Stotz

mikench · Oct 21, 2018

My Stotta , or should I say replacement arrived unexpectedly and unrequestd and I hadn't the heart to send it back! I bought some stotz and tried it! I thought that there was a problem with the stotz as they looked like iron filings and I cannot even tell which way up they are! Can anyone fit size 10 12 to any line!!!

Which are the biggest stotz and are they worth the effort!

Give me bb shot anyday!

David Rogers 3 · Oct 21, 2018

I only use size 8 Stotz, which I find slightly easier to handle than size 8 dust shot. Still a performance getting them the right way up, though!

mikench · Oct 21, 2018

Performance is the word!!! I needed to put reading glasses on and managed to put one size 8 on the line and 4 on the floor! They are beyond me now!

wetthrough · Oct 21, 2018

Use 8s and 10s all the time and last time I was out an 11s. I find them a lot easier than round shot in the smaller sizes. I find with small round shot if you don't pick them up right it takes a lot of rolling about to get them in the right position. I rarely use regular shot now as most of my floats are loaded. If I want more weight I just put a string of eights on but not Stotz, the Waterline version are just as good if not better and you get a lot more for your money. Prestons do Super Stotz in 1, 4 and 6 but I've never tried them. Regular Stotz you can get up to No4 but again, never tried them.

Worth the trouble? To me yes as I find them easier but I don't use a Stotta, just some dental pliers.

seth49 · Oct 21, 2018

Just been tieing some pole rigs up this afternoon, I have been using size eight and eleven stotz for this, I find I need to be in good daylight to do these nowadays, not as easy under artificial lighting.

What I do is take a turn of line round my forefinger and place the stotz on my finger cut side up, then place the line in the cut and trap it with the next finger, this keeps it in place, and then gently squeeze it closed with artery forceps,

Best way I’ve found of doing these, I also have a selection of short pieces of line with various numbers of stotz ready attached, which I fit to the bottom of the float with a float rubber, and try them in a glass of water to check how many stotz each size of float needs.

Do find they stop on the line better, shot seem to ping of a lot more.

nottskev · Oct 22, 2018

Mike, far be it from me to want to flog you accessories, but if you want to use Stotz, get yourself a Stotta - made by the same company, its a little pair of pliers, like nail scissors with wide flat jaws. You put your stotz on something flat, split side down, and pick them up in the jaws. The split is then facing you, and you, and you put the split against your tensioned line, and squeeze. You'll do it quicker than describe it!

YouTube

It takes all the fiddling about out of the equation, and closes the Stotz with even pressure, so they hold but also slide easily. If you bite them on, they dig into the line, I've found, and don't sit perfectly straight.

I use size 8's and 10's instead of shot for everything bar running water rigs. I only use 12's for trimming pole floats. Why bother? Well, once you get them on, they never fall off, and you can move them around at will without damaging your line.

markcw · Oct 22, 2018

@nottskev you beat me to it Kev. It is simple to do once you get used to the stotta, Very similar to
using style pliers/pincers for attaching styles to the line but less fiddly. Also the point on the stotta can be used for removing them if required, Stotz ideal for margin rigs, they move but don't ping off like shot has a tendency to do so,
Seth, do you not take the weight of the hook into account when shotting pole rigs ? If doing them at home I use a
Dosopombio to get shotting weight and also add the hook to it . If going to do pole rigs up bankside , I make them up at home with just the hook on, then take them to the pool and shot them there,

sam vimes · Oct 22, 2018

I question the real need for such small shot/Stotz (or whatever) in most situations. I can appreciate the necessity when trying to shot a tiny pole float accurately, but not much else. I've never felt the need to use smaller than an eight, even when shotting the notoriously finicky and sensitive Drennan Stillwater Blues/Glow Tip Antenna. For less sensitive floats, the use of tiny shot is often just making shotting patterns unnecessarily complicated. It's also difficult for the angler, especially in poor light, or if the angler in question has less than perfect eyesight. I'm not advocating the use of numpty tactics or ridiculously heavy set ups, but going the other way is largely unneccessary.

daniel121 · Oct 22, 2018

It's a funny old game is fishing, I find what works for one person doesn't for another. It's quite personal and guess work baced on forever incomplete studies.

