Looking for pictures of different worm harnesses and what each is used for.
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Looking for pictures of different worm harnesses and what each is used for.
Can someone direct me to an older thread maybe with pictures? I have some lindy harnesses.
The options on building your own are endless. You did not ask for any specific type/style. But you can start here. Most are built for what the person prefers to do, pull slow, pull fast, use leaders with homebuilt short harnesses, casting harnesses.
https://www.google.com/search?q=craw...HTcDDVoQsAQIQQ
I make mine short on hard wire and use a regular leader of about 60 inches. Here are some pictures most without the snell and 1 with it attached. I use the stirrup clevis but if you are tying on mono or fluor the best to use the folded clevis or a plastic clevis. The stirrup clevis wears the line rather fast and creates a weak spot in your harness. I use this harness style no matter which blade & bead combination that I use. They are easy to store and easy to change from one harness to another or even to a spoon if that pleases you, just unsnap from the leader and snap another in its place. No long leaders to wrap up on pool noodles or other storage devises and best of all no exposed hooks.
Attachment 4053.
Wakina,
Do you know of a bait shop that would carry harnesses similar to these? Same style blade? I would love to get some in purple or purple/gold.
I think the vast majority are either home made or come from custom shops. You might contact DJ custom lures or maybe David at DreamCatcher baits for special painting, or you can home grow your own. I make all my own and the blades are getting harder and harder to find painted in patterns that I like. Here are a few web sites that have hatchet(Doc Shelton) blades, mine are made with the size 6 blade. You can make them with the coated stranded wire also and they are more durable than mono or fluro line instead of the hard wire. I can change the hooks out on the water, so making the snell independent to the blade bead assembly makes them more durable/longer lasting. The shorter the blade bead assembly is the longer they last since they do not kink as easy. I get most of mine from Janns netcraft but they have quit handling the Jr Streak and Tommy Harris blades. The Pro Eye blades are nice but not as durable.
http://backwatercustomtackle.com/pages/blades.html
http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/proeye-...es/310478.aspx
http://www.franksgreatoutdoors.com/h...-blades-1.html
http://www.rippn-lips.com/Walleye_Wa..._6_p/wwh-6.htm
http://www.rippn-lips.com/Rippn_Lips...des_p/hhb6.htm
I thought maybe some of you might be interested in the following material. The Hatchet blade falls at the same spot on the chart as the Tomahawk blade. I have never had a problem with the Hatchet Blades at speeds up to 2.2 SOG. On the hard wire they do not twist the leader like the would if the harness was 60" long and actually made on the leader and all one pc.
http://www.lineonfishing.com/index.p...50-blade-types
Thank you. I will try Dream catchers next weekend. Sounds like building my own will be my entertainment next winter.
I make mine exactly like Wakina does. Only takes about 5 or 10 min. per rig. You can get all the stuff you need, as well as some good advice, from Janns Netcraft. They sell the wire, wire benders, beads, clevises, hooks, you name it. I don't know how far you are from their store, but it might be worth your while to pay them a visit. If you go the wire route, they sell pre-cut wire sections with an eye already twisted in one end, saves time. If you buy the wire former/twister it comes with easy to follow directions on how to make, not only harnesses, but perch rigs, spreaders, and the like.
Disclaimer: I have no affiliation, feduciary or otherwise, with Janns Netcraft
HYPO
Thanks for the replies.
Sorry jack as i was not specific. I honestly wasnt even sure how to ask the question correctly so people would understand what i wanted. I will check out the link later when the kids are asleep.
Wakina, those look great! I most likely will mimic your style if i ever make my own.
I'm sure the link jack posted covers all my questions but just in case it doesnt....
Short leaders for casting? Long leaders for trolling? How long would you recommend for each type of fishing? Drifting, casting, trolling etc. And when you say 60" leader, you are tying your harness to 60" of "something" and the rod end is attached to another swivel?
Cant use pool noodles as they are all currently in the bottom of my boat to replace the waterlogged foam. Little boat (16 ft bass boat) getting some much needed TLC
Great questions! Don't hesitate to ask anything.
Typically when talking about worm harnesses and 60" leaders, they are referring to a 60" mono line with swivels on each end.
Personally I use braided line with a swivel on the end, then snap on a True Trip Diver, then a 60" Mono Leader, then a worm harness or spoon... etc...
The leader is that long for several reasons, but mainly to give distance between my diver and my lure. Sometimes we put weights in line, then the leader... Depends on the lure and the fish.They also give some "shock" absorption when running braided line. Although 60" doesn't tend to lead to a lot of shock absorption...
