Hooks to nylon

[hammer_jamie]

Normally i tie my hooks straight onto my mainline when float fishing, I'm thinking starting to use hooks to nylon?


Is size 14 to 3lb line Suitable? Also would it be possible to attach the nylon to my mainline using a swivel?

Also which brand to buy would be helpful.



Thanks

 

[peter crabtree]

I usually tie my own but for speed or frozen hands I find Drennan do a pretty comprehensive range as do Kamasan.
It works out cheaper in the long run if you buy a hook tier, some spade end hooks and some spools of line and tie your own.
I've never felt the need for a swivel to join my hooklinks to main line but some anglers do, it can help prevent line twist.

 

[sam vimes]

There's nothing hard and fast as to what breaking strain line should be used with certain hook sizes. 14 to 3lb might be quite reasonable depending on the hook pattern/gauge and the water/bait you are fishing. You certainly can use swivels to connect mainline to hooklinks.

Specific brands/patterns of hooks and line are a matter of preference and requirement. You'll get different answers from pretty much every person you ask. However, Drennan, Preston and Kamasan are generally well thought of and widely available.

 

[Tee-Cee]

I still manage to tie some of own but the smaller sizes not so easy anymore so I tend to use Drennan H to N as this is the brand my local tackle shop offers, and in a pretty wide variety of sizes/line strengths. Personally I cannot fault them for reliability and they punch well above their weight if hooking an unexpected fish on a very small hook.
As with all hooks to nylon it pays to take extra care initially when taking them from the packet as it is easy to end up with an unwanted knot or to kink the line in some way, particularly with the smaller sizes tied to fine line. Okay once you get the hang of it though...
In winter I sometimes debag some of the smaller sizes into bigger bags opening the line out in the process which helps in really cold weather.
I use the Drennan Silverfish Maggot range quite a lot in 18/20/22 and they work well for that bait, although the same hook also does a good job fishing hemp - 18 for giant hemp and 20 for standard hemp.

Others will have a favourite brand which probably work equally as well...............

 

[hammer_jamie]

Thanks for the comments I’ve gone and bought two different packets, Kamasan size 14 and what Tee-Cee recommended Drennan size 18 silver fish maggots hooks.

I’ve noticed in my tackle box I have size 10 swivels, Would these be to big to tie the hook link and the mainline together?

 

[Another Dave]

I'd get some tiny link swivels.

 

[markcw]

A few brands do swivels were you can change hooklengths Cralusso being one of them, Just read
Another Daves post mg: Incorporate the weight of your swivel into your shotting pattern,

 

[john step]

If you feel you need a small swivel they can be in lieu of the bottom tell tale shot. Personally I would find one another bit of clutter on my line.

 

[Another Dave]

I know what you mean about clutter John but the trade off for me is that if i start doubting the hook is sharp then i can very quickly switch the hook-to-nylon for a new one. Also my loop to loop knots make clutter look slick.

 

[Tee-Cee]

I have used the tiny swivels that allow the quick changing of hook lengths and they certainly do a job, but for some fathomless reason I just cannot get on with them. They always seem to be in the 'wrong' place in the shotting set-up and still too big against No 10 shot or smaller....It just looks wrong as well, but I accept I may well be stuck in the past around such things!
That said, in winter, with cold hands, I have thought it would be good to use one.....

Whatever rocks your boat and the OP will make up his own mind, but imo give them a try!

 

[Keith M]

I never attach my hooklengths using a swivel when float fishing; simply because I’m always moving my shot up and down depending on where and how the fish are feeding at the time and how I want my bait presented, and a swivel will most probably limit this and get in the way.

I’ve tried it once or twice over the years when I’ve been using a bait that has caused line twist during a long retrieve but I would much prefer to fish a little closer or alter my bait presentation so that it didn’t spin.

But this is just my own personal preference so if you like using swivels when float fishing then of course that’s fine, there’s nothing wrong in that in my view

Keith

 

[nottskev]

You can use swivels to join a hooklength. I do it myself for heavy-duty stuff like barbel fishing, where a bead and swivel stop a heavyish lead, and sometimes I use the micro-swivels on running water where your bait can spin on the retrieve and twist up your hooklength.

