Titanium leader rigging....

[fishraptor]

 

  Hello, 

 

I joined 2 clubs since my previous posts.....  a Bass Fishing league and a Fly Fishing league.  

 

Our first  "outing" with the Bass club is a Northern Pike team tournament.  

 

I have never fished for Northerns but have all the needed lures but I do realize that a steel leader is necessary.  Was going to use some of the "steel" 

leaders that I already had but was advised by one of the guys in the club that going Titanium was the way to go. Softer, some stretcj and more flexible allowing better lure action. 

 

So...... I  purchased two  15' spools of leader.  One of 20# and one of 30#. 

 

Not sure best way to prefab up some 8" to 12" leaders though.  Know you can buy some double barreled furrells and crimp them which is common but was thinking 

to keep it smaller and  "stealthier" was thinking of possibly just using one "single barrel furrell" and looping the titanium back in and crimping. 

 

Attaching a snap swivel (or maybe just a plain snap) to the loop at one end which will affix the lure then the other probably just leave the fabricated loop or maybe add a ball bearing swivel to that loop on the other end which will then be tied to braid. 

 

The question is:  I am not sure what size furrells to purchase (ID). Ratings on each Titanium wire are:

20# wire is rated at .35mm  (mic'd up at .0013")

30# wire is rated at .38mm (mic'd up at .0015")

 

If I were at a Tackle shop I could easily "eyeball" the inside diameter and pick correct size but I'm going to order online so would like to know which "style" ferrules to use (single bbl or dbl) 

and correct ID. 

 

Can anyone advise best rigging technique and possible sizes to buy. Also, is it imperative that I buy one of the "crimping" tools or just use Electrical crimping tool. 

If so, any brands recommended as there are quite a few out there from cheap to expensive. 

 

Also, possibly rigging with out using Ferrules might be a better option (ie. Modified Albright ???) and if that is the best way then maybe I might pursue that. 

 

thanks, 

[A-Jay]

I use this product ~

Simply tie it to your main line & to your bait. (or attach a swivel or clip as needed)

No sleeves / crimps needed.

Works great !

A-Jay

 

[J Francho]

I was gonna offer a similar solution.  Toothy Critter from Cortland is readily available locally.  Just tie it to the mainline.  20# size works great!

 

 

[fishraptor]

A-Jay and Francho..... great but what knot are you recomending for both ends.  i take it that it is slimmer, stealthier than the crimping sleeve method ?

[J Francho]

For that, I just use a Uni to Uni.  Not a knot I usually recommend for braid to fluoro, but it performs well with the tie-able leader.  Any terminal knot works well at the end, so pick your favorite.

[Scott F]

Titanium is good because it doesn't kink but, a good crimp on titanium isn't easy. It doesn't like to be bent and if the crimp isn't real solid, it will come apart. Plus, although titanium does bend and returns to straight, it will break. I tried it for a while but gave up on it. 

Stealth with leaders is not an issue. Pike are crazy and don't care if you use a leader or not. A simple clinch knot works just fine with tieable wire.  It takes a bit of practice to tie without the wire kinking and curling up.

[Deleted account]

Check to see if it is the kind you can tie. If not you'll have to either loop it or crimp it. The albright knot was originally designed to join fishing line to wire. That is how I do it when I fish wire for pike, which I usually don't. I find that 60 lb mono leader and larger longer lures works well, particularly when they are not being aggressive. I do use very light single strand steel if I go to smaller lures sometimes. In a tournament, I'd play it by ear but err on the side of caution.