-Matt
For me, trolling, I've tried quite a few ways of making harnesses, I ended up going back to using #17 mono, around 5ft long, 2 hooks. Some with hook spacing at 1" when using on bottom bouncers run at/near bottom. Cut the worm into thirds so only about 1/2" of the crawler hangs past the back hook. This helps with the bait stealers but still catches walleye. My other ones are around a 3" spacing between the hooks. Both of these can be used trolling or drifting.Quote:
Originally Posted by endangeredspecies
How many beads? depends on the size of the beads and mostly the size of the blade you are going to use.
For casting, I use what is referred to "the weapon". I shorten my harnesses to around 16". Place a small bead into the new loop you are going to tye when shortening the harness. Push the new loop thru an egg sinker ( 1/2 to 3/4 depending) The bead stops the egg sinker from sliding down the harness.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640...0/208/3l7c.jpg
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/51/xhqc.jpg
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640...923/GeQwSF.jpg
I use pool noodles to wind up and store my harnesses on. Not for flotation.
As far as Jann's, I stopped buying there many years ago due to some shipping practices they use.
What size / gauge wire do you use. Galvanized, Stainless, uncoated? Do you just get it a Lowes or the Hardware store?Quote:
Originally Posted by wakina
Thanks for all of your help all of the time.
I just want to thank you all for sharing your pics and knowledge of Lake Erie Western Basin.I only get up to the big lake a couple of weeks a year,so i don't have a lot to post about.But I do follow along every day to learn from you.With your help it has really expanded my personal knowledge of this great sport.Again thank you all for being the most unselfish ,reliable folks on this great planet.Good luck and stay safe.
These are the ones that I use. http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/wire-lu...ts/320608.aspx I use the 4" .030 they are stainless steel. I have posted the link to Janns Netcraft only because it shows the picture for reference. I am not advocating that you should buy from them, that type of wire form is available from several different vendors and you should make your own choice as to which vendor to buy from. With that being said I do buy and use their wire forms. Any thing bigger than .035 wire and they become almost to hard/stiff to get a nice clean eye on the final twist.Quote:
Originally Posted by Drifter
I don't like the quick change clevis, http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/quick-c...es/313109.aspx to many lost blades, so I use the stirrup clevis in size 3 or 4, http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/wire-clevises/320907.aspx , and in a pinch use the size 4 folded clevis, http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/folded-...es/320914.aspx . It is better to have the clevis one size to big than one size to small because the blade needs room to move away from the shaft to work properly and to not twist leaders if it stops or spins intermittently, it must spin freely all the time to avoid tackle problems.
I make up several with the blade color/pattern that I want then switch out the harness instead of using the quick change clevis and just switching blades. Changing the bead, blade assembly with the short harnesses is actually quicker than changing just the blade and since they store easy and in less space they take up less room than 20 standard harnesses do wrapped on pool noodles.
On Edit: I forgot to mention that one of the most important components, and they go on the leaders, are the swivels and swivel snaps/snap swivels. Use a high quality stainless ball bearing swivel and snap swivel on your leaders and you will avoid most if not all twisted leaders. The higher the quality the better.
ive been running these on my harnesses for the last 2 season without any problems. I tried Janns style and lost blades every trip. I ran into a guy from Wisconsin at cabelas and he was buying a bunch for a walleye tourney he was fishing on Erie and he recommended them.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/E-Z-C...ge%26CQ_st%3Db
Since the subject is on harnesses are there any special -hot color blades I should have in my arsenal? .all replies will be gracefully excepted! Also where they might be purchased THANKS UP FRONT!
Is there any harm in using a small treble hook on the end instead of 2 single hooks. Also are most ppl using only 1 spinner or 2. It might have been said. But what hook size. 2s, 4s. One of each
I use a size 2 single the number 4 treble for the last hook on some of my snells. I also use them and with 2 single hooks both size 2. I can't see a difference between the two. They are equally effective.
I found a very good Crawler Harness made by Captain Randy at Bays Edge that caugh a lot of Walleye last year. I just bought 25 more when I was there a few weeks ago. I normally tie my own but these are not much money and really work. I also bought, way too many, Custom Blades by Tommy Harris. He has so many great patterns I couldn't help myself I use Colorado blades early and Willow blades later when the water warms. I also use two Willow blades in June.Quote:
Originally Posted by endangeredspecies
I don't know about hot colors but plain Gold, Pretty Panties, Pink Panties gold back, Purple Parrot copper back, Red Huckleberry copper back and Anti-Perch or any of the anti freeze color combination to name a few. I personally like Baitfish-Image Colorado blades in Rainbow and Golden Shiner from Northland Tackle in size 6 for trolling and size 2 for mayfly rigs. Blade colors will drive you crazy if you let them!Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank
Thanks for your input! Sounds like I have the bases covered except for copper back, got spoons with copper.
