Its That Time -The Winter Rerig

Reel Draggin' Tackle · 12-27-2006, 08:26 PM

About this time of year and over the next three months is the time many of us spend looking over our tackle, cleaning "stuff" and figuring out what needs to be discarded and what can be rerigged.

This thread is going to be about rerigging your spreader bars. We have done one or two, so I thought we would post the entire process over the next week or two.

Our bars and light weight and tend to need attention throughout the year. In fact, any productive tackle will probably need some sort of attention through out the year. If it don't, its probably not working for you. By the time winter comes on, just about every bar on all three boats we fish from need rerigging.

We'll go into a little more detail than just a simple re-string. We go through each step in the making of a bar, squid selection, rigging lines and then the stinger and stinger selections.

So, post your questions and we'll address everything asked. And in the process I am sure I am going to learn as much if not more than anyone on the board.
Ken

Reel Draggin' Tackle · 12-27-2006, 09:17 PM

There are lots of spreader bar wire solutions to choose from. We have tried just about all of them and settled on Spring Steel. Here are the specifics:
316 Stainless Spring Steel
32” and 16” lengths
.093 diameter

The choice was based on these strengths:
- Able to withstand the harsh offshore environment (316 Stainless)
- Spring Steel so the bar has “flex” while being trolled
- The lengths have been specifically selected in relation to the diameter to ensure the bars have just the right amount of flex.
NOTE: The 16” bar is a little stiffer and is ideally suited for the large slammers. Also, a few mates outa Ocean City got a hold of our short bars, bent them in a bit to form a “V” shape. Getting the squid or slammers close together seemed to be a hot ticket. Sure enough it has been a great producer this past year.

These bars are durable, when the do bend, they either flex right back, or can be bent back into the original shape over and over.

Next we’ll post some close up shots and discuss the hardware.

74Formula233 · 12-28-2006, 08:52 AM

Great post so far Ken!

Can you give some recommendations on Swagers/Crimpers, etc?

Reel Draggin' Tackle · 12-28-2006, 12:56 PM

74formula233: We have went through a bunch of hand held crimpers. Here is a picture of the hardware we are currently using.

The Hand Held Bill Fisher HD800 has lasted a whole year and other than the foam handle, they show no sign of wear. No other crimper has lasted more than three months in our shop. The Swager is from the same outfit, its heavy duty and will probably last us nearly forever.

We have several Bench crimpers identical to the one pictured here. The oldest is about two years old and shows no sign of wear. You can search the web for the HD800 and get it for as low as $25 (ww.landbigfish.com), most other places are $35 to $42.

The Bench Crimper is ours. We offer them via special order only. It was designed specifically to handle heavy daily volume. They have preformed flawlessly for two years.

Reel Draggin' Tackle · 12-28-2006, 01:15 PM

You are going to need the Bars:

-
A few Crimps:
These are #9 Rosco crimps. They cost a bit more, but they are the best we have found:

-
And, most important: You are going to need something for the center of the bar. This is the conection point between the business end of the bar, and your main line to the rod/reel. You have lots of options here. This is a good look at the poly block we currently use. We'll discuss this more in the next few posts.

Reel Draggin' Tackle · 12-29-2006, 08:20 PM

There are many ways to make your center point. We buy sheets of Marine Starboard and cut it down. It takes a bit of time, and may be a little more expensive than other methods, however the volume we deal in cuts the ultimate price down and more importantly, its the functionality.

The Poly Block we use provides a soft, smooth "tunnel" for the leader line to move through, without damaging the line. As you can see from the picture above, the bar and the line will not touch each other inside the block due to the location of the holes.

We run a 36" leader of 200# Momoi Blue Diamond line through the block. There is an Offshore knot at each end. One for the center line of the bar, and the other for the main line swivel.

The Spreader Bar will now "float" on 36" inches of leader. This helps reduce the amount of constant drag you get from other bars. Also, this rigging and the spring steel work together to produce more pulsing action as your bars are pulled through the water. This feature alone has lead to more hookups and is worth the extra effort.

Cowboy · 01-02-2007, 09:26 AM

Great stuff Ken, thanks for sharing your tips and tricks.

Bryan A. · 01-02-2007, 01:46 PM

Great stuff! Keep the info comming. I love building and trying new stuff. This gives me some new ideas.

CaptDom · 01-02-2007, 01:53 PM

Hi guys,

Got a question for you. I have always used the plastic thimbles at the terminal ens where you clip the main line. I noticed you do the figure 8 doubling before you crimp. Do you have any issues with fatigue there from chaffe of the big ass offshore snap swivels most guys use? What are the advantages if any you see from this as opposed to the thimble ? I do the same with metal thimbles on my wire set ups. Am I wasting my money on unnecessary or extra rigging steps? Thanks.

Reel Draggin' Tackle · 01-02-2007, 08:19 PM

Capt Dom,
We found the Chaffe hardware more trouble than it is worth.
I have also have a few mates tell me that they have on occasion observed damaged line hidden by by the chaffe gear. We have not had any problems (and none have been reported to us) with the Offshore Loop Knot. The trick is to make sure it is a tight knot. The crimp needs to be snuged up to the knot. It will take a lot of heat to pull it tight.

Its fast, easy and does the job.
Ken

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