I went to school on the furling technique you describe so well on your site. You've done a great job of illustrating a simple technique that's difficult to put into words alone.
Not owning a Nor-Vise, I figured a workaround using loops tied at each end of the mono after the hook is looped in the middle. I secure one loop on the handle of my Renzetti Traveler and the other a rotating Dubbit twister before twisting it up 100 times or so. I've been successfully furling smaller hooks (up to a size 8 or 10 trailer hook, usually a scud design) with 10 to 15 pound test mono. I started out with Chameleon for larger patterns larger sizes but found that thinner-diameter Orvis Super Strong seems to work better for smaller patterns as I can fit it twice through the eye to loop it to the hook.
The sample I mentioned that's tied with braided line is looped to the trailer, not furled with both parallel tag ends then bound to the shank of the lead hook.
I'm guessing that the line is first threaded through the rabbit strip with a carpet needle, looped on to the hook and then threaded back through the strip. The tag end is then secured to the lead hook, and wrapped with lead before tying in the trailing rabbit strip and then a Palmered crosscut strip for the head/body before tying off.
Problem is, I can think of several other ways to do it ;-)
How are you threading your furled tag through the trailing rabbit strip?
Thanks,
Kent
Hey Kent, It does sound like a Siwash hook but I have no idea where to get them on your side of the pond; probably any big sports store that sells a variety of angling equipment.
Question: #1) How exactly is the stinger hook attached to the braided material? Is it bound tight or is it hanging loose on the material?
The furling technique depicted on the website you helped me with (follow my sig line) can be performed without a NorVise and with with other materials besides mono. I have performed the furling with braided Dacron, braided stainless leader and lead-core trolling line in addition to the mono and it can all be done by hand, the vise just makes it faster. The furling technique is very fast compared to other ways of manufacturing a tandem and to prevent fouling of the rabbit strip wing, all that is needed is to thread the hook into and out of the rabbit strip to keep it from flopping around and twisting with the stinger connection.
As for the hooks, it has been my experience that an up-eye or down-eye is best unless you intentionally do not want the shank of the stinger in the same axis as that of the lead shank or the connection material. Of these, the Octopus hook is probably the most popular and has excellent hooking and holding characteristics.
Goto www.salmonfly.net (I hope it's still there) for the full-blown article on the furling method and let me know if you have questions.
DJ
--- Kent Lufkin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:I've been experimenting with tying some string leeches in smaller sizes for use in lakes. I came across a rabbit strip pattern at the Fly Fishing Show in Bellevue a couple weeks ago that uses a braided line instead of mono to attach the trailer hook. The line is looped through the trailer hook eye and then threaded with a carpet needle through the trailing rabbit strip so the two don't get tangled.
The sample I have uses an unusual trailer hook that looks to be about a size 6 or 8 1X long but with a straight eye (not tilted up or down) that's maybe twice the diameter of a normal eye for a hook that size.
Can anyone suggest what type of hook this might be and where I might find some?
Thanks,
Kent Lufkin
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