# Mono to Wire?



## Jimmy Durham (May 25, 2004)

Hunting season ended for me Sunday. Greased up the guns for the winter. Tarpon season starts for me now. I will most likely make a couple of bass, striper and catfish trips, but tarpon is the main objective. Last year was great and I hope to repeat or better it.

Does anyone have a good Mono to Wire connection? Or is it mono to leader to wire? What type of connection is at the hook on wire? What size wire?

I have never used wire in the past for tarpon-sharks, and I usually use very light leader so I need some good advice.

Thanks for any advice

Jimmy Durham


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## gater (May 25, 2004)

*Wire?*

Jimmy, I'm not the Tarpon expert here but do my my fair share of fishin and some catchin and I know plenty of experts and I don't know any that use wire. Mono leaders are the norm anywhere from 80 - 125# test. Some tie the leader to a wind on or double line of braid then to the mono. I'm going strictly to a 200# test braid leader 6-8ft to mono. I have not tried this set up yet but will this year so we'll see how it works. If the hook ups remain about the same it's a much easier setup with less knots. I'm rigged with a Sampo swivel between the two but you could tie mono to braid. If you use circle hooks for your natural baits you can still boat your fair share of Sharks without getting broke off. Gater


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## Scott (May 24, 2004)

Jimmy - haywire twists. Mono to swivel to wire to hook connection. On trolled baits we use snap swivels for convenience. If you use coated cable wire, it is the same connections as mono to heavy mono direct tie knot. I think they call it a nail knot or something like that. I just know how to tie it, not what it is called. Be sure if you wire to circle hook it that the circle hook doesn't have a gap that permits the wire to sneak through. As far as pound test of wire - it depends. As you know, trolling, we use 140# or so wire because of the stiffness of it. That still works good in other situations too but you can go down some if you want. my 2 cents.


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## Animal Chris (May 21, 2004)

Jimmy, I prefer to use a ball bearing swivel with welded rings and a tournament snap. Then on the wire portion, if it's #9 or smaller, single strand lea,der I'll tie a ball bearing swivel with welded rings to the leader with a haywire twist. If it's less than 150# braided or heavier leader, I'll put a flemish eye in the end and hook the snap to directly to the eye. If I'm rigging heavy cable or Mono, I'll use a swivel with welded rings and a flemish eye. 
Another way, if you need a short connection with lighter leader wire (likea bite tippet) you can use an Albright knot and tie the two directly to each other. 
If you can get Scott to foot the bill for a couple of sacks of bugs, I'm sure we could have a clinic at the Tarpon Street Tiki Bar and Grill. 

Chris


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## Scott (May 24, 2004)

Animal Chris said:


> Jimmy, I prefer to use a ball bearing swivel with welded rings and a tournament snap. Then on the wire portion, if it's #9 or smaller, single strand lea,der I'll tie a ball bearing swivel with welded rings to the leader with a haywire twist. If it's less than 150# braided or heavier leader, I'll put a flemish eye in the end and hook the snap to directly to the eye. If I'm rigging heavy cable or Mono, I'll use a swivel with welded rings and a flemish eye.
> Another way, if you need a short connection with lighter leader wire (likea bite tippet) you can use an Albright knot and tie the two directly to each other.
> If you can get Scott to foot the bill for a couple of sacks of bugs, I'm sure we could have a clinic at the Tarpon Street Tiki Bar and Grill.
> 
> Chris


Why do I have to foot the bill for the bugs?


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## Animal Chris (May 21, 2004)

Because you are a generous human being.


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## Jake Reaves (Oct 1, 2004)

connections with Malin Wire will always be Haywire Twist...I dont think there is any other way....Stranded Wire will require a Crimp...Why do you want to use Wire for Tarpon Fishing?



Jimmy Durham said:


> Hunting season ended for me Sunday. Greased up the guns for the winter. Tarpon season starts for me now. I will most likely make a couple of bass, striper and catfish trips, but tarpon is the main objective. Last year was great and I hope to repeat or better it.
> 
> Does anyone have a good Mono to Wire connection? Or is it mono to leader to wire? What type of connection is at the hook on wire? What size wire?
> 
> ...


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## davidb (May 10, 2006)

*Wire?*

I am no expert/ Tree hugger / PETA type, but isn't the wire more likely to injure the fish? The only advantage I could see is for mixed bag fishing where toothy critters or as likely as Tarpon to bite. Even then it seems you would still have to re-rig.


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## Bill C (May 23, 2004)

In some magazine recently, maybe Sport Fishing, I saw a mono to wire connection. The wire had a haywire twist loop and the mono was tied to that by something looking like an Albright knot.

