Home made Rigs Help Please

I am going to start making my own rigs. Fed up paying to much for them.

Rig Mainline 40-50lb Sakuma seems to be recommended
Snoods 15-25lb Amnesia would this be suitable for rig mainline as well in 40lb?

What size of crimps and manufacturer are the best?
What are the best sort of pliers to use to crimp?

I am going to buy Genie Link clips for attaching the weight would ones with a swivel be better?

I plan to use a Genie link clip on my reel line and a swivel (Genie 80lb) at the top of the rig is that the best option?

Genie 45lb swivels for the snoods.

Breakaway impact shields for protection.

Is there anything else I should be thinking of doing?

I would also like to experiment with booms. Is there a specific type of venue that would benifit form this? What Booms would you recommend.

Thanks I realise i went on a bit.

Jonny

i wouldnt bother with a swivel at the lead - the one attaching to the mainline is the important one

My rigs comprise of a 80-120lb test swivel at the top, 50lb mainline, sakuma/topic/suffix, also this alters to conditions, i go as low as 30lb mainline for flats...my snoods are anything between 6.1kg-18.9kg amnesia, i also use 30lb test suffix snood line, real fantastic stuff.... snoods joined to mainline via the crimp bead swivel bead crimp series, which is nice and handy...snood length varies with location and species, as does hook size...its hard to say what rig will work everytime but i favour the 1 up 1 down..real nice, and not complicated...take your time and dont go to fancy to soon...i only use clipped down rigs if i need distance, otherwise its just flappers...on rock marks forget about fancy rigs, you will just lose em...go simple first and then go for gold with mad ones, and your own ideas to what you will think works...beads and blades are an advantage for some species ie flats...As for crimping pliers i just use normal stanley pliers, dont apply to much pressure or you will weaken your line...for booms the genie boom is handy but only apllicable for species/location...more use on a boat...the swivel booms which are pearly in colour are nice off beaches, great for spreading your rig lines for flats or anything really...but dont use booms if you intend to fish for whiting, they are some balls.... hope this helps buddy

Dave

il list off my mistakes so hopefully you wont make em too,

do not buy crimp/swivels but instead buy individual crimps,swivels and beads as they destroy the movement of the bait in the tide

do not use long snoods all the time, ive found 18 inches to be the best all round length, although some conditions will dictate shorter or longer.

if no swivels are available for the top of your rig you can use a loop knot instead.

my main scratching rig, after some good advice from well known anglers now consists of an
80lb test swivel,
58inches of 50lb clear line,
8 crimps,
8 3mm black beads,
3 small snood swivels,
a gemini/breakaway lead clip,
3-18 inch lengths of 15 lb clear fluorocarbon,
black rig tubing for stop knots
clear sequins
and size 4 hooks.
all swivel knots are tied with a grinner knot and hooks are tied with a blood knots.
the rig is a 3 up flapper.

when fishing in rough ground use a single hook flapper with a really short snoods, forget about swivels, attach you snood with a water knot. line should be a minimum of 50lb.

when fishing for dogs and rays, i favour the loop rig. which is like a fancy 1up 1down. it consists of
4 foot 60lb rig body,
4 crimps,
4 3mmm beads,
two snood swivels,
one cascade swivel,
30lb snoods about 24inchs long,
a gemini/breakaway lead clip,
an 80lb test swivel,
black rig tubing,
clear sequins
and size 1/0 hooks

lightly crimp the crimps in place so they are temporarily adjustable, attach your snoods on, and cut the bottom one at about the20 inch mark, tie a cascade swivel in place and retie the hook end. clip you bottom snood into the weight and your top snood onto the cascade swivel and pull to set the crimps. crimp them down with your teeth or a pliers its up to you, real angler use their teeth and get regularly chastised by their dentists for doing so :roll:

good luck, but im in no way perfect there always something new to learn and youl wonder how did i catch without it. :wink:

attach you snood with a water knot.

Good advice there eric

but what is a water knot??

i hope its the right name, its the knots fly fishermen use to attach droppers on their leader,
get both of your pieces of line and form a simultaneous loop pull one end through it (both lines) three times and pull tight , simplicity at its best

Thanks Lads really helpful as always.

I have ordered Genie mini rig crimps are these the best ones or are they much of a muchness??

Are 3mm beads the best size for use between crimp and swivel?

I bought a few rigs with impact shields on them do you just use another crimp and 3mm bead or do these come with the shields? Sorry for the ignorance!!

havent heard of the mini rig clips are you sure there not the snood clips?

3mm is my preferred size.

yes you have supply your own bead and crimp for the impact shields.

nice advice there eric !! maybe because its exactly what i said to you last week !!!! :wink: :wink: :twisted: 8)

one advice i have is to balance your swivel strength with line BS. eg no point in using 50 lb mainline and 150 swivel. for my snoods i drop down to a size 18, 20 or 22. the size 22 still has 25lb rating and as my smoods are never heavier than 20 and more often as light as 10 lbs i feel safe enough that the snood will go before the swivel. for my top swivel i will use a size 8 rated to 80lbs with 60 lb main line.

just what i use but noones rig will be right for all occasions

stay away from the junk on sale on ebay as they invariably rust or break on the first cast and are nothing more than false economy

all swivel knots are tied with a grinner knot and hooks are tied with a blood knots.

Eric, why do you use blood knots to attach hooks and grinner knots for everything else?

what is a water knot??

As Eric described but here's a photo also.

4 Turn Water Knot

[img]http://www.mffc.org/uploaded/images/water%5B1%5D.jpg[/img]

i like the blood knot on hooks because the trim end acts as a bait stop, or so i hope :wink:

Eric

Does the water Knot weaken the line? And when you say you use 50lb line is that for both the snood and mainline?

Jonny

Dave cheers for the photo it makes things alot easier to understand when you can see it

Paul do you always use 60lb mainline and just alter the the snood strength?

Jonny

nope it doesn't weaken the line at all, i use 50lb snoods to combat abrasion that is inevitable when rock fishing.

Paul do you always use 60lb mainline and just alter the the snood strength?

Jonny

hi jonny,

if i am scratching out a few flatties and the likes in close i will use 30lb fluoro rig body, 2way beads and snoods as low as 6lbs but generally 10lbs

i use 50 or 60lbs for clean beaches with decent fish and 15- 25 lb snood

if it is a snaggy venue i use 80lb rig body with snoods of 20-30lbs.

each to their own but i like the rigs i have been using for the last 18 months and have seen my catch rates soar

each to their own but i like the rigs i have been using for the last 18 months and have seen my catch rates soar.

What sort of rigs are you using Paul or do they vary from venue to venue?

Jonny

Does anyone use the gemini rig jig? If so is it worth the money or is there a cheaper alternative that can be home made??

Jonny

each to their own but i like the rigs i have been using for the last 18 months and have seen my catch rates soar.

What sort of rigs are you using Paul or do they vary from venue to venue?

Jonny

generally stick to the old favourites,

3 hook flapper/ clipped, 2up 1 down, 1 hook clip down

snoods tend to vary from 12 inches to over 3 feet, with the longest snoods for flat calm conditions

Paul

3 hook flapper/ clipped, 2up 1 down, 1 hook clip down

When you say 2up one down am I correct the two are above the weight and the 1 down is below the weight so it is tight to the bottom?

Just want to be sure!! Is this good for particular fish? Also can you still see bites easily enough?

Jonny