[zvic733]

I am primarily a yarn and corkie guy, and use a sliding weight. I use a snap swivel above my barrel swivel and a bead. I want to get proficient at drifting eggs this year, and today when I cast, my eggs (because of their weight) would hit the water 20 feet ahead of my weight.
I have used just a snap swivel with the mainline on one end of the barrel and the leader on the other end, with the weight hanging from the snap, but the weight and the leader always seem to get tangled.
What are some other methods of attaching a fixed weight?

 

[Coho King]

Are you using a dropper to your weight? If so then tangles will be fairly common. What I do is take my pieces of pencil lead and flatten the ends in a vice, I then nail a hole in the flatend end. Just snap the lead right on to the swivel Tup:

 

[volynsky]

crimp the hollow core lead onto the tag end of your knot on the swivel

 

[Stonefish]

I use these Vision swivels for fishing fixed weights.

 

[gator_79]

I also use the pictured "rolling drop" swivels from vision. I switched to them about 3 years ago for drifting. They work great, and no tangles.

 

[KingFisher85]

I just buy the vison swivels that stonefish posted or I go and buy a bunch of 3-way swivels and a bunch of snap swivels and make it work

 

[YellowFever]

I use these Vision swivels for fishing fixed weights.

Those vision swivels are money. You can pick up a pack of them at Joes for only a few bucks, and they cut down your tangles by a long shot! I used to run a seperate smaller swivel to do a sliding weight, but due to some unfortunate finance situations, i'm rollin with a fixed weights and my choice of laser sharp or brads hooks! I've never even noticed a huge difference with fixed vs sliding... in decent current it doesn't matter too much, but if your fishing slower deeper water then you might want to go back to the sliding.

 

[Big Worm]

Are you using a dropper to your weight? If so then tangles will be fairly common. What I do is take my pieces of pencil lead and flatten the ends in a vice, I then nail a hole in the flatend end. Just snap the lead right on to the swivel Tup:

Same here. Easy to change lead this way.

 

[Dr Hook]

Are you using a dropper to your weight? If so then tangles will be fairly common. What I do is take my pieces of pencil lead and flatten the ends in a vice, I then nail a hole in the flatend end. Just snap the lead right on to the swivel Tup:

Same here. Easy to change lead this way.

If I'm using a fixed weight, I just use lead cutting pliers with a hole punch built into the pliers. I can cut, flatten and hole punch right on the river.

 

[YellowFever]

Are you using a dropper to your weight? If so then tangles will be fairly common. What I do is take my pieces of pencil lead and flatten the ends in a vice, I then nail a hole in the flatend end. Just snap the lead right on to the swivel Tup:

Same here. Easy to change lead this way.

I use that if i'm drifting braid, because i can usually pull my weight out relatively easy, but if i'm fishing light mono heres what I do:
1) pick up a spool of HOLLOW pencil weight
2) lightly grabbing it with pliers, bend and break a piece off
3) take a piece of leader material (6 to 10lb test) about two inches long and make a loop out of it
4) Put the ends into the open hole, and pinch them in with the pliers. clip the loop onto your swivel
This will durastically cut down how much gear you lose with light line. By punching the hole you are increasing the resistance tenfold, causing you to lose everything when you snag your weight up.

 

[WaFlyCaster]

on a local river around here somebody has been fishing those vision swivels with WAYYY too much lead because i picked up about 8-9 set ups from the same guy out of one run a couple weeks ago... same swivel corky and hook set up!!! dont need 3 inches of lead to get down in 5-6 feet of water!

 

[Big Worm]

Are you using a dropper to your weight? If so then tangles will be fairly common. What I do is take my pieces of pencil lead and flatten the ends in a vice, I then nail a hole in the flatend end. Just snap the lead right on to the swivel Tup:

Same here. Easy to change lead this way.

I use that if i'm drifting braid, because i can usually pull my weight out relatively easy, but if i'm fishing light mono heres what I do:
1) pick up a spool of HOLLOW pencil weight
2) lightly grabbing it with pliers, bend and break a piece off
3) take a piece of leader material (6 to 10lb test) about two inches long and make a loop out of it
4) Put the ends into the open hole, and pinch them in with the pliers. clip the loop onto your swivel
This will durastically cut down how much gear you lose with light line. By punching the hole you are increasing the resistance tenfold, causing you to lose everything when you snag your weight up.

It doesn't pull out since I don't use rubber tubing, The swivel is directly attached to the weight then to the leader swivel. You can change out easily to parachute cord weight if snagging becomes and issue.

