What Plummet

[Philip]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good plummet ? Wish list ...

1. Quick to put on & off
2. Secure - wont fall off
3. Zero hook point damage (& ideally the hook point does not need to be pushed into anything at all)

Thanks.

 

[rich66]

Dinsmores do a clip on plummet, I’ve used them before and they are pretty good. I usually just put a Swan Shot on now I’ve misplaced them

 

[sam vimes]

I have used the Stonfo Elite Plummets for many years (Browning also do a version of it). They are spot on unless you are fishing a cobbly river! To be fair to them, there's no plummet that can really cope with a cobbly river. If you are fishing anywhere else, provided it's not weedy and snaggy, they don't come off unless you want them to. The hook point is not pushed into anything.

 

[Tee-Cee]

I must be the last person in the world to learn of the Stoneflo plummets... They look interesting so I will have a look, IF my local tackle shop has them!

In the meantime, I use the small Dinsmore clip on plummet which I find okay for my fishing, and useful for calculating over-depth fishing. Of course, it only works if the split shot you are clipping to is securely fixed to the line in the first place!

For most of my regular swims I have marked points on the rods to give instant depth, particularly if early morning fishing in half darkness, when the last thing I need is fuffing around with plummets!! Works for me..

 

[peterjg]

For light plummets I use 2 inch galvanised nails with a bit of old catapult elastic pushed on the end, the hook is then pushed in the elastic. Easy to put on and take off, no damage to hook point and they cost nothing. Also virtually no splash.

 

[no-one in particular]

If your stuck or for a cheap home made version I have used a 1/2 inch nut with some copper wire wound round it to fashion a small eye. I have found winding the hook/line through twice is enough to hold it in place so the hook does not stick into anything. I have super glued a bit of cork in the nut as well. However, they are cheap enough to buy, I just like making stuff for myself sometimes and Peter's version sounds pretty good to me.

 

[seth49]

Have a look at the guru ones, been using them for a while now, best I’ve found, the hook does push into some soft latex, so it doesn’t damage the point, I haven’t lost one yet either.

 

[mikench]

Another vote for the Guru !

 

[Alan Tyler]

A swanshot - or several - on a loop of line. Nearer the loop's turnaround, a smaller shot.
Hook goes into the loop, small shot slides up to hold the whole shebang tight against the hook.

Can also be clipped onto a swivel and used as a ledger.

 

[trotter2]

A great tip I got recently was a section of lead pipe folded over around a small piece of sponge. Put the hook into the sponge
If the plummet get trapped when your plumbing the depth the hook will pull out of the sponge.
Getting your rig back . It's a great idea if your fishing a snag ridden swim. Works a treat.

 

[corixa58]

Browning one is good

 

[Philip]

Thanks fella's, some very good suggestions there. The Stonfo elite looks good for a off the shelf solution, ..the Browning looks to be based on a similar idea. Not so keen on the Guru as it looks like you need to push your hook into something. Picky I know but prefer not too if I can.

Ingenious suggestions from Trotter & Peter with the nail and rubber...stick a couple of rubbers on and you also have a good bulk shot replacement! ...and I particularly like Alans amazingly simple loop of Nylon ...cant think why I didnt do that already !

Nice one !

 

[Another Dave]

Last time i fished a stillwater i was using a tiny pole float and had some groundbait with me that had turned out much claggier than i wanted. It was still OK though because it dissolved into a carpet after 5 minutes. Instead of using a plummet i used a small lump of this sticky groundbait - less disturbance to the swim, with the added benefit of getting some feed down. On one of the casts doing this i caught a little crucian!

 

[John Keane]

The Guru ones are a gimmick to catch the angler. The difference in depth of 2or 3mm or so that the in-line plummet offers is outweighed by the faff trying to get the hook out afterwards. Guru do some great bits of gear, this isn’t one of them!

 

[seth49]

Maybe it’s the fact that we use barbless hooks were I fish, that makes the hook easier to remove from the guru plummet, never had a problem with them, best I’ve used, and our local tackle shop sells more of these than any other.

 

[sam vimes]

Maybe it’s the fact that we use barbless hooks were I fish, that makes the hook easier to remove from the guru plummet, never had a problem with them, best I’ve used, and our local tackle shop sells more of these than any other.

I rarely use barbless hooks, but I've never had a problem using the Guru plummets. However, it's largely immaterial to the OP. The third criteria was that the OP didn't want the hook point to be pushed into anything.

 

[John Keane]

I tried the Guru plummet out and, barbless hooks or not, if you fully sink the hook point into the latex, the hook shank is inside the inline channel and therefore impossible to get hold of to remove the hook. The first time I used a baiting needle to get it out. The next time I trapped a couple of inches of line under the hook so it was possible to pull it out. There was no third time, I put them on eBay for some other mug to struggle with!