I've never had much problems putting on stoz I use 8,9,10 and 11s 11s only for trimming, my eyesight isn't the greatest and my hands aren't the tightest they once was but I found stoz to be my savour, I'd almost certainly be no 6 shot or above without them. Luckily I have little bother putting them on the line by hand, I do have a magnifying glass that I ware though ill confess.

In fast water there's no point to small shot, in slow moving water the more the need increases, the place that small shot excels to me is for fishing up in the water or on the drop, or for really hard fished waters

108831 · Oct 28, 2018

I use shots down to 11's regularly,and 12's & 13's occasionally,I use them as droppers and used to find shot the same size a nightmare,but essential,there are times shot/stotz to drag along the bottom in the smaller size just to achieve the right pace on the waggler...imo.

mikench · Oct 28, 2018

Armed with my stotta( thanks Kev) and some super stotz I have been practicing! I have also managed to apply size 8 but 11's make me lose the will to live and I don't need them!!

I plan to use them next time out as practice makes perfect!!!

wetthrough · Oct 28, 2018

mikench said:
Armed with my stotta( thanks Kev) and some super stotz I have been practicing!

How do they compare for hardness compared to regular non lead shot?

108831 · Oct 28, 2018

Mate,shot 8's and smaller are lead anyway,but stotz are brilliant for not damaging the line,I don't use a stotta,but use a middy stainless steel plier that does a great job for me...it is sprung to the shut position,so when you put pressure on the pliers it opens,I place a shots on the palm of my hand,groove down,squeeze the pliers,release the pressure,picking up the weight and just find the groove with the line,a gentle sqeeze(she cried)on the jaws and Bob's your uncle,jobs a goodun,hope my explanation is readable...

wetthrough · Oct 28, 2018

Super Stotz come in 1, 4, 6 and 8

mikench · Oct 28, 2018

Correct Gordon and I can manage these without difficulty! It's small shots and stotz which are beyond me and I had an eyesight test last week!!!

108831 · Oct 28, 2018

I wouldn't use those because shot are better for locking floats,or bulk shot imo.

nottskev · Oct 28, 2018

wetthrough said:
Super Stotz come in 1, 4, 6 and 8

I get your question: how do the larger Stotz 1,4,6, in the non-toxic material compare to equivalent size shot in non-toxic material?

I don't know, but I'd be interested to hear what someone who has used them says. Eg, will their shape make them kinder to the line than the non-toxic shot?

I wondered,since I was never wholly convinced anglers dropping the odd split shot had the impact claimed by some of the rather hysterical pro-swan campaigners, how much lead shot is spread on the land by shooting. 2,000 tonnes per year, despite restrictions and a ban on lead-shooting some species, is the figure commonly quoted in articles about it. That's aside from the greater amount deposited on clay pigeon shooting grounds. Makes you think, or makes me think, at least, when I reflect what expensive rubbish most non-toxic alternatives are.

john step · Oct 28, 2018

Mike as whitty has just said , I tried to make the point in an earlier post about the pincers I use. I put a photo up of them at the time................

Those pincers are sprung loaded to the closed position. Therefore when you squeeze to open them and position them over the stotz(Split down) on your palm they stay that way. They hold the stotz in position without any need to concentrate on holding it by you.

You cannot drop the stotz because it is held in place until you decide where to position it.

mikench · Oct 28, 2018

Thanks John but I cannot use these as I do not have them! I bought the stotta but cannot see me as being capable of managing small stotz !

john step · Oct 28, 2018

mikench said:
Thanks John but I cannot use these as I do not have them! I bought the stotta but cannot see me as being capable of managing small stotz !

Mike you have everything else in the way of tackle. Enough to start a tackle shop???? Go on...another little purchase would feel nice....wouldn't it ? :wh

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