 

[Marc]

Scroll down to the steelhead rig on the QuickDrops weights web site. http://www.quickdropsweights.com/site/tips/ This very rig pictured put 3 steelhead in my boat on a day when no other fish were being caught. This is a 1/4 ounce QuickDrop dropshot weight. Note the rock gashes in the lead after a day on the Cowlitz.

If you haven't tried this for river fishing (steelhead and salmon) then you don't know what you are missing. No weight is easier to change, and the teardrop shape rarely snags, but if it does, you only lose your weight, and not your main line, swivel, leader, corkies, yarn, or expensive hook! In a few seconds you put on another weight and you are back on the hot bite quickly. Figure out your cost for your hook, leader, corkies, yarn, and swivel, not to mention the amount of lost time trying to rerig after a snag when your hands are cold. It makes no sense to me to save a few pennies making your own lead only to get it snagged and have to break off your entire rig.

QuickDrops come in 8 sizes from 1/16th ounce up to 1 ounce (hey plunkers, are you listening?)...and in most cases about 1/4 ounce or 3/16 ounce is perfect for most rivers. And best of all, when you buy them you are supporting a fellow gamefishin member! :lol: :lol:

 

[oldguy]

QuickDrops come in 8 sizes from 1/16th ounce up to 1 ounce (hey plunkers, are you listening?)...and in most cases about 1/4 ounce or 3/16 ounce is perfect for most rivers. And best of all, when you buy them you are supporting a fellow gamefishin member! :lol: :lol:

OK, I have looked at the Quickdrops but I still don't know how they are hooked onto the tag end. Is it just slipped on? If it hangs up do you loose the hardware that is attached to the sinker?
I go through so many drifting leads a year would I have to morgage my boat to buy some of these?
Old inquiring minds want to know,
oldguy

 

[Marc]

Oldguy,

QuickDrops have a line clip that works really cool. You poke the end of your line through the diamond-shape opening and then slide it up the wire clip. This clip simply pinches your line and stays put. It holds well on line from 2 pound test up to as heavy as you can fit in the opening.

When I use them for steelheading I leave about an inch or two of line after tying my knots at the barrel swivel (don't clip your leftover line after tying the knot). This is the part I poke through the clip opening, and then slide up the wire clip until it grabs.

If the weight gets hung, and you pull hard, the clip simply clips the line and you get back your whole rig except the QuickDrop.

Check out the picture in this link and you will see how I rig it. http://www.quickdropsweights.com/site/tips/. Most of the stores carry QuickDrops (look where they stock bass dropshot weights), or you can order them over the internet at http://www.tacklewarehouse.com.

 

[J.D.]

I am primarily a yarn and corkie guy, and use a sliding weight. I use a snap swivel above my barrel swivel and a bead. I want to get proficient at drifting eggs this year, and today when I cast, my eggs (because of their weight) would hit the water 20 feet ahead of my weight.
I have used just a snap swivel with the mainline on one end of the barrel and the leader on the other end, with the weight hanging from the snap, but the weight and the leader always seem to get tangled.
What are some other methods of attaching a fixed weight?

Huh? I don't have any problem with tangles with this rig.

 

[Bobarino]

i use this one. i tie loops in the end of a bunch of pre-made leaders and use snap swivels for both the sinker and the leader. saves lots of time when you break off. takes less than a minute to change the whole thing.

Bobby

 

[gone fishin]

I just use hollow lead. Leave a tag line on your leader line once you tie it to your swivel. Slide the lead onto the tagline and crimp it down. Been drift fishing with this setup for many years. Works great. No tangles, easy to setup and the lead slides off if it gets caught up just like its supposed to. Tup:

 

[srchn4salmon]

Vic, Clay and I both use the one JD has pictured. I used to be a sliding weight guy until Clay showed me that way. It works great. I've also used the method with hollow core lead and tying a tag end to the swivel and crimping it down the the tag end. I lost less setups with this but it takes more time to tie and adjust. With JD's setup you can change out weights no problem.

 

[Drifter]

I am primarily a yarn and corkie guy, and use a sliding weight. I use a snap swivel above my barrel swivel and a bead. I want to get proficient at drifting eggs this year, and today when I cast, my eggs (because of their weight) would hit the water 20 feet ahead of my weight.
I have used just a snap swivel with the mainline on one end of the barrel and the leader on the other end, with the weight hanging from the snap, but the weight and the leader always seem to get tangled.
What are some other methods of attaching a fixed weight?

Huh? I don't have any problem with tangles with this rig.

Keep It Simple

This is what I use. No problems.