When I first went walleye fishing on Lake Kabetogama
in 1972, I quickly learned that the method used there was quite different
from what I had previously known. The resort owner told us that we
needed to "use a heavy sinker above the snap swivel and bump the
bottom with a long leader". I later learned that this was a
simple "Lindy Rig". The first leaders-- actually called snells -- that I bought were only
59 cents each. Years later, a friend showed me the way to tie my own
snells. I've saved a ton of money since then. Tying on the
hook is easy. After that, you can get as fancy as you want (adding
beads, spinners, etc) in
order to entice those 'eyes to bite!
I use 10-12 pound test, monofilament line for my
snells. (By the way, this knot will not hold with Fire LineŽ; a
knot called a Palomar knot needs to be tied on that type of line.) The
hook is probably the most important part of the "rig" and I've started using
a GamakatsuŽ
#8 as my hook of choice. It's razor sharp and the hook-set
is quick and clean. You won't miss many strikes with this hook!
For purpose of
illustration, I'm using a fairly large hook and line here.
However, it really doesn't make much difference, since the process
is always the same. Click on any of the photos below for a
larger image.
1. Start by inserting the line down through the
eyelet.
2. Holding the line and shank just below the eyelet
with your right hand, grab the end of the line with your left hand
and make a counterclockwise loop that is about 2-3 inches in
diameter. Make sure to leave about an inch or so of line
sticking out beyond the hook.
3. Now comes the only tricky
part. Using your left thumb, index and middle fingers, wrap
the right side of the loop over and around the hook shank and
also over the cut end of the line. The thing that makes this
difficult is that the line will have been twisted during this
process; it is imperative to not let go of the line.
4. You'll want to make a total of six to
eight loops over the shank, each time making sure to take the
right side of the loop and wrap it over the hook shank and the end of
the line. The loop you started with will be smaller now, and
twisted. This makes it harder to hold.
5. Holding the line and shank securely with your right
hand, pull the cut end of the line straight out until it is fairly
tight.
6. Finally, holding the hook
and wrapped line now with
your left hand...
7. use
your right hand to quickly pull the other end of the line back
through the eyelet and... Voila - your own snell!
8. Trim the
excess line from the tag end. You can easily
add beads, spinners, clevis pins and anything else you want to
achieve the presentation you desire for every type of bait, fish
and water condition.
Note:This method takes a little practice
before you achieve perfection but the result is every bit as good
as you would find in a "store bought" snell from the
name brand companies. By the way, these manufactured snells now
cost about $1.49 each!