Run the tag end of the mono up through the loop made by the haywire twist then wrap the mono around both legs of the wire loop coming back to the insertion point and back out of the loop the same way you went in. Moisten, then pull the standing line to tighten.

I have never tried it myself-just saw the pictures.


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## jakers (Oct 29, 2004)

Whats a Flemish Eye?


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## Jake Reaves (Oct 1, 2004)

jakers said:


> Whats a Flemish Eye?


I was wondering the same thing...I must be behind on the times,,,,


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## Animal Chris (May 21, 2004)

Jake, I don't know about being behind the times, but I'll be willing to bet that there have been more tarpon caught with wire leaders than with mono. Keep in mind that mono leader material for big game use is a realively new item. Until about 40 years ago, leader wire, braided wire (Sevenstrand) and piano wire were basically it and even in the early days, it was not widely used. It was hard to tie a knot that would hold, and a lot of times it was either too stiff or too soft and the only sleeves that were on the market were designed to use with cable and would cut into the mono, causing a weak spot.

As for the why you might want to rig with wire, there are times when you might want to rig light and mono won't stand to the task. There were times we would fish the pilings of the old Coast Guard station and for bait, we used live shrimp or silver dollar size pin fish. We would rig up with a small Eagle Claw Live Bait hook on 12" trace of 28# seven strand or #3 leader wire. If we tried similar strenght mono, the fish would usually wear through the leader in short order and the majority of the time would result in a lost fish. Another thing is that, rigged properly, the lighter wire didn't retard the action of the shrimp like straight mono would (outer diameter of the mono / inside diameter of the hooks eye and stiffness of the mono) . 
Another time you might want to use a short wire trace when casing a plug, like a 52 - 68M mirrolure or topwater. Rig a flemish eye (see below) to the lure and attach 3-4 feet of mono via an Albright knot with a reverse uni knot finish. NOTE: it's wise not to rig with a split ring in this situation. It also works well when casting lighter jigs. 
And, there are times when you are fishing in an area for other species (some that may carry a formidable set of choppers) where tarpon are know to swim. This allows you to reduce the number of cut offs and also not hinder the ablility to set the hook on Mr. '****. 
A couple of notes of caution, small wire (both sevenstrand and single wire) is susceptible to kinking and, once this happens, it will break easy. Be sure to check your leader after every strike. Also, learn to tie in a proper haywire twist with any single strand wire. If you just wrap the tag end of the wire around the main strand, when you put some pressure to the knot, it will pull through itself. It will also kink a lot easier.

Link to flemish eye

http://www.thaifishingguide.com/fishtechequip/techniques/knots/flemish_eye.html

Tight lines, Chris


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## Jake Reaves (Oct 1, 2004)

Flemish Eye...I know what it is....now that you showed a picture of it...you can do the same thing with a Knot, instead of a crimp...By making a Perfection Loop, with some modifications...I don't think it going to catch any more Tarpon though...its more to reduce abrasion...And, I still dunno why you would want to use Wire for Tarpon...these days...The Wire may Troll better than mono...less friction in the water...but hey...if they're eating I'm convinced that it doesnt matter what you have out...


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## Capt Ahab (Oct 11, 2005)

*A Time and Place for Everything*

My brother and I prefer wire when fishing silver eels as bait, still the best natural tarpon bait in my book. Line to swivel, Malin wire (# 8 or 9, I think) w/ haywire twist to swivel on other end, w/ 3 very sharp "J" hooks on the business end. Then find the largest, freshest ribbonfish around. Times have changed, however, and that era has given way to more effective techniques.

A good haywire will hold and distribute 95% or so of its original strength, so no need really exists to resort to crimping (we've been down that road, too, many moons ago).

Now, like Jake said, we fish nothing higher than 150 # mono. Don't overthink the technical end.


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## Jimmy Durham (May 25, 2004)

*Back From Chicago*

Just got back from chicago, it was snowing about 20 degress most of the time I was there. Came back and immediately put on shorts and tshirt. Man, why do people choose to live up there. Not me!

Anyway, thanks for all the responses, lots of choices.

Jake, I have a couple of novice fishermen coming from waco to fish with me this summer, and they want to catch some sharks. Just figured I would rig for tarpon and sharks. After we catch a couple of sharks, back to the mono for me. I use very light leader and the sharks normally wear through it before we get them to the boat.

Still can't believe you jumped 15 right next to me this summer, to my 5. You pro's are hard on my ego. Just kidding, it was a great tourament at POC last year, and I loved every minute of it.

Jimmy Durham


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## haparks (Apr 12, 2006)

im still as green as they come but i thought it was strickly flouro carbon thats why i bought a spool--i thought it was cuz they could not see it and if u used wire ur hook up ratio went way down--now remember i still have not ever hooked one but i have been trying for 3 years --so im not tellin im askin


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