Hot blade color? You are pretty lucky if one blade is "hot" for 2 weeks, usually less than that. Color trends would be more in line. Purple, pink, chartreuse etc early season with copper backs. As summer warm waters, silver backs with watermelon colors on the face, and trout colors and green shades. This is just my findings over time. But, as weather storms/wind change the lake water color and move the fish regularly. You can almost count on the "hot" color of yesterday to be different. This is just the one box I allow myself to carry on the boat.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640...907/FUWyQS.jpg
As far as using treble hooks as the rear hook of a harness, for me those just make it harder to take off the bait stealers and get tangled in the net. A few times/days over the years, it helped. But when/if there is a day I think I need them, I just add a sliding loop stinger hook on the back.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640...0/838/t4z0.jpg
I prefer to use drop shot hooks #1 and #2. I find them to be stronger, hook up the fish better, have a larger bend in the hook, do not get dull as fast as the snell hooks sold and the eyelets are slightly larger making it easier to rig. As you can see from my assortment in the first pic, most of those hooks are the ones I don't like to use any more. I have to hunt for the drop shot hooks. If you look, you can see the difference in these spoon harnesses I make. The colored hooks are typical high end snell hooks, the black ones are the drop shot hooks. This is my findings.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640...onharness1.jpg
On a side note: The Domak bead pkgs in the top photo. I won't be purchasing those any more. Both pkgs of beads, there is flashing left on most of the beads at one of the hole ends making them useless unless you want to clean each one up. I don't know if that is how all of there beads are, but both pkgs I purchased have the same problem.
This link was supposed to be included in my last reply but my brain was suffering from old fart syndrome and I inadvertently left it out. Here are the Northland Tackle Colorado blades that I like. The colors I use are Rainbow and Golden Shiner in #6 and are 2 of my favorites when I run Colorado's. Bass Pro used to sell hatchet blades in color patterns very similar to these and the BPS hatchets are my go to blades, luckily I bought several packages of these blades when they put them on clearance several years ago as they are now discontinued.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank
http://shop.northlandtackle.com/seas...lorado-blades/
Thanks, ebijack ,an wakina , I know things change from day to day or hour by hour, cloud cover,sunshine etc. Just trying to get input from you guys an girls, I'm like a sponge when it comes to learning from someone .I know there is no perfect lure,they all have their time and place, I do hear,pink panties,antifreeze,copper back,watermelon alot though. Ebijack on your spoon rigs, I see you have beads between the hooks do they serve a purpose other than being a attractor? And what is the average speed you troll those,
As I look at pictures of differant Warnes and blades, seems like most with willow blades run 2 blades, but most with colorado only run a single blade. Is there a reason for this, does running 2 colorado blades tend to hinder peformance,
As far as hooking up the worm, I saw several options, most hook near the head. Then rehook part way down, but a couple were only head hooking and letting the worm trail......any preferances?,??
I see most ppl are using 2 hooks. With the fish coming from behind and under, would you not want a 3rd hook close to the end to increase chance of hooking up?
My spoon harnesses I use beads between the 2 hooks because. Over the years, I have tried many combinations, beads infront of the spoon, behind the spoon, infront of the hooks, small spinner blades in front, behind the spoon etc. Nothing worked any where near as well as the beads between the hooks. Makes a huge difference. A friend told me about this a few years ago. Also getting the front hook as close as possible to the spoon. I run them suspended in the water column. I use regular harnesses for running at/on the bottom. The regular harnesses work better there. But the spoons out produce the regular harnesses big time when run in the water column. About even catch rate when running 1.5 mph+
As far as speeds, they work best from .6mph on up. When running 2+mph I just don't use a crawler, keep as a regular spoon.
You can run double willows or single, same with Colorado blades. The dbl Colorado just pull a lot more than dbl willow. If I want to pull meat at higher speeds, 2+mph, I use dbl willow, dbl Colorado will spin out/twist line if the tension on the blades changes/ boat speed/waves etc.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640...922/6Wgai7.jpg
I have tried running short harnesses with the inline weight close to the harness. Results over 1 season were not as good as regular length harnesses so I don't run these any longer.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640...922/Eb5jQl.jpg
As far as a 3rd hook, I rarely will add a stinger hook to have a 3 hook harness. PIA and waste of time for me. I go thru the side of the head of the crawler with the first hook. Going thru the top of the head again, PIA and no improvement in catch rates in my experience.
Thanks again Ebijack! I'll be heading that way in 2 weeks going to rig up a few of those spoons, I hope they get It in gear. I fish in the river here for eyes, and did well on Saturday considering the eye population ,casting suspending jerkbaits, they where crushing them, in extremely fast water, I don't think there was much difference in the spawn Times this year maybe a week, so the eyes bite should pick up I hope, think I already have the kitchen sink in my boat lol!