I seem to be having increasing trouble keeping split shot in place on my tippet.
I usually use 5x fluorocarbon tippet and tin shot. After half hour or so of fishing, my shot slides down to the fly. I’ll open up the shot and reclamp it in place, but it quickly slides back down again.
It seems like this problem is particularly troublesome with fluorocarbon. My understanding is that fluorocarbon is harder than mono and will cut a groove in the shot which is the root of the problem.
So I’m wondering if anyone has any tricks for securing tin shot on fluorocarbon tippet?
I tie a double surgeons knot in my leader/tippet at the point I do not want the shot to go any lower. Normally, I am placing the split shot right above the knot that connects the tippet to the leader, but if you want to connect the split shot onto your tippet then tie a knot to prevent it from dropping any farther than where you want it.
You can also make a large overhand knot in your leader and then crimp the shot in the loop before pulling it tight. The knot can be removed without damage to the leader by opening up the split shot. This does create an angle in the leader at that point while the shot is present.
I gave up split shot years ago. With all due respect to the other posters, I was not interested in weakening my leader by tying even a simple overhand knot to keep the shot from slipping. I went to tungsten putty and have never looked back. All brands are definitely not equal - I recommend the Tung Fu putty for staying in place on the tippet, not being too tacky or leaving residue on your fingers, etc. If you try it, I think you’ll be a convert too.
For what it’s worth, when I was still using split shot, in order to avoid tying a knot I would often loop the tippet under the shot and back through the crease in the shot before crimping it closed. It was somewhat difficult to do, but kept the shot from sliding and didn’t require a knot or otherwise weaken the tippet.
Agree with John. Haven’t used shot for many years. I used to use lead putty, when it was legal, now I use tungsten. Can use any amount and place it where I want. A bit pricey, but it is reusable.
You can also wrap the tippet around the shot once before you crimp it. I too, use Tungstun putty almost exclusively now, but I still find it works best if it’s put onto a knot. ( I use blood knots) If the weather gets hot out and the water warms up…the putty tends to fall off.
Realizing that this dose not answer your question, but if I may I suggest
snake river mud, It work great.
Not at all like a putty , more like snot that will adhere to your leader you apply it
as you would when you grease a leader for dry flies…
Realizing that this dose not answer your question, but if I may I suggest
snake river mud, It work great.
Not at all like a putty , more like snot that will adhere to your leader, you apply it
as you would when you grease a leader for dry flies…
You can wipe it off in degrees to adjust for fly depth…
I’m afraid I don’t understand the need for a sinker on the tippet at all. If the fly needs to sink lower I add one more layer of non lead sinker wire to the fly when I tie it or I will add a heavy bead for the head.
I use sinking tip line to get the leader and tippet down also. I believe that any type of sinker used on the line near the fly just distracts the fish from the fly.
Use a 2mm tippet ring and place the shot above the ring and tie the tippet to the ring. The use of a tippet ring also allows you to connect fluorocarbon tippet onto a mono leader without fluorocarbon cutting through the mono.
Tin shot is harder than lead so it tends to crush the leader more than lead. By placing the shot ABOVE the ring, it will be on a leader section which is stronger and thicker than the tippet. In most cases the placement of the shot will not be the weakest link. The weakest link will be the tippet knot to the fly.
[QUOTE=Steve Molcsan;415387] but if I may I suggest snake river mud, It work great. Not at all like a putty , more like snot that will adhere to your leader, you apply it as you would when you grease a leader for dry flies… You can wipe it off in degrees to adjust for fly depth… ]
It’s alway good to have a connoisseur of snot on board.
