Wire Leader Barrel Sleeves Help?

[greenghost]

I'm new to pike and musky fishing. I ordered Scientific Anglers Predator leader from Orvis so I wouldn't have to tie my own. The leader came with small sleeves (see pic) with this description: "Flies attach easily with heavy-duty black single-barrel sleeves." There was no instruction on how to "easily" attach the flies. I assume some crimping is involved? I Googled it and couldn't find anything except crimping that involves a special tool. Is that what I need? I have no idea. I then sent Scientific Anglers an email request for instruction. No response. I then chatted with Orvis online. The rep was very nice and said he would look into it and send information. All he could find was general stuff. Does anybody know how to use these barrel sleeves to attach a fly or snap? Thanks ahead of time!

 

[Bamboozle]

They are crimp sleeves, you'll need a crimper (a whole other challenge to choose one if you go that route).

The other problem with crimps is changing flies. Sometime I just crimp on a snap clip and use the clip to attach my flies.

HOWEVER...

I use Surflon 7x7 13lb Coated Stainless in black for all of my Pickerel fishing.

I use an Albright knot to tie the Surflon to my fluorocarbon fishing line and either a Palomar or Figure 8 knot to tie the Surflon to my fly.

I don't know how flexible the 7x7 wire in the Sci Angler leader is but if it isn't too heavy, it will probably knot pretty well.

One thing you should consider when fishing wire leaders is a GOOD pair of fishing pliers to cut and pull the wire.

If you want to buy crimpers and want a good pair, look at Jinkai (what I use most often) although they are NOT small in size. If money is no object, take a look at the LOOS Locoloc 1-3-SBHS.

If you just want to get the job done, buy a cheap pair of crimpers like they sell to use on solderless connectors. That's all I used for years until I sprung for the Jinkai SC-3C I use now.

In the meantime, try some knots with the wire...

Good luck!!

 

[greenghost]

Thanks bamboozle. I decided not to mess with the crimping crap. I’ll Use the knots you suggested.

 

[Bamboozle]

Tying a Palomar with coated wire to the fly is a little fussier than tying a Figure 8 knot because the overhand knot in the Palomar wants to cinch up first which makes it hard to tighten up the loop, but it can be done by keeping the overhand knot loose.

A little ChapStick or a LOT of spit as a lubricant on the plastic coating of the wire helps too. That's where the fishing pliers come in handy to pull the knot in the wire tight.

A little practice with tying the knots goes a LONG way too.

However, don't discount crimps entirely if you get serious about fishing for toothy critters. They are the only way to go if you want to make up your own leaders, especially if you want to change flies (or lures) frequently. Constantly cutting off the fly from the wire and retying is a pain and gets old fast.

When I know I will be changing flies or lures frequently, I have pre-made wire leaders I made myself with a small crimped on swivel at the line end and a crimped on Rio Twist Clip on the fly end. Those clips make changing flies a breeze and they cause no issues when you are using big streamers.

Of course, you can buy leaders like that pre-made but you can’t control what swivel or clip they come with.

Have fun!!

 

[RLeep2]

I fish a lot for pike in NW Pa. early in the year, up until say, late April or so. I've also put in quite a few hours chasing them in Quebec. Nothing real serious size wise, up to maybe 8-10 lb or so and the majority are closer to 5.

Anyway, I figured out real quick that it would be easy to pass my fussing/fadiddling threshold (which isn't all that high anyway..) monkeying with leaders. So, I developed an easy system that suits me and has yet (so far as I know) to cost me a fish due to leader failure, etc.

My pike leaders are 4-7 feet long. Shorter if I'm fishing a sink tip and longer with a floating line. I use a butt of 25 or 30 lb hard Mason and taper it quickly down to .015 or so with a couple short sections of Maxima. I tie a regular old small barrel swivel to this and tie a 12" or so section of the Rio Powerflex Wire Bite knottable wire to this and then tie a small snap (no swivel) to this. Changing flies is a simple matter of opening and closing the snap. I use a simple 4 or so turn clinch knot at both ends of the wire bite. Pulled taut, it does not slip or at least hasn't done so yet. It can be a little tricky to get the knot to cinch tight and sometimes it helps to lube it. Works pretty well, so far anyway. I carry a $5 pair of Wal-Mart wire cutters from the craft section if I need to cut the Wire Bite for some reason.

FWIW, anyway..

 

[afishinado]

This has worked well for me for the toothies >

https://www.tacklesupplydepot.com/Tsunami-Nylon-Coated-Stainless-Steel-Leader-Wire-p/parent-tsunami-nylon-css-leadw.htm

 

[sandfly]

been chasin toothies since the 70's, pretty much eliminated the wire leader. only have lost maybe half dozen fish in those years. I use ande clear for my tippet section from 15-80 lb. depending what I'm after.