| |
|
|
| |
Snap links, Micro rings and Dropper twist.
Sun 1st May, 2016
|
|
|
|
Fly fishing techniques and tackle are evolving all the time. And it seems that every few months someone somewhere comes up with a little bit of kit to make life easier during a day on the river.
I'm not sure when these fly snap links first appeared but I was using them in the UK over fifteen years ago.
Many of the still-waters I used to fish had a one fly only rule. Because of this a day on the lake involved a lot of fly changes and I found these invaluable.
They received some bad press at the time with reports of them straightening when playing fish. But I don't recall this ever happening to me on any of the still water trout fisheries I used to fish.
I think I'd err on the side of caution if I was using them with a seven or eight weight outfit on the Tongariro. You can apply a lot of pressure with that kind of gear and I probably wouldn't use them in that situation. But I find them really convenient when I'm nymphing the river with the five weight.
They're a little bit fiddly when you first try them but you soon get the hang of it. Attaching the fly is easy enough, just grip the link firmly with the thumb and forefinger of one hand, place the eye of the fly over the bend of the link with the other and press down. But when changing flies you have to play around a little to get used to removing them.
They're particularly handy when you're fishing a dropper on the trace and like loop knots allow heavy nymphs to move more "naturally".
Even if you start off with a fairly long dropper after a few fly changes there will eventually come a time when it becomes too short.
This would normally involve re-tying part of your leader but by using these you don't have to ... saving time and expensive fluorocarbon.
They're usually sold in three sizes:
* Small #16 - 14
* Medium #12 - 10
* Large #8 up
And no ... personally in most nymphing situations I don't think they put the fish off.
Talking of droppers. Now that more anglers are trying Czech nymphing, tying droppers on the trace itself {rather than tying them Kiwi style off the bend of the bomb} is becoming more commonplace.
When you tie in a trace dropper unless you use quite stiff line or keep them short, you'll inevitably get a problem with twist.
This is caused retrieving and casting between drifts.
To help overcome this simply incorporate a swivel on the trace above the flies. However you must match swivel size to line diameter. Its no good using a big swivel with thin line because thin line won't generate enough torque to turn the swivel and alleviate the twist.
Nowadays most good tackle shops stock these tiny swivels and I find them indispensable for all kinds of fly fishing rigs.
One other little innovation thats been around for a while is the micro ring. Again they received a mixed reception from anglers but I've used them for years and never had a problem.
 Because of they're tiny size I've found the easiest way to carry and use them is to load them onto a safety pin.
When you need one push it towards the pin clasp with your finger nail and leaving it on the still closed pin tie it to one end of your leader.
Don't try and pull the knot tight yet because you'll bend out the pin and the rest of your micro rings will end up in the drink.
Part tighten the knot, open the pin and slide the attached ring off. I know this is stating the obvious ... but close the pin. Now attach the other end of the leader, moisten both knots and tighten ... easy.
 |
|
|
| Back to Top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
