of his lures with a length of leader to a swivel or brass ring, and then ties a snap directly to his braid. He is very particular with his snaps though and stress tests every different model he tries with scales. So there is precedent for this kind of rig.

I like the idea of snaps but with the small lures I use, I worry about their action being affected. I have experimented with Mustad Fastach clips but again, with the size of lure/snap I need, I find them no easier/quicker than just tying another knot.

[slothparade]

When I'm on the kayak I have a couple of pre made rigs with a swivel and then a snap swivel on the main line. Allows me to change our easily, as re tieing on a kayak isn't the easiest. 

Land based I have a mixture. If I'm targeting 1 species only, I don't use a snap swivel but if I think I might be wanting to change rigs a bit I'll just pop one on. 

I don't recall ever having a snap swivel breaking, even on sharks. 

[JonD]

I was one of those people who would normally stay away from snaps, especially the style you have in the top image. Ive caught jewies that have had rigs attached and opened up snap swivels just like the one you are showing which someone obviously lost.

Things have changed a little though in my opinion. Pulling lures offshore chasing game species would often mean using snap swivels costing around $15 each or more and these can be so stiff I struggle to open them now Im getting on a bit.

I also find I like to change lure frequently, especially if its casting surface lures or wanting to switch micro jigs and plastics while trying to find what the fish like on any given day.

So on a recent trip to my tackle store I noticed these new snaps piled up on the counter as the owner couldn't fit anymore on his shelves. I asked if they were any good as $7.50 a pack makes you wonder!!!!...don't know the store owner said. I thought I would get a couple of packs to see if they could hold up to a few shore sharks. I bought these 40kg and 75kg, surprisingly the 40kg are small enough to clip direct to 25g-40g micro jigs and plastics and have been working a treat. I also use them for clipping on bait rigs.

The 75kg held up without any drama on my recent yellowfin casting surface lures, so from now on Im converted to using these. I have people fumbling about with leaders, knots and hooks while I simply clip on the next and get my rig down there. Often people will miss 2 drifts over a spot while Im fishing.

By the way I sent the store owner a pic of my tuna and he sold out of those clips in two days!!!!

 

[nutsaboutfishing]

i like using prerigs when drifting offshore. I just attach at swivel to the top of each one, then uni knot to main line if needed

[noelm]

Nothing against pre making rigs at home, but I have yet to see a wild Flathead/Snapper/anything bite that required an instant rig change, by the time you find your packet, get your remade out of it and clip it on, a new hook could be tied anyway. Maybe if you are using the useless double dropper rig, with the hook just "looped" on, maybe, but with a decent, simple setup, it takes no time to repair/retie

[Fab1]

5 hours ago, JonD said:

I was one of those people who would normally stay away from snaps, especially the style you have in the top image. Ive caught jewies that have had rigs attached and opened up snap swivels just like the one you are showing which someone obviously lost.

Things have changed a little though in my opinion. Pulling lures offshore chasing game species would often mean using snap swivels costing around $15 each or more and these can be so stiff I struggle to open them now Im getting on a bit.

I also find I like to change lure frequently, especially if its casting surface lures or wanting to switch micro jigs and plastics while trying to find what the fish like on any given day.

So on a recent trip to my tackle store I noticed these new snaps piled up on the counter as the owner couldn't fit anymore on his shelves. I asked if they were any good as $7.50 a pack makes you wonder!!!!...don't know the store owner said. I thought I would get a couple of packs to see if they could hold up to a few shore sharks. I bought these 40kg and 75kg, surprisingly the 40kg are small enough to clip direct to 25g-40g micro jigs and plastics and have been working a treat. I also use them for clipping on bait rigs.

The 75kg held up without any drama on my recent yellowfin casting surface lures, so from now on Im converted to using these. I have people fumbling about with leaders, knots and hooks while I simply clip on the next and get my rig down there. Often people will miss 2 drifts over a spot while Im fishing.

