Tippet Rings

[Bamboozle]

Baron wrote:
This Eysight thingy is a common comment on this forum. I wear 2.0 reading glasses but am considering getting a pair that is 3.0 or more just for tying flies in the field.have any of you done this?

IF you wear a ball cap, get a pair of these and DON'T buy substitutes!! Hat Eyes are THE best and the perfect solution for the need for extra magnification. I've been using them for years.

In regards to tippet rings, I only have them on furled leaders for obvious reasons and on my Tenkara lines. However, if you tie blood knots and take some time to practice, you can learn to tie them with about a 1/2" of waste. That means you won't necessarily dramatically shorten your leader if you replace a tippet.

The other thing is there is no law that says when your tippet gets short, you have to clip off the whole tippet at the knot. When I'm fishing and changing a lot of flies; if I still haven't figured things out and my tippet gets short, I will leave about 6" of the old tippet section and tie the new tippet to that.

Considering how good I am at tying blood knots, theoretically I could replace my tippet another 10 times before I used up the 6" of "sub" tippet which isn't likely to happen during that outing.

Finally, I can't tell you how many times I am catching fish with a 10" or shorter tippet, meaning there also is no law that says that your tippet has to be a certain length, especially for non fussy fish.

If you are getting the presentation you want, keep at it before you feel compelled to get your tippet back to "factory" length.

 

[Bamboozle]

In regards to tiny swivels, the match & coarse fishing crowd in the UK use them for their style of fishing.

So a lot of times I look to eBay or US based carp fishing suppliers for tiny swivels as I know I won't find them in Walmart.

 

[Baron]

Bam,
I found the swivels down to size 14. Pretty cool.

For trout I have been using 24-30" of tippet and after 4-6 new flies I'll add another 18" or so. After a couple re-ties I replace the whole tippet which cuts back my leader. Then when I get a bunch of cut back leaders they are used for Panfish and Pickerel.

I've decided to learn 1 or 2 new knots a year for the next 2-3 years as I can't get them to roll off 'easy-like' unless I use them allot.
So for the first year I've learned the Polomar (lures)and Improved Clinch (hooks, I don't care for it).
For the second yr it was the surgeons knot and the Kreh Loop knot. I use the Surgeons knot for allot: joining fly line to leader, joining leader to tippet, adding droppers if I need to.
Next year it will be the blood knot and perhaps one of the many orris knots.

In the field I will only use knots the roll right along or they aren't worth it. The blood knot will be tied at home at first while in my favorite chair. I get all jumbled up with this one and I need to beat it.

 

[jifigz]

RLeep2 wrote:
I've become a TR user over the past few years, but only for my SMB and panfish fishing. When I'm fishing for smallmouth, I spend a lot of time switching back and forth between 1X for poppers and 2X for subsurface flies. I put a ring at the end of a section of 0X and it saves a lot of fadiddling around with leaders when I could be fishing.

Why change tippet sizes at all. I feel like you switching back and forth is a major waste of time. 0x, 1x, 2x, 3x and even 4x can all be used to fish anything for smallies without wasting time changing back and forth. Sure, there may be some pros and cons, but I fish a lot of various flies on the "wrong" tippet sizes. I basically never have break offs and I catch a lot of fish.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

SPRO micro swivels. They are all I use for my "stinger rigs" super strong for their size.
https://spro.com/collections/swivels
GG

 

[Baron]

GG This brand seems nice but the size correlation is opposite from other brand. They seem nice.

 

[Baron]

Who else wears hat eyes? They seem perfect but are missing a light.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Baron wrote:
GG This brand seems nice but the size correlation is opposite from other brand. They seem nice.

Each company has a chart and I can see that before I buy any. The really small one might be a difficult tie, but they are strong and well made. I have a bunch of swivels that i use in the saltwater. My kingfish tackle is 20 lb. line with a Spro 100lb swivel tied to 40lb. florocarbon leader and another 100lb. spro on 40lb. wire with two treble hooks haywire twisted on it.
No its not a trout rig.lol GG

 

[Bamboozle]

Baron wrote:
GG This brand seems nice but the size correlation is opposite from other brand. They seem nice.

As GG said, you CAN'T use a size # to determine the size of a swivel as different manufacturers use different size #'s to describe the same thing. In other words, it isn't standardized like a lot of other terminal tackle items.

Decide how big/long you want your swivels to be, preferably in 1/16" and mm, then shop by length. If you cant find the length on the site you want to buy from, keep searching. You will find it someplace.

Baron wrote:
Who else wears hat eyes? They seem perfect but are missing a light.

I use a separate small clip on light which gives me the flexibility to direct the light where I want it to be, which isn't always where I need the magnification.

One of things I like about Hat Eyes is I can set them up to either flip above or below the brim of my hat, something you CAN'T do with a lot of competitive products. That gives me the flexibility to put a clip on hat brim light where it works best.