But for everyday stillwater fishing on light to medium gear, I would never bother with swivels. Loop to loop connection has never once failed, in all the years I've used it, and the loops can be pushed apart if you want to change your hooklength. I wondered if you'd asked about swivels because you're confident of your knots for them, but less so for loops? A few minutes practice would sort that out, and you can get a plastic loop-tying gadget for a few pence in tackle shops. There are videos for tying loops, with and without a tyer, on youtube.

 

[sam vimes]

I'm one of those weirdos that does use a swivel to attach hooklinks when float fishing. However, they are tiny swivels of size 16 and 18 on the new scale (probably around 20/22/24 on the old scale). These are about the weight of the 8 and 10 dust shot which I invariably used as a final dropper. If I want a bigger gap from the last dropper (swivel) to the hook, I just tie a longer hooklink.

Initially, I only used the swivel when float fishing for grayling. It was mainly to negate some of the twist that grayling inevitably impart. I also wanted to exclude the need for any shot at all on the hook link. However, the decision to try them was made easier by the fact that grayling float set ups don't really need to be fancy on the rivers I fish. Buggering about with the distance of the final dropper is rarely necessary. I don't find that two foot hooklinks are required.

As I got to grips with using them for this application, and doubted that they were having any negative impact, I started to include them in most of my float fishing. The only downside is the inability to rapidly change the distance to the hook of the last dropper. However, as I invariably found that 8/10 shot, and smaller, invariably ping off the line, sooner rather than later, I wasn't losing out on much.

I've probably been using some sort of micro swivel in most of my float fishing for the two or three years now. I've no plans to go back to loop to loop connections any time soon. My hooklinks have also got shorter over time. Five or six (measured) inches is my usual, though I will make them longer if necessary.

 

[john step]

Sam, I notice you get pining off with 8s and 10s. I swear by stotz to cure that. Easy to move if needed without damaging the main line too. Only disadvantage is that should you wish to remove one...well good luck , I have not managed it yet!

 

[sam vimes]

Sam, I notice you get pining off with 8s and 10s. I swear by stotz to cure that. Easy to move if needed without damaging the main line too. Only disadvantage is that should you wish to remove one...well good luck , I have not managed it yet!

John,
I've tried all kinds of normal shot (which I now rarely use), stotz and Grippa Styx. I seem to have an uncanny knack of getting them all (in the small sizes) to ping off. Now I've taken to using micro swivels, it's not a frustration I have to endure.

 

[wetthrough]

Another weirdo here. I've used swivels since I got back into fishing. I've just never felt confident with the loop to loop connection and swivels just seemed like
a sensible thing to do. The downside to me is when you want to change hooklength you lose some main line and have to move the float. Not a big deal but
could lose you some time if you were match fishing. As most people use the loop to loop I thought I'd give it a try some time ago. First retrieve a wind loop in
the hook length. Never tried it since.

 

[markcw]

Use a small link swivel with a sleeve on it, put hooklength loop over bend in link swivel, cover with sleeve and
away you go, you can change hooklengths in seconds should the need arise,

 

[shane99]

I usually use a swivel, as small as possible, just big enough to thread the hook through. I usually leave a 20mm tail on the main line after tying and
just shot accordingly next to the swivel on the 'double' line, then trim after. I only fish still water so a shotting pattern isnt crucial for me. Usually put a tell tale shot on the hooklink about 6" above hook. Definately find it more convenient using hooks to nylon but the ratio's of line lb to hook size always seem wrong to me in the larger hook sizes?

 

[laguna]

Damn it! I've spent the best part of 2 hours so far looking for my Matchman tier without luck. I'm sure someone's had it away!
I thought I also had another make somewhere but I haven't seen that one in over 5 years.

Anyhow, I'll just have to do something I haven't done since I was a kid... buy some hooks to nylon from the tackle shop!
Current preferred brand is tubertiihttps://www.google.com/search?num=1...d=0ahUKEwixwPjppsPaAhXDCMAKHRHdDc0QkeECCCUoAA in size 22 tied to 1.5Lb line for silvers, but just my luck their hooks to nylon are only available in size 20's - and I'm not buying another bloody tier!!!

 

[thecrow]

There was a time iirc when size 18s were tied to 1.5lb line are they no longer available because I cant find any.