Crimping Spectra

Quote from LunkerBuster

Is that a crimp on some spectra?

Yeah. Had to do a quick rigging job in Mexico last week ( so not a pretty job ) when we were going deep to hit pargo. Viz was so bad at 75' I couldn't see past my trigger mech let alone the bottom. I always remove the mono line ( I use 400 lb on all my guns ) and use my reel line as shooting line when hunting big fish that like to take your gear into the rocks and reef holes. The mono cuts so easily but I've never lost one with the Kevlar/Spectra line as it is more durable. The jinko sleeves hold great. I learned this technique from some BI shooters as well as some guys in Cali.

Quote from LunkerBuster

Very cool. I would not have thought that that the sleeves line would be held by a crimp. Awesome

I have had crimps hold fine and have had them slip. Its a gamble. I just tie a bowline. Problem solved. No need for sleeves or crimping tools. The job can even be accomplished in the water while diving. I've done this several times in the past when my mono shooting lines got nicked or frayed and re-rigged in the water with the reel line. Now I just use dyneema 100% of the time.

Quote from John Hanson

I have had crimps hold fine and have had them slip. Its a gamble. I just tie a bowline. Problem solved. No need for sleeves or crimping tools. The job can even be accomplished in the water while diving. I've done this several times in the past when my mono shooting lines got nicked or frayed and re-rigged in the water with the reel line. Now I just use dyneema 100% of the time.

As for tabs, I prefer them as far back as possible with about an 1-1/2" spacing between them. I can see the practicality of further spacing for powering up or down provided the tabs are high enough to stack bands on the same tab. Most of the mini sharkfin style tabs or notches only allow for one band to be placed on the tab or in the notch.

yeah i have used cordage with a two opposing slip knots but i think the mono is more hydrodynamic .

John I know your one of the better speros and shoot big fish regularly, so very interested that it hasn't been a issue with the bowline on spectra costing you 60-70% of the breaking strength.

Quote from Dude george

John I know your one of the better speros and shoot big fish regularly, so very interested that it hasn't been a issue with the bowline on spectra costing you 60-70% of the breaking strength.

does the bowline costs 60-70% of breaking strength (leaving only 30-40%) or the end strength is 60-70%?

According to the literature it is actually more but I dont believe it can weaken it by the the % they suggest... it is supposed to leave you with with less than 30% of the rated test strength if you use knots with sharp bends. I am just spewing out what I have read... As a sailor I swear by bowlines

Quote from Dude george

John I know your one of the better speros and shoot big fish regularly, so very interested that it hasn't been a issue with the bowline on spectra costing you 60-70% of the breaking strength.

Yes, it does. I did a static load test with Mori a few years ago with some 600lb dyneema tied with bowlines. If I remember correctly the line broke at 214lbs.

Anyone that can oppose that kind of force while in the water is my hero:thumbsup2:

My primary concern with shooting line is max abrasion resistance. Other factors of course, are memory of the line, which can cause steering and also drag. This often happens with steel cable. I just don't like cable at all. And mono has absolutely no place in rig diving. Cable lasts about one big fish per shot before I would want to change it out. The best compromise I have come up with in the last 8 years of spearfishing is dyneema.

I have never had a knot break while spearfishing. I have had crimps fail on cable and spectra. I have never had an issue with dyneema causing steerage problems.

Yes, of course dyneema frays, but I have never had a line severed while fighting a fish in the rigs. As I mentioned in the other thread, dyneema can quickly be changed out out with nothing more than a knife and some spare line, of which I always try to carry with me. I leave a 60-70' length rolled in my dive bag at all times.

I've tested the dynaglide with a figure eight knot. Its much stronger then any crimped mono I've tested. I would not crimp spectra/ dyneema because it has the same friction coefficient as teflon. Might work , might not. If your using a sleeved product the crimp might act as a wire stripper with the sheath.

My suggestion to anyone that wants to crimp spectra would be to tie a simple overhand knot on the tag end of the spectra just in case the spectra does slip.

My experience with it slipping was not prestretching the line before making the crimp. The core slipped from the outer sheath, causing the overall diameter to shrink and slip through the crimp.

Mike, it's been a while since I used the dyna glide, but isn't it a hollow braid? If so, it could be spliced, which would be the strongest connection to use.

I have never tried it for shooting line, but I have used it for reel lines and floatlines.

Quote from John Hanson

Mike, it's been a while since I used the dyna glide, but isn't it a hollow braid? If so, it could be spliced, which would be the strongest connection to use.

I have never tried it for shooting line, but I have used it for reel lines and floatlines.

Hollow braid. I have not tested splices but the manufacture recommends a "Locked Brummell Splice" for making a loop.

New England Ropes - Splicing Guide

Apparently.some splices will slip and need to be finished with a whipping.

So this wont work on spectra?

Cheers, Don

Locked brummel Splice needs no whipping line as it is impossible for it to slip. But it would be very difficult to use a locked brummel splice without using something to connect the loop to the shaft.

Never could figure out how to Brummel my shooting line onto my spear so what I do is use a long splice then whip it, has never failed on me.
http://www.keepitsoaring.com/L…ectra-splicing-manual.pdf
I do use the Brummel for my bungee rigs and float lines.
Edit: A spliced line keeps 80-100% of its strength and is especially strong on hollow braided line. Whether a splice says it needs whipping or not I whip it if for no other reason that to stream line the places where you bury when splicing.
Editing the edit..lol.. I cant find a fid small enough for 2mm/2.5mm spectra/dynema, so i use a large sail repair needle and thread a end of the line into it then use that to fid my way through it. Just a Rambo tip

there is a very easy way to do a brummel. You take the line pass it through whatever it is ur splicing it too then take the end from the long side and pass it through the short tail end then pass the tail end through the long end. This will give u a lock splice the problem is you have to pull however much shooting line off the reel to do it.

True but I am rigged breakaway and my line has a shock cord integrated into it which prevents a pass through so the long splice is my only alternative unless I decide to tie a knot... Long splice works really well if whipped afterwards.
This is what your talking about and what I used for my bungee rigs for big fish as the plugs can be passed through.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UP078Jypw0

Quote from hotstepper

there is a very easy way to do a brummel. You take the line pass it through whatever it is ur splicing it too then take the end from the long side and pass it through the short tail end then pass the tail end through the long end. This will give u a lock splice the problem is you have to pull however much shooting line off the reel to do it.

Usually what I end up doing on a lot of stuff is a lock splice on one side with the end to end method and then a long splice on the other side with a wiping line. Most of my experience in splicing is used for insea equipment so may not always apply for spearfisihng applications