Breakaway leads - what are they?

Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 11:23 pm

Hi,

Been fishing for just over a year, but my classic line consists of

Single or double pasternoster, where the hooks are attached via a swivel and line, but the lead is attached to the snood via a knot.

The problem is if I snag I loose the lot, with poss hours spent making up these rigs.

How do you guys do a setup so if the lead is snagged then it breaks away?

Sorry for the numpty question, but my normal fishing location has about 20 of my rigs somewhere at the bottom of the ocean :lol:

Member Joined: Jul 24, 2006 Posts: 39

Hi, I'm pretty new at this myself but I'm pretty sure you just attach the lead to your line by fixing it to some lower breaking strain line first.

E.G.....

from the bottom up you'll have lead, clip, 15lb line, clip, 30lb line with hooks etc coming off it all attached to shock leader.

(line strengh are just an eg. of course)

Posted: Sat Sep 09, 2006 12:46 pm

how do,

you can tie a couple of small knots in the line by the lead to create a 'rotten bottom' (not just a curry thing then). This weakens the line at this point and if snagged should break there, allowing your rigs to be retrieved.

Matt

Posted: Sat Sep 09, 2006 12:48 pm

at the bottom of your rig body tie one of these (rotten Bottom)

tie some weak line to the eye of the link,then tie the other end of weak line to ya sinker,lift the bead on the link then 1 leg will fall down,put this leg through ya sinker eye,then lift the leg back up into place and lock into position with the bead,you will notice on the leg it is bent,DO NOT push the bead down past the bend,you are then ready to cast,when the sinker hits the water,the bead lifts and releases the leg,which then drops the lead,leaving it attached by your weak line,in the event of a snag,the weak line will break and you lose your sinker but get everything else back

Posted: Sat Sep 09, 2006 12:50 pm

yuo cannot just tie weak line to your rig body and sinker and cast out,the line with the knots becomes even weaker than its original strength,and during the cast will snap the weak line and possibly the sinker will fly off and hit someone.You DO need a rotten bottm clip of some sort to carry the sinker

Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 7:17 am

Don't know whether this applies but I always use a paper clip when boat fishing. Sounds crazy but if the lead gets snagged you won't lose a fish or the rest of your rig/lures because the paper clip just "unbends". An old boy I used to wreck fish with always did it and skipper laughed at him but it worked, especially around wrecks and reefs where lead can easily get snagged. I have never tried it from the beach because I don't know if the paper clip could take the strain of a 150 yd cast without unbending but I do recall another old boy's advice if fishing in a snaggy area which was to tie bits of old junk to the bottom of the rig with low breaking strain line instead of a nice new lead - he used old sparking plugs and old nuts and bolts.

Member Joined: Jul 25, 2006 Posts: 52

I just tie a piece of lower lb line from the end of the rig to the weight. I find this the cheapest way around it. It works for me!