By the way I sent the store owner a pic of my tuna and he sold out of those clips in two days!!!!

 

Glad to hear in the end you’ve found something that works for you mate.I can only dream of catching the quality fish you and your family catch mate.

 I bet that tackle store is doing a thriving trade in those swivels now.

4 hours ago, noelm said:

Nothing against pre making rigs at home, but I have yet to see a wild Flathead/Snapper/anything bite that required an instant rig change, by the time you find your packet, get your remade out of it and clip it on, a new hook could be tied anyway. Maybe if you are using the useless double dropper rig, with the hook just "looped" on, maybe, but with a decent, simple setup, it takes no time to repair/retie

I have a small boat mate and we fish 3 up which doesn’t leave much room for 6 million rods like most of you use with different setups and only fish a rod each for a bit of fun 95% of the time.(I’ve thrown 2 out a few times).

  I mainly wanted to try a snap swivel on our mainline then pre-made rigs In running sinker or patternoster so we can quickly change rigs when one is lost or water depth increases,etc.

  My mrs and boy are terrible at knots and so slooooooow and I end up losing lots of time/bites re-rigging their lines.

 I have showed them heaps of times and they know how to tie them but are very slow like I said.Tying to make it a bit easier for them that’s all.

[noelm]

Yep, fair enough, it would be good for "family" outings, when you have to do everything, been there, done that.

[Fab1]

6 minutes ago, noelm said:

Yep, fair enough, it would be good for "family" outings, when you have to do everything, been there, done that.

Just makes it a bit more enjoyable for all of us if it will work and save a bit of time.I’ll buy some small snaps and make a few rigs to trial it out.If it’s no good then there’s no harm done and we tried mate.

[Little_Flatty]

6 hours ago, JonD said:

I was one of those people who would normally stay away from snaps, especially the style you have in the top image. Ive caught jewies that have had rigs attached and opened up snap swivels just like the one you are showing which someone obviously lost.

Things have changed a little though in my opinion. Pulling lures offshore chasing game species would often mean using snap swivels costing around $15 each or more and these can be so stiff I struggle to open them now Im getting on a bit.

I also find I like to change lure frequently, especially if its casting surface lures or wanting to switch micro jigs and plastics while trying to find what the fish like on any given day.

So on a recent trip to my tackle store I noticed these new snaps piled up on the counter as the owner couldn't fit anymore on his shelves. I asked if they were any good as $7.50 a pack makes you wonder!!!!...don't know the store owner said. I thought I would get a couple of packs to see if they could hold up to a few shore sharks. I bought these 40kg and 75kg, surprisingly the 40kg are small enough to clip direct to 25g-40g micro jigs and plastics and have been working a treat. I also use them for clipping on bait rigs.

The 75kg held up without any drama on my recent yellowfin casting surface lures, so from now on Im converted to using these. I have people fumbling about with leaders, knots and hooks while I simply clip on the next and get my rig down there. Often people will miss 2 drifts over a spot while Im fishing.

By the way I sent the store owner a pic of my tuna and he sold out of those clips in two days!!!!

 

Greg Vinall of doc lures fame was raving about these on one of his podcasts. He’s converted to these from loop knots.

[JonD]

23 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

Greg Vinall of doc lures fame was raving about these on one of his podcasts. He’s converted to these from loop knots.

I like the fact I can just clip jigs and other lures directly to them.

[Rob81]

If you must go for something along those lines of rigs, then personally I would probably go:

Main Line -> swivel -> Split Ring

Rig: Solid Ring -> Leader/setup

You'd need split ring pliers just to get them on and off though. Just feels more secure. But in saying that, there's been plenty of ppl out there that have managed to get some nice sized fish on that same rig.

 

[Berleyguts]

I generally only use snap swivels on my game fishing outfits to attach prerigged skirts with trace, or when tying on (snapping on?) pre-tied paternoster rigs when drifting for flathead or reef species offshore. Always good quality ball bearing swivels with snaps, e.g. Sampo.