Non toxic split shot & fine lines (brands)?

[Chris Season32]

I'm looking for opinions on the best brand of shot for rod and reel fishing with low diameter lines. I've previously used Dinsmores for all my floatfishing, but having moved over to Silstar match team (6lb .18mm) for my general mainline I noticed an increase in line damage and lost a few fish to it despite being careful with the pressure applied. To combat this I moved over to some softer ZLT shot but find it regularly pings off when playing a decent lump and slides like mad. I enjoy the benefits of low diameter lines and would prefer not to go back to regular mono, what brand/shape of split shot would you recommend I try to prevent these problems in your experience? Thanks.

 

[Stealph Viper]

Anchor Double Cut Shot are supposed to be very good.
For the dropper shots from size 8 down why not use Preston innovation Stotz.

 

[Chris Season32]

Cheers for the reply Stealph, I don't tend to use anything smaller than a 8 on the leader and oddly don't have a problem with leader shotting, It's the mainline where its occuring. I'll take a look at the Anchor Double Cut shot . Anyone else any recommendations before I go shopping?

 

[Stealph Viper]

Chris,

If it's the shotting around your float, then why not threading on a thin piece of silicone tubing and pinch the shot on to that, you can pinch them on harder without the risk of line damage, get some pole float silicone.
You could try changing your mainline to see if you get the same problem, it might be synominous to that mainline.

 

[Chris Season32]

I'll order some Anchor Double Cut and give that a try first as I like to keep my setup simple (read stick in the mud). I'm sure your right in saying its a line issue (not encountered a low diameter line yet that doesn't have some drawback on the reel) but in every other respect its good, though I am tempted to try silk shock. My trouble is I enjoy fishing light waggler at range and have tried six brands of low diam' lines in the last two seasons attempting to get an edge, Silstar is the closest I've got thus far. Some of them have been totally unsuitable.

Cheers for the silicone tip though, if it comes down to it I'll force myself to change.

 

[Stealph Viper]

Chris,

I hope you find a solution to this problem, when you do, would you mind letting me know as i also like to fish with a Waggler rod, but i use Maxima Chameleon as my mainline, and that is quite hardy and robust, but not as thin in diameter as some of the new hi tech lines.

Tight Lines

 

[Jeff Woodhouse]

Which Dinsmores shot was it?

Apart from the normal stuff, they have a Cushion Shot treated with coatings of resin to stop it damaging the line. Also Egg shot that I find particularly nice, but none should damage a .18mm line. Are you putting the shot on too hard?

If it's 8s, 10, or 11s, shot try the new Dinsmore Autoshot. At a tenner a go it's dear, but it does work and the shot won't ping off like normal stuff can.

 

[Chris Season32]

Hi Woody, its the normal (Super Soft) I've been using for many years. I'm not using any more application pressure than I would when using standard mono's but I do tend to try and get away with as light a setup as feasable, and it soon shows up any defects, be they in knots or line (could go back to heavier lines but the challenge is where I get my buzz). I hadn't heard of the cushion shot, cheers for that it does look like a solution. I'll report back once I've tried it. Thanks for the advice once again all.

 

[tigger]

Another vote for Anchor double cut shot from me. Dinsmores also do a double cut shot that's good also. Their single cut stuffs usless and I've thrown a large dispencer full in the bin.

 

[Chris Season32]

I suppose its odd I've never looked at shot before when fine tuning my methods. I suppose its been a case of familiarity over function until a problem arises.

 

[mcdejer16]

Personally I wouldn't use silstar as a mainline unless I was fishing with a pole, it is fine as a hooklength but it will probably kink as will 90% of all low diameter hi-tech lines. I would stick to maxima as a mainline but I have been trying Ultima Power Plus which has been quite good, it also has quite a low diameter but I will probably return back to maxima.

For shot I echo Stealph Viper with Anchor shot but I use ZLT shot in the small sizes without any problems.

 

[Chris Season32]

Hi Baggy, I've always been a fan of traditional mono's and still use them. I do find however that the Silstar behaves well on the reel compared to many other low diam' lines and doesn't suffer from kinking on my setup. If a change of shot solves this line damage problem I'll be very happy. I've ordered some Dinsmores cushion shot and may well get some Anchor also, it won't be wasted should the problem persist and I revert back to traditional mono. Thanks for your input.

 

[Stealph Viper]

Chris,

Have you tried using pre weighted waggler floats, that way you could pinch on smaller cushion shots, that would probably cause less line damage, but still allow you the luxury of being able to cast long distances.

 

[Rodney Wrestt]

Chris, the hi tech lines are thin in diameter because they've been pre-stretched, that's fine with a pole as the elastic replaces the shock absorption but the rod doesn't have quite the same give, there's not many spliced tip rods around these days but that's the type of playing action you'll need to replace the give that standard mono has.

As for shot, have a look at Preston soft shot, I like the stotz but for bulk around the waggler the recommendations that Woody's given or Preston shot is worth a look.

 

[the oracle]

use putty!

try the new kryston putty, you can form it into any shape whatsover...tiny pieces, or large....you can mould it into any shape (2in long by 1mm thin - think of the applications) its brilliant for bulk shot and if you want to use bigger pieces to replace BB, AAA or similar mould it around a float stop...

Its re-usable and doesn't damage your line...

brilliant stuff...

 

[Rodney Wrestt]

Hello Gary,
Is the new putty like the Heavy Metal stuff that was out a few years ago?

 

[Sean Meeghan]

It's similar, but it's a lot better. Goes a bit like chewing gum when you work it between your fingers. You can then roll it on to your line in a very thin layer.

 

[Fred Bonney]

Kryston Heavy Metal Extra is the one Rodney.

It's an improvement, stays on and is more flexible, what's more it feels heavier!
I used it spread along a trotting line to some good effect too.

Good reminder, I must have lost mine, forgot to get some last time in tackle shop.

 

[Rodney Wrestt]

Thank's Sean & Fred, I think I still have some of the Heavy Metal somewhere it's good for balancing pop up's , I'll maybe get some of the improved version.

 

[Jeff Woodhouse]

I hadn't heard of the cushion shot, cheers for that it does look like a solution. I'll report back once I've tried it.

That's if you can find it in the shops (green label, green shot), but it is hard to open and close.

the Heavy metal stuff might be worth considering like Gary suggests. Sticks like **** to a blanket and you can stretch it like crazy by keep pulling it and rolling it then when it's warm wrap it onto your line and roll it out. It won't come off.

---------- Post added at 19:08 ---------- Previous post was at 19:05 ----------

Hello Gary,
Is the new putty like the Heavy Metal stuff that was out a few years ago?

He improved it. Basically, he had the old stuff made for him, but the company stopped and he bought the recipe. He more than doubled the amount of tungsten in it, hence the "Extra", so now it's much heavier than the old stuff.