To Swivel or Not to Swivel, that is the question

[Rockclimber]

Okay folks, I need some guidance here has I know a lot of people have opinions. I fishing spinning reels, one with 10# mono, a second with 12# mono and trying 15# braid on the 3rd, with a six foot 20# floro leader on it. Target species are reds and trouts and sometimes from the kayak, more often wading as I am boatless at this time. I typically will out a snap swivel on each to change our lures and artificial baits. All my plugs, spoons, jigheads have a short 20# floro leader on them, maybe 8 to 10" with a small loop to connect to the snap swivel. Okay, I admit it, I am a lure changer and like the hardware.
What are the con's against rigging like this with the swivel close to the lure. If I were to tie the mono lines one, should they still have a heavier leader on them (say 20# floro)?

[hipshot]

Just my opinion (that and six dollars will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks), but I think you are overcomplicating matters. While I prefer monofilament on the levelwinds, braid is the way to go on spinning reels. With some 10 or 15 pound test braid you'll have fewer malfunctions from twist. The only swivels I use are on spoons and Carolina rigs. Use a split ring to attach the (properly sized) swivel directly to your spoon. Ditch the extra connection of a lure leader to a line leader; knots are the weak points in your system. Tie your lure directly to your leader with a loop knot, a palomar knot, or a clinch knot.
If you are changing lures that often you aren't fishing, you're just practicing casting. Evaluate the water and the conditions and tie on something that should work. Change the presentation if the fish are turning it down; you may just need to speed up or slow down. When you can't get fish that you know are there to commit to different presentations of a lure that's right for the situation, then you should change baits.

Hook up with some experienced fishermen and let them show you what works. Build up confidence in some go-to baits and presentations, and you'll find you don't change baits nearly so often. Good luck.....

[Rockclimber]

Thanks Hipshot for the advise, tieing the lures on also makes it not as easy to change out all the time- which I know I overdo often. So you don't see the need for any Fluoro leader when I am using mono lines? I am slowing moving to braid, will use of the mono for a while on my reels.

thanks,

[hipshot]

Rockclimber, you can tie direct to your monofilament or run a fluorocarbon leader; your choice. A leader can give you a little extra protection against abrasion in shallow environments. I fly fish 99.9% of the time, but I generally use a 17# fluorocarbon leader on my spinning and levelwind rigs. Occasionally I may go lighter or heavier, depending on the situation, but 17 is generally what I use. That's on 12 to 15 lb. monofilament or 10 lb. braid. The fluorocarbon is supposed to be more abrasion resistant, less visible, and faster sinking than monofilament.

That said, I generally carry three fly rods. If I'm exploring a new area and I'm using conventional tackle, I may carry as many as four or five rods. I'll have lures that I think will work for the conditions I think I'll encounter already rigged on the rods, so a lure change is just laying down this rod and picking up that one. If you only carry one rod, you may need to do some knotwork occasionally. With three rods, you shouldn't be cutting off and retying lures more than once or twice a day, other than to eliminate damaged spots on the leaders. For instance, carrying five rods I can rig a topwater, a spinnerbait, a Buggs, a swimbait, and a DOA shrimp. All instantly available, and each rigged on a rod and reel matched to the task. On the fly rods I may rig a spoonfly on a 7 weight, an unweighted shrimp fly on a 5 or 6 weight, and a weighted Clouser on an 8 weight, or a popper on a 10 weight if it's really windy. That way I can cover the different depths I encounter, with a bait change taking all of a couple of seconds. But the lure choices are made before I launch, and I seldom have to keep changing them out during the day. I often end up using only one or two rods (and lures) most of the day.

My way is certainly not the only way, but it's worked for me for over half a century.

[Rockclimber]

Great advise Hipshot- I am now up to 3 rods and will do the same concept which will cut down on the changes. I often wade and only carry one rod, I'd expect some changes then.

[pjstevko]

You should try these
http://www.amazon.com/Tactical-Anglers- ... B00CFTOB22" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

you can put the lure directly on them and they make changing lures easy and fast!

[texnomad]

I recommend against a SNAP SWIVEL and just use a snap. I started that about five years ago because I change lures about every ten casts until I find fish. The snap I use is ones rated at 30# which is surprisingly small. Haven't used a swivel for anything including spoons, and I fish spoons a lot, in over ten years. I use 20# windtamer on both spinning reels and a baitcaster. Leaders are varied according to what I expect to catch.

[TroutSupport.com]

I watched a buddy loose a 10lb trout due to a swivel... each little item added in the line are vulnerabilities that can go wrong at any time.