Members Login
Username 
 
Password 
    Remember Me  
Post Info TOPIC: they keep on breaking me off


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 584
Date:
they keep on breaking me off
Permalink  
 


I have lost at least 5 or 6 very lg  fish  sence I started  using little flys  what gives  ? is 5 x too light  ?



__________________


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 584
Date:
Permalink  
 

rgloft wrote:

I have lost at least 5 or 6 very lg  fish  sence I started  using little flys  what gives  ? is 5 x too light  ?


 anyway I went to 4 x and they break that to just below my sergins knot  where i put my `weight   what now   3x  ?



__________________


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 351
Date:
Permalink  
 

practice your knots..... it is not the tippet!!!



__________________
"Three-fourths of the Earth's surface is water, and one-fourth is land. It is quite clear that the good Lord intended us to spend triple the amount of time fishing as taking care of the lawn."  - Anon.


Veteran Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 55
Date:
Permalink  
 

Maybe your knots...also how old is your tippet? If it's old or if it's been sitting in the sun or in your car/truck in excessive heat, I would replace it. 5X is not too light. If your fighting them off your reel, back off your drag and also keep it in good working order. I use only enough drag (for trout) to prevent the line from over run.

wf



-- Edited by wormfree on Sunday 18th of September 2011 09:00:03 PM

__________________


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 215
Date:
Permalink  
 

If you are using an improved clinch knot, you may want to try using 4 1/2 turns.  I tested the knot at my kitchen table (not very scientific) and found that 4 1/2 turns made the strongest knot.  This was true for both mono and flourocarbon.  However, knot testing is very complex.  Test results can vary by brand of tippet and size of the hook you are using.  I was using 5X Umqua mono and Rio Fluoroflex Plus.  The fly was tied on a #16 3769 hook.  Also, if there are a lot of weeds where you are fishing, you will definitely break off more fish.  That's why, for me, late Summer is the toughest time to land fish.



__________________


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 584
Date:
Permalink  
 

sounds simple enough >  I have not been spiting on the sergins knot and thats the one breaking  ill start spitting on that one too . thats pob it  . If it still breaks ? I dont know . I think allistair is right  it is not my tippit. if all else fails i will replace my tippit.  tippit is not real exspencive but what the heck.  I know from now on I will date the spool . just a thought 



-- Edited by rgloft on Sunday 18th of September 2011 09:51:32 PM

__________________


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 290
Date:
Permalink  
 

Some spools even come marked from the factory. If it is not marked or you suspect it may be bad material you can tell by grabbing and pulling the tippet before you tie, not very scientific but you can definitely tell if the tippet is weaker than it should be. Also, test every knot after you tie with as much force as you think the fish will be tugging with. If the line is bad it will break over and over and over again every time you tie a knew knot and test it with a good tug.

Other item to check is make sure your rod isnt' too stiff for the tippet, rod and tippet must match, it's the rod's job to protect the tippet.

If you bought all of your tippets at the same time 3 years ago and have left all of them in the car or in the sun multiple times then they all may have degraded and none of them are trustworthy.

__________________


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 205
Date:
Permalink  
 

Where are you putting your split shot?  Be careful pinching down shot on small tippet.  You can nick the line thus creating a weak spot on your set up.



__________________


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 909
Date:
Permalink  
 

Make sure ur not putting to much pressure on the fish. Have a loose drag and use ur hand to increase the drag. It's called palming. You should be able to land 20 inch fish on 6x tippet. Not that it's recommended, but sometimes in that slow clear water that's the only way those finnicky fish will hit.

__________________
Mama said bait fishing is the devil!


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 215
Date:
Permalink  
 

If you are using a surgeon's knot (two times through the center), you may want to try the triple surgeon's knot (three times through).  Greg Schuerger, a former Putah Creek guide, did a video on Putah for Flyfish TV.  In it he uses a triple surgeon's knot to tie his 4X-5X connection.  It's just something to try if you still get breakoffs. 



__________________


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 584
Date:
Permalink  
 

Im not sure what was causing the line to break  but I have started to wet the tippet when I pull it tight  . I have been getting  slopy when tieing the sergins knot  . I only recently developed this problem  , When I started useing the right fly  . I started hooking much larger fish , And loosing em . Thank god  I am landing some of them . A 2 plus pounder yesterdayn 



__________________


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 1808
Date:
Permalink  
 

A bloodknot is so much better.



__________________


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 511
Date:
Permalink  
 

I use a triple surgeons knot when connecting tippets of varying sizes and never have a problem.

__________________
Cliff


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 817
Date:
Permalink  
 

Here is a great website that I check on for tying some of the different knots out there. I am not sure if the break rates are accurate, but it is kinda fun to see if you are using the best knot. it is very helpful on learning to tie the different knots out there. I almost always use a double surgeons and the improved clinch knots. They seem to work.

http://www.steelheader.net/knots/knots.htm

__________________
chris


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 215
Date:
Permalink  
 

The main problem with these websites (and knot tying books) is they often give you ONE formula for a knot.  For example, the website says to use six turns for the Improved Clinch knot.  If you do you own testing, you'll find that you need to vary the number of turns depending upon the size of the tippet in order to achieve the maximum knot strength.  For example, for 2X Rio fluorocarbon, 4 turns produced the strongest Improved Clinch knot in my testing.  For 3X, it was 4 1/2 turns.  (I use these knots at Pyramid and that's why I did this testing). 



__________________


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 817
Date:
Permalink  
 

Four turns is the best on the improved clinch. I have done some testing and I would consider a four turn improved clinch to be 100% That is why I said I wasn't too sure about the break rates. For some more fun on knots you can check out knot wars!!

__________________
chris
Page 1 of 1  sorted by
Quick Reply

Please log in to post quick replies.



Create your own FREE Forum
Report Abuse
Powered by ActiveBoard