making rigs - getting snoods lenghts right lenght :-/

Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 8:09 am

hi, ive been making my rigs since i started fishing, since last summer.

I have done pretty well, not broken one yet, but have only really made pennel rigs or ones with just two snoods.

all my snoods are perfect lengths to clip onto the bait clips, but now im making up 3 hook flappers etc im struggling to make my snoods the right lenght there either too short or too long crying

it just adds soo much extra time to rig making when you have to keep cutting and re-tying the snood till it fits the bait clip well.

i tie the hook on snood first, fit beads etc if used then slip tag end through trapped swivel, put hook on bait clip and pull line tight to get length needed then tie knot, but when snugging down the knot the snood gets some of the spare line and the end up too dam long.

is there a way to be more accurate with the snoods ????

basicly .... HELP big grin

cheers Alex

Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:05 am

try the breakaway adjustable crimps. i started using them a few weeks ago for clip down rigs and cant believe i didnt use them earlier.

just put the rubber bit into the crimp, snip off the end, put thru the main line and lightly crimp. you can move them up or down as you need to.

http://www.breakaway-tackle.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=6&products_id=1031

sakuma also do them but their much more expensive and come put together. i found that the rubber bit came out in a lot of them when putting the line thru and it wont go back in again.

Regular Joined: Jul 26, 2009 Posts: 343 Location: Surrey

How about leaving crimping till last. Clip the hook, slide crimps & swivel till snood is tight, then squeeze crimp

Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 1:41 pm

Iknowagoodplaice wrote:

How about leaving crimping till last. Clip the hook, slide crimps & swivel till snood is tight, then squeeze crimp

Absolutly, leave the crimping till last also you might want to use str springs on the top snood helps keep all in place, good on you for making your own rigs, try some sequines between the beads on the snood lengths.

Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 1:51 pm

thanks for the replies guys.

i totally agree on crimping last, been doing that with all my other rigs, its just im making up some 3 hook flappers, clipped down, and there isnt much room for movement up/down on the mainline, most of the snoods when tying on are pulling up and adding 1-2 inches to the snood length by the time the knot is snug, which by the time ive done the two uppers it takes of too much, up to 2or4 inches off the last bottom snood, IE lowering the bait clips on upper snoods to fit the longer snoods by 2 or 4 inches sad

which isnt great, think im going to cut my main line extra long or leave still on the roll,,, crimp the snoods then when done tie the gemini lead/bait clip to be at the right length to make bottom snood long enough. just ive been cutting all my main lines at the same time so they are all the same length.

i wanted all snoods about 18 inches, but bottom one is ending up much shorter because of this... DOH!

i would say the bottom snood is about 12 inches is this a long enough length ??

i have got smallish metal spoons sequins and spoon shaped sequins beads etc..... im all good on that just not made many rigs with lots of snoods so getting this right is just gonna be practice i think. ive only bought 4 rigs from shops since i started fishing i enjoy making my own.

the slideable crimps sound good though, will have to try some of those, especially for this sort of rig cool

cheers for that.

Alex

Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 2:21 pm

does anyone think the fish worry about the exact length of a hook length ?
If they are somewhere near the bait and see or smell it then they will try to eat it; can't imagine one turning its nose up saying nope, not going to eat that, it is on the wrong sized snood.
it's all too easy to lose sight of what you are actually trying to do, put a bait somewhere near a fish.
Rig makers will try to convince you that it is a precise science.... but more fish have been caught over the years with simple running legers or simple paternosters than have been caught by pulley pennels or whatever the fashionable rig of the moment is.

Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 2:34 pm

Boy does this take me back a few years when we used wire paternosters casting off the pier at Blackpool and we pulled in some quite decent fish.
Cheers
keith big grin

Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 5:10 pm

While fish don't care much for prettyness the choice of snood length, basic rig design does determin how the bait is presented ... that means it is important.

If you are doing three hook rigs put all the components on the body, trap the swivels where you want them, attach your snoods (with a bit of leeway between them) and then clip each hook in turn to a bait clip, trapping it in position as a final job. Not too sure how you can go wrong doing it that way.

ultimately there is one tool you'll need to make things easier ... practice.

Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 7:32 pm

Crimping last is a good way to get it right as already mentioned. I'm now converted to using silcone stops instead of crimps though. They don't weaken the rig body at all and make rig tying a breeze as they're fully adjustable.

Buy some silicone rig tube and cut it into 1mm lengths. Push the rig body line through the 1mm length and then back through again and it's attached to the rig body. Put about 4 or 5 of these where you would use a crimp and you're done. They hold in place but you can still move them for adjustments to allow the snoods to be tensioned how ever tightly you want on the bait clip. Lose or need to change a hook whilst fishing? Simply tie a new snood and hook on, adjust the silicone stops and you're away again. No need for re-tying to get the snood length accurate.

I use them for bait-stops on my snoods too, put two of them on the snood, then a sequin and finally your hook. Hopefully all that's clear if not I'll sort a picture out later!

Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 9:46 pm

gotta say thats got me a bit confused bass man.. a pic or two would be good

Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 10:01 pm

Alternatively you can use silicon float stops, 2 each side to trap a snood swivel, 1 above the sequen for a bait stop.

Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2010 9:47 am

tensenervoushaddock wrote:

does anyone think the fish worry about the exact length of a hook length ?
If they are somewhere near the bait and see or smell it then they will try to eat it; can't imagine one turning its nose up saying nope, not going to eat that, it is on the wrong sized snood.
it's all too easy to lose sight of what you are actually trying to do, put a bait somewhere near a fish.
Rig makers will try to convince you that it is a precise science.... but more fish have been caught over the years with simple running legers or simple paternosters than have been caught by pulley pennels or whatever the fashionable rig of the moment is.

I agree with you there, im not thinking that way though(totally), im more thinking if the snood is not long enough, esp the bottom one, wont it roll around the lead and then the fish may feel the lead or be put off by it confused

that was my only thought, the upper ones arent an issue for me, but yes you can 'think' too much on this to a degree, just my first time making 3 hook flappers, no point doing it wrong and then making them like that forever and only catching weed.

thanks for all the input guys top stuff !!

Alex

Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2010 9:50 am

the way i do my 3 hook clip downs is,
get your mainline, slide on some kind of imp,
then an adjustable crimp, bead, cascade swivel, bead and another adjustable crimp. then repeat this.
then another adjustable crimp, bead, srt spring, bead, ordinary swivel, bead and crimp.
when crimping make sure the swivel can move about an inch for when your clipping them down and when its clipped that the spring is nicely compressed.

Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 9:39 am

geordiesandman wrote:

gotta say thats got me a bit confused bass man.. a pic or two would be good

Here you go Sandman....

Thread the line through the silicone tube section twice and pull tight to attach it to the line. This creates an adjustable stop:

Repeat to attach as many stops to the line as you need. Obviously the more you use the stronger the hold. I usually use five below a snood swivel and three above.

The finished job: