| Left
to right: 200-lb. ball-bearing snap-swivel, 100-lb. ball-bearing
snap-swivel, 230-lb. Power Swivel, 130-lb. Power Swivel, 80-lb. Power
Swivel. |
| In
Baja, we use swivels and snap-swivels almost exclusively for connecting
trolling leaders to main lines. Tie or crimp a swivel to the front end
of the leader and tie a snap-swivel to your main line. This prevents --
or at least reduces -- line twist if your lure gets fouled and starts
to spin. The only other thing we use swivels for is making
sliding-sinker rigs for halibut. In our opinion, there's no need to use both a ball-bearing swivel and a ball-bearing snap-swivel. Ball-bearing swivels are about 100 times better than barrel swivels at preventing line twist -- especially under load -- but just one is sufficient. For a couple of reasons, we prefer to use ball-bearing snap-swivels on the main line and non-ball-bearing swivels on leaders. First, it's a lot less expensive. Regular swivels cost a fraction of what ball-bearings cost, and you'll likely have a lot more rigged trolling lures than you do trolling rods. Second, the swivels on trolling leaders live a hard life. They tend to go into tackle boxes wet when you switch out lures and then stay there for days or months. Snap-swivels on the end of main lines, though, are much more convenient to rinse and dry at the end of the day -- or at least the trip. So expensive ball-bearing swivels are likely to last longer in this application. We like Spro swivels and snap-swivels. They're well made (in Japan), they have a relatively corrosion-resistant black nickel-type finish, and they're reasonably priced. The Power Swivels are incredibly small, which may or may not get you more trolling strikes. It certainly doesn't hurt, though, to have less obtrusive hardware. We use the big 200-lb. snap-swivels when trolling with heavy leaders for billfish or wahoo and the 100-lb. snap-swivels for about everything else. For most trolling leaders, we use the 230-lb. Power Swivels. They're way stronger than necessary in most situations, but they're not overly large. We use the 130-lb. Power Swivels for "stealth" trolling leaders made of 60-lb. fluoro. The 80-lb. Power Swivels are tiny. We occasionally use them for super-stealth 40-lb. fluoro trolling leaders or to make sliding-sinker rigs to get live sardinas down a few feet. |
 |
Spro Ball-bearing Snap-swivel 200-lb.: $5.25 each 100-lb.: $5.25/3-pack 200-lb.: $4.00 each (ship weight .01 lbs.) Out of 100-lb. Three 200-lb. left. |
 |
Spro
Power Swivel, 10-pack 230-lb.: $3.40/10-pack 130-lb. and 80-lb.: $3.25/10-pack 130-lb. and 80-lb.: $2.25/10-pack (ship weight .01 lbs.) Out of 230-lb. One pack of 130-lb. left. Four 80-lb. |
Double Crimping Sleeves
| As
a general rule, we tie mono and fluoro up to and including 60-lb. and
crimp 80-lb. and heavier. Brass double sleeves are easy to use,
inexpensive, and perfectly functional. We carry them in a small size
suitable for 60- and 80-lb. line and a larger size that fits 100- to
200-lb. |
 |
Double Crimping Sleeves, 25-pack Sm. (60- and 80-lb. leader): $1.15/25-pack Lg. (100- to 200-lb. leader): $1.90/25-pack (ship weight .03 lbs.) |
Rigging Beads
| Use
plastic rigging beads to control the position of the hook in trolling
lures. Thread them onto the leader between the lure and the hook to
make the hook ride farther back in the skirt. |
 |
Plastic 8mm Rigging Beads, 50-pack $0.75/50-pack (ship weight .01 lbs.) |
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