This is a great light option that you can probably find cheaper and there are plenty of others out there as well.

 

[Baron]

Bamboozle wrote:

Baron wrote:
GG This brand seems nice but the size correlation is opposite from other brand. They seem nice.

As GG said, you CAN'T use a size # to determine the size of a swivel as different manufacturers use different size #'s to describe the same thing. In other words, it isn't standardized like a lot of other terminal tackle items.

Decide how big/long you want your swivels to be, preferably in 1/16" and mm, then shop by length. If you cant find the length on the site you want to buy from, keep searching. You will find it someplace.

Baron wrote:
Who else wears hat eyes? They seem perfect but are missing a light.

I use a separate small clip on light which gives me the flexibility to direct the light where I want it to be, which isn't always where I need the magnification.

One of things I like about Hat Eyes is I can set them up to either flip above or below the brim of my hat, something you CAN'T do with a lot of competitive products. That gives me the flexibility to put a clip on hat brim light where it works best.

This is a great light option that you can probably find cheaper and there are plenty of others out there as well.

Bam, sent you a PM.
I hear you on the hat Eyes and Light but I'm clear as mud on the Swivels. The small one is listed as size 14 and is 20 or 25 lbs.

 

[Bamboozle]

Baron wrote:
I hear you on the hat Eyes and Light but I'm clear as mud on the Swivels. The small one is listed as size 14 and is 20 or 25 lbs.

What I was getting at it is Manufacturer A's Size 14 may be Manufacturer B's Size 20. When it comes to terminal tackle, (swivels, rings, crimps and even hooks) there is a LOT of inconsistency. In those cases, a ruler is your friend. It is just like tippet material, 4X, 5X, etc. mean almost nothing, it’s the diameter and breaking strength that matters.

For example, with some terminal tackle manufacturers, the NUMBER in the SIZE is how long something is in millimeters so a Size 14 would be 14mm long or about a 1/2" long with the smaller sizes being smaller numbers, which is the opposite of hooks.

However, that system goes out the window with other manufacturers. For example, a Cabela's Size 14 swivel is described as about a 1/2" long or 16/32" but the Size 14 in your photo looks to be less than half the diameter of a dime, which is about 18 mm in diameter.

That would make the Size 14 in your photo about 8 mm long or 11/32", quite a difference in length/size over the Cabela’s swivel if you are after “small.” Owner, a manufacturer of terminal tackle has a Size 14 that is about 9/32” rated at 30lbs…

…I could go on and on.

That's why a lot of the "micro swivel" manufacturers now use S, XS, XXS to describe their sizes because standard swivels sizes are SUPPOSED to mimic bait hook sizes. That would mean if they wanted consistency and went that route with smaller stuff, a micro swivel could be a size 18 – 22, but nobody seems to do that.

As far as the breaking strength goes, there doesn’t seem to be much consistency in a Size vs Breaking Strength ratio (look at the Owner compared to your example) which is why they usually don’t sell swivels by breaking strength.

All of this mumbo jumbo begs the question: So HOW do you compare a Size XXS from Manufacturer A to a Size 14 made by Manufacturer B?

By knowing how long and how strong they both are and comparing apples to apples, not by using some arbitrary size number or size descriptor.

 

[Baron]

Well My apples are still ripening and you're helping a little. I did come to the conclusion that length and strength would have to be the deciding factors as the industry is so inconsistent in this area. It was nice to hear someone confirm that. For panfish and trout I feel that small is important. If I am after Bass Or in Salt then I don't care and will try to use up old oversize stuff (snaps and swivels).

 

[coyoterahn]

Here is another manufacturers swivels. I got these at Fly Tyers Heaven in Sunbury. I don’t think here has a website.

 

[coyoterahn]

Attached is the pic

 

[coyoterahn]

Forgot, I put a #20 dry fly hook in the container for comparison.

 

[Baron]

coyoterahn wrote:
Forgot, I put a #20 dry fly hook in the container for comparison.

Very Small.

It just dawned on me that I've never seen a fly that incorporates the swivel in the fly. Only a few mentioned using swivels. Wouldn't it be nice to have swiveling and articulation all worked into some of the streamers you throw. It would be a tiny bit heavier for those SMB your after.

 

[RLeep2]

>>Why change tippet sizes at all. I feel like you switching back and forth is a major waste of time. 0x, 1x, 2x, 3x and even 4x can all be used to fish anything for smallies without wasting time changing back and forth. Sure, there may be some pros and cons, but I fish a lot of various flies on the "wrong" tippet sizes. I basically never have break offs and I catch a lot of fish.>>

I don't really have a reason other than to say this is what I do and it makes me happy. It also give me an excuse to go over and sit on the bank briefly every half hour or so, which also makes me happy at my age. Believe me, nobody is more opposed to wasting time when fishing than me. I have people who won't fish with me any more because I'm always in too much of a hurry. But I don't see any time wasted in this, especially now that I use tippet rings..