I've never crimped mono leaders only steel leaders.
I see pre rigged mono trolling feathers and lures sold, but
is making your own as easy thing?
It would seem that crimping to be a quicker option that tying
if the result were reliable.
Thanks -gary
Crimping can be a reliable, fast and compact way to connect terminal gear. It is best to use a good quality crimping tool along with properly sized crimps of either aluminum or copper. Aluminum is the most forgiving and does not have to be as precise as copper.
Jinkai makes very good aluminum crimps sleeves that are the right softness and size.
To produce reliable crimps with mono it is necessary to achieve repeatable crimp pressure and proper tool size and this takes some practice and testing to verify if you have it right. Too much pressure and the mono breaks inside the sleeve and too little pressure and the mono will slip in the sleeve. When it breaks you may only get 50% of the original line strength where a knot will achieve 70-90% line strength.
When they rig feathers or jigs they use very heavy line (150-300 #) and the crimps very seldom experience loads above 50% of the line load. when crimping hooks for Fly lining the crimps can be stressed to the max. Some crimp a little on the light side and burn a bead in the end of the mono to help stop it should the crimp slip. This way they get more forgiving crimps and achieve 80%+ crimp strength and avoid the dreaded over crimping and break offs.
I personally use crimps on all my offshore setups and am able to achieve reliable crimp strengths in the 95%+ range of the actual line breaking strength. This requires a calibrated crimping tool that is calibrated for each line/crimp combination. Every line type I use is tested and calibrated. I use a chart to keep it all arranged.
Attached is a XL crimp chart for the lines I use.
Jim N.
go to http://leadertec.com and go to the Tips & Tec sec and look up Crimping, U will find all the info U need to crimp the right way.
JGB / RWS, Thanks for the response. I see what I can scare up then. -g
Try this link-
http://www.360tuna.com/forum/f3/terminal-tackle-crimp-strength-8886/
It is a intensive thread on testing crimp strength. You will get how important it is to get the crimping correct.
Jim N.
Quote from: Gman_WC on June 30, 2011, 04:39:45 AM
I've never crimped mono leaders only steel leaders.
I see pre rigged mono trolling feathers and lures sold, but
is making your own as easy thing?
It would seem that crimping to be a quicker option that tying
if the result were reliable.
Thanks -gary
I always use double crimps with mono,makes leader making quick and easy.
It takes a lot of practice with the right crimpers and sleeves to get it right. It's almost an art. Like JGB said the article on 360 is real informative. I usually tie everything up 60# and some 80 but everything over 80 gets crimped.
JGB: Thanks for that link. That is good information on crimping. I crimp most lure set-ups and use the recommended size by Jinkai. But as the article in the link says the manufacturers all have different diameters. To solve the problem, I buy Jinkai leader and match the crimps from the chart on the Jinkai box. Dominick
also try pakula.com.au . he is probably the worlds biggest skirted lure manufacturer and has done endless research in rigging of skirted lures. on this site he has video of correct crimping techniques and what he finds best for rigging of lures. also various other helpful and useful techniques and training for fishing .
alternatively look him up on youtube, the clips have been loaded here as well.
I avoid crimping as much as possible. If I have to fix heavy mono I use a "Tracemate" (available on the Leadertec website), to help tie a thumb knot
very interesting!