Knotless braid (hollow) to leader connection

[Ben Furness]

Hi everyone,

Due to crappy fingers the friction knots seem to have beaten me! Has anyone used the connection below for Gt fishing? It seems to be popular with people towing big lures but I wasn't sure about a casting situation.

TackleTour Video - Braid and fluorocarbon connection without a direct knot

[Duncan O'Connell]

Hey Ben,

You wont be able to feed heavy leader (~200lb) up inside JB Hollow.

Better off splicing a loop and doing a catspaw join to a twisted leader.

Cheers
Tom

[Ben Furness]

Thanks mate but I have heard that JB Hollow 130lb will take 200lb black magic mono? Although I have to admit that I have never seen it done before!

[Duncan O'Connell]

I have a small spool of 130lb Toray hollow which is what they are using in the TackleTour video.
I just went and tried 210lb Sunline.
No way it was going up the middle haha!

Interesting to hear if someone has done it.

[Luke Wyrsta]

Agree with everything that has been said.

Ben, if you want to go down this path you'll need to find some 400lb+ hollowcore to splice onto your mainline. Something like JB or TufLine XP would be a good choice.

Splice this for a 2/3 metres, leaving enough room to then splice on your mono shock leader (i'd be thinking around 50cm or so).

It's been a long time since I've done this, and I did it with the cats-paw/twisted connection as mentioned. You would need to experiment with the single though as I haven't done it and that's merely an observation. Many French anglers use this system (i.e. Eric Le Guyader) and they may weigh in on this discussion.

[Travis Heaps]

I've been down the splice mono into 130 lb hollow experimental route before and failed miserabley...I find it very very tough to do.

[Mark Harris]

Ben, have you tried using any of the friction knot tools on the market?

You are big bloke with huge hands so I can see why the FG or Mid knot seems a bit intimidating. But a PR Knot using a bobbin might prove easier for you.

[Ben Furness]

You are big bloke with huge hands so I can see why the FG or Mid knot seems a bit intimidating. But a PR Knot using a bobbin might prove easier for you.

Haha, its not that Mark. My banana hands have very weak joints and a few arthritic joints which makes getting a grip on anything smaller than a pair of pliers a major pain in the arse!

[Dmitrii Novgorodtcev]

Shout's Bobbin Knotter is very proven item. I have been using it for about 4 or 5 years and very happy with it.

[Patrick Naslund]

I splice Sunline 210 lb mono in JB 130 hollow no problem

The trick is to round the edge of the mono ( as a needle point ) I don't even have to use a hollow needle this way.
Another important thing when making wind-ons is to put at least 12 kg pressure on the leader/wind-on while serving it to prevent it from slipping ,
since Mono will shrink in diameter when loaded . And going from 0-12/15 kg on strike could possibly lead to mono starting to slip ( if the serve was made with no tension on the leader while serving )

Patrick

[Ben Furness]

Thanks Patrick,

That's what I was hoping to hear. I might get a small spool and start practicing. How do you round the end of the mono? Sandpaper, lighter?

[Bill Amaral]

Well I've enjoyed reading the posts here and I suppose it is time I tried to contribute a little in return for what has been provided. As to threading heavy (600 lb.) monofilament, flurocarbon, or even 46 strand cable (up to 450 lbs.) up hollow spectra rest assured that it can be done. Maybe not by ease by me but others do it. I guess Basil doesn't frequent this forum as he does 360, but maybe someday he'll drop in. In the mean time there are some hours of informative reading available at his site.

http://www.bhptackle.com/home.php?cat=9 typical pricing for wind on leaders. showing what diameters and pound test are available. And his home page. http://www.bhptackle.com/home.php

Hope you find it to be of some interest.

Bill

[Patrick Naslund]

Ben.

I use cheapo nail files to make the shape and then a sharpening stone ( really fine grade ) to smoothen out then point.

Check this video  Connecting 130 Blackwater Fluorocarbon Fishing Line to 130 pound Blackwater Super Braid

I would not serve as he does though ( using 2 clamps ) since it's not enough tension on the Mono.

I personally went the cheapo way there as well using a door handle where I put the loop and some weights I have laying around at home.

[Ben Furness]

Thanks Patrick,

Is the serve necessary? I have seen the same connection before but using a nail knot (50lb braid) just becore the entry point into the braid tightened with dowels.

[Patrick Naslund]

Ben.

I'm by no means an expert on this.. I've just picked up a few things from ppl I trust have the knowledge.

I know ppl use nail knot and some use 2 nail knots.. and some use 1 nail knot close to the end of hollow.. and then a nail knot done on the mono a bit further  up( inside the finger trap ) with another nail knot " serve" on the outside just above the " inside" nail knot.

I guess all work ok.

In my opinion the most important thing is to do the serve while the  wind-on is under tension ( loaded ). Because if you do the serve as he does in the video ( no tension/ load on the wind on ) when you have 12-15 kg break and  fighting a fish.. mono will have a smaller diameter than when unloaded , hence the serve will not put any real pressure on the mono to prevent it from slipping ( the purpose of the serve ).

If you have slow steady load  you would not really need a serve for the finger cuff to work , but going from 0-12 kg in a sec you will eventually see the mono slipping out from the insertion if this repeats enough times( without a serve done under load )

Patrick