The mighty Palomar has fallen

[PierBridge]

Yes local fish.... .... not all that big 27" and 7lb's or so

[aanderud]

Ahh, looks much larger than that in the avatar Nice fish nonetheless.

[willyb]

the other day I was hiding from the winter in the house day dreaming about tossing lines in the river when I think I might have had an idea. Have any of you pros ever tried some type of bridal rigging for catfishing like they do for saltwater trolling? I don't think you'd want to use the eye canal of course that would be a little hazardous for your baits health, but maybe some other way. I thought my live bait may be a little more live with a piece of mono through its back instead of a #10 4x strenth spear, and it would leave the gap wide open for hook set. just wondering if anyone has tried anything like this and how it went

[DTro]

Yes, as a matter of fact, I plan on trying a rubber band bridal rig this year.

[willyb]

ah, there you go, don't cut off the circulation she might pass out. well if it works don't let me know, we'll delete this thread and it'll be our new secret weapon... all 835 of of ours anyway. speaking of vs. did you see Larry Dahlburg the other day catching rough fish right in our own backyard stream? I think thats vs. or is that outdoor

[DTro]

No but I did catch him making lures the other day. Wow, what a shop he has!

[Scott M]

Field and Stream's John Merwin had an article on knot strength this month. The 6-turn San Diego jam knot was judged strongest, followed by the Palomar.

I thought catfishin' was for all the unedgumacated country bumpkins...now it's getting all technical

[MinnesnowtaWild]

Well I learned the Palomar knot using some 20 lb mono line just to get the hang of it. Very easy to tie, just doesn't seem super strong but apparently it is.

Should I tie a Palomar for my two swivel knots as well as the hook knot when using braid?

[nsnutter]

I had the same thoughts as you Jeff, ^^^ not too sure on how that knot is as strong as it is, but heck, I'm not going to debate it! Seemed to tie easy enough on that 20 lb mono, so I would assume it is going to be a breeze on our pp this year bud!

[DTro]

Should I tie a Palomar for my two swivel knots as well as the hook knot when using braid?

Yes, Palomar for all three, but make sure you tie the swivel to the hook section first, then tie the top part of the swivel to the main line.

If you do it the other way, you'll find out why it won't work

[Ed Carlson]

Sometimes the end opposite the terminal end can't be sharpened tho

Eh...I resemble that remark Dark!

LOL!!

[wastewaterguru]

Yes, Palomar for all three, but make sure you tie the swivel to the hook section first, then tie the top part of the swivel to the main line.

If you do it the other way, you'll find out why it won't work

Actually the Palomar can be tied for all three knots without any regard to which one goes first.....you will just have to pull the hook through the loop if you tie the leader side of the swivel last....just trust me on that one. Works fine unless you are tying a short leader...less than a foot and it gets a little hairy with a big 9/0 hook.

[Shack]

I have been using the "Shack" double-uni for some time now and I will tell ya, the line will fail way before the knot ever will

I use it right on down the line, bing, bing and bing

I think I showed Dtro and Brain A last year I came up with it years ago fishing with Fireline, after the knot failed. Very simple, with an added Shackbash twist

I would love to throw this in the test someday!

[MinnesnowtaWild]

Thanks for the tips dtro and WWG.

[Cooter]

dtro - how about a swivel strength test? I see you have a 100lb scale, maybe test some smaller test swivels(say 20 or 40lb) to see where they break at. Or get a bigger scale and test the big boys!

[ec30_06]

I think most of the cat guys use swivels that test way more than 20 or 40 lbs. I think mine are 230 lb spro swivels.

[Cooter]

Absolutely, but I think the break point vs the advertised test would be interesting and applicable to the heavier swivels.

[nsnutter]

Definitely agree with ec30_06, my swivels are in the 330 lb range, it would be very interesting to test them out!

[MinnesnowtaWild]

We need to upgrade to ball-bearing swivels instead of the regular barrel swivels.

[nsnutter]

You speak the truth sir

[DTro]

If 80lb line is breaking at 50lbs, it's a moot point

[Cooter]

Come on now, it'd be fun and give you something important to do I really would be interested to see if they hold up to advertised tests because lots of times its nice to use the smallest sized swivel you can get away with. Don't think just catfish - I know thats tough, but...

Could save some money too, do you really need the 200lb swivel if 80lb line is breaking at 50lbs? But like the '80'lb line, what does an 80lb swivel actually do fer ya?

[Here-Kitty-Kitty]

I don't even know what the knot I use is called. I just say its the fishermans knot