Harnesses

[wakina]

Dug out the supplies and made up a few harnesses while the wind is blowing this morning. Here are a couple of pics. I attach the hooks as needed and can store these in a plastic box without tangles. These are made on straight hard wire like used on a inline spinner bait(shyster or rooster tail) and a stirrup clevis. I can change the whole harness faster than changing a blade on a quick change clevis and no more lost blades that happens with the quick change clevises. I am working on a way to use a removable (reusable) 2 hook snell and still be able to keep the first hook close to the beads and blade and eliminate the crimp or a snap for attachment. The tool in the first pic is a Twist-Tech wire former.

I use a regular leader about 60 inches long and when I want to change a harness all I have to do is to unsnap it from the leader and snap on another harness or even a spoon! Makes life on the boat much more enjoyable for me and I don't have all of those long leaders to wrap on pool noodles or harness storing devises as everything packs into a Plano storage box. It has relieved the stress involved worrying about the grand kids fooling with those pool noodles and getting hooked accidently. They do get bent but another plus is that they are almost impossible to wear out and continue catch fish so long as the blade spins freely so I just bend them back into a somewhat straight shape and send them back out for the next fish, they also allow you to save all of the components with the exception of the hard wire when you decide it is time to recondition the harness. I have only lost one, and that was due to the leader breaking and not a harness failure.

[imrsmk]

Very interesting. So how have you been connecting the hooks? I wonder if a snell with an oversized loop could be used. Put the loop through your eye and run the rest of the snell through the loop.

[wakina]

Very interesting. So how have you been connecting the hooks? I wonder if a snell with an oversized loop could be used. Put the loop through your eye and run the rest of the snell through the loop.

Small snap sometimes a crimp. Crimps work better as you can get the hook closer to the bead blade assembly. It is hard for me to tie a knot that keeps the snap and hook close enough so the first hook remains close to the bead blade assembly. The snap allows for a faster switch from one harness to another. I like this set up because I can just unsnap the harness or spoon then just snap on a different one and go back to fishing and not have to wrap the long leader around anything then store the removed harness. I just hang these short harnesses up to dry then store them when back at the dock. I think I will try your idea on a couple and see how the Snell holds up. If they last for awhile I will probably use that idea for attachment on all of my harnesses once I have used all of my old style ones.

[Fish Tales]

Wakina,

What is the name of the tool in the picture please.

Thanks,
Kevin

[wakina]

Wakina,

What is the name of the tool in the picture please.

Thanks,
Kevin

It is a TwisTech wire former. They are available at Janns Netcraft if they are not sold out. When I got mine from Janns they were hard to come by and I had to wait for a new shipment! There is an accessory kit available that allows you to use heavier wire if you should so desire. I also bought my wires there but they(the wires) are available elsewhere both locally and on the web. I buy them with one eye already formed and 4 inches long.

http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/wire-fo...ls/421150.aspx

They are super easy to use and there is a video available to get you started and to refresh you on their use. Here it is!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIm09YULHvU

[BossHogg]

i like that concept. maybe have to try that. Although I already retied every harness in the box last month after the ice come off.

[Fish Tales]

Wakina thank you for the information

Kevin

[Redeyedrooster]

Yes, thank you.
Does the harness when assembled have a different action?
I have always just used braided wire, but that looks easy.

[wakina]

I have not noticed any difference in lure action but they do have a little more sound and vibration. I like them for the simple reason they store easy and are almost impossible to destroy under normal fishing conditions. Like I have mentioned they do get bent some after awhile catching fish, I just straighten them and continue to fish them and have not had any problems with them not catching fish so long as the blade still spins freely.

You can also troll these at a little faster speed without the twisting of the leader as long as you use a quality snap swivel by the harness. Watch the blade at higher speeds to make sure it is turning properly and slow down just a little if it is not spinning right or kicking out. I use higher quality stainless ball bearing snap swivels. If your leaders want to twist change the swivel, that solves the problem 99% of the time.