Poll.....lead or slinkies?

[Hookset]

Slinkie


I was looking around the garage yesterday and checking out fishing tackle. I forgot I have this 50 lb. spool of 1/4 in. hollow lead. And I got to thinking how slinkies have changed the weights we use drifting. Or have they?

I begain to wonder......how many people actually use slinkies and how many still use pencil lead. I sill use both, just prefer slinkies lately for winter fishing. I was a late convert and resisted for years using slinkies. Something about the tick of lead on the bottom, still appreciate the feel. But the tackle stores still sell lead.

How about a little survey. If you could just reply at the top of your post on your preference and additional comments below like I did here.

Just a little curious on the transformation of steelhead fisherman.

thanks, hook




[This message has been edited by hookset (edited 12-24-2000).]

[OneLastCast]

Lead

I haven't tried slinkies a whole bunch but when I did I felt lost without that tap-tap-tap. Also with lead I can quickly adjust my weight to match the drift. Start heavy and whittle down until it feels right.

[drifter]

Pencil lead for me. Merry christmas, drifter

[Gone Fishin]

Slinkies

For years I only used lead, and yes that tap, tap, tap feeling is hard to leave. Although, when using slinkies you don't get hug up as often leaving you more time to fish and when you do feel a "tap" you better set the hook because it's usually a fish!

[Mikie]

Lead . Been using it for a long time. Tried all kinds of other stuff, and always come back to my favorite. Merry Christmas Hookset. TIS THE SEASON MIKIE>

[Fishhead]

That tap, tap, tap always had me jerking so I went to slinkies and won't ever go back!!----Fishhead Vic

[dummy]

i use both certain conditions call for both. i like the tic tic so i can feed dead spots. and i like slinkies for fast presentations and dragigng bottom with a dink above.

[Kwiky]

Lead

I actually started on slinkies, but I like the feeling of having more of a direct contact with the bottom. As OLC said, adjusting the amount of weight is also very quick with pencil lead.

I do like slinkies for boondoggin', though.

Kwiky

[meyersbilly]

Lead. Quick, dirty and a less intrusive presentation.

[Hammer Bob]

slinkies 90% lead 10%

Started fishing lead but as soon as I found out what a slinkie was I never looked back. It's my #1 for drift fishing but I still use lead for boondoggin minnows for striped bass.
I can say striped bass here can't I??

[Jennie@ifish]

Lead. I learned with both, and mostly used slinkies in the last few years. I tried lead again last year, and feel that I can almost memorize the bottom of the river with the tap tap taps. This is a good thing!
Also, I think every beginner should learn with lead. Makes it a whole lot easier for them!
Just as we have all the materials to make our own slinkies.... we buy lead! ARGH!
I do use slinkies in low clear water, just cuz I don't want my lead banging around on the bottom of the river. Seems sneakier! I don't know, is it?
Depends so much on everything. On the Sandy I'd use Slinkies. Depends on snags in the river, smooth bottoms, rocky?
I always carry both, just in case!
Jen

[Fishin Magician]

Slinkies in lower water
Lead in higher water

[Salmonator]

Lead. It's bad enough having to tie 20 to 30 leaders a trip. Don't have time to make slinkies. On the lead topic.. I tried a pair of cheap Leadmaster plier imitations. The hole puncher rod came out of the pliers on the first piece of lead I punched. I have two pairs of Leadmasters that i've used for at least a year each and no problems. Only have to replace them as I lose them... Joe

I like them both for vaious conditions, but still like the feel of lead. Jen, you asked about the noise factor drifting with lead. It is pretty soft and it doesn't clank. I have a theory that in some conditions the mild tapping noise may actually attract a fish's curiosity, as it does when backbouncing. - RT

[This message has been edited by RT (edited 12-24-2000).]

[smilesforu]

Ok I will share what I use....it is christmas eve and all. I use a hybred slinky that I make from surgical tubing filled with slinky lead. I can make them three feet long and cut to size on the fly. These still give the tap tap of lead but stretch to come free when hung up. I was going to patent the thing but didn't think it was worth the cash outlay to patent them. These are superior to lead and slinky except in real heavy flows where straight lead gets down faster. The rubber on the surgical tubing transmits the tap tap unlike the parachute cord. When hung up they stretch to pull free . Merry Christmas and good luck trying to make them

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Marty M
Steelheader.net

[rags]

I like lead in the winter when the rivers are higher and slinkies in lower clear water.

[Trout4lb]

Slinkies the lead always had me setting hooks when it was just the lead going over a rock.

[Steelheadman]

Solid core 3/16 or 1/4 " lead.

[Navigator]

Pencil Lead

I use both hollow core and solid w/ surgical tubing. Basically, I will use hollow core just pinched on a dropper on my swivel. When I change leads, I save them for use with surgical tubing (I have gone to black). That way I recycle the lead. (At some point it all ends up in the river).

In real low water conditions I shy away from the tubing.

I have collected slinky's I find along the bank and have quite an assortment. I have never used them.

[chuck 'n' duck]

It really depends on the water I am fishing. From the bank, I like to use pencil lead for casting into faster pockets where I need my offering to get down fast. If fishing a longer stretch of water, I will opt with slinkies. I like to fish slinkies whenever the water permits, because getting hung up with pencil lead and having to reattach new lead or a new rig altogether makes for very inefficient fishing.

I also prefer slinkies when I am sidedrifting from the front of a boat. It allows you to pull your drift gear at an angle slightly behind the boat and not get hung up.

[Sand Shrimp]

I use slinkies for drift fishing.You will get snagged less and they make it a little easier to feel light biting fish.I know how many lead shot it takes to make a certain weight and I can look at a drift and guess pretty close on what size of slinky to use.I use the .250 size shot made by Oregon tackle because their shot is consistent in size and make sure you get good quality slinky cord because some of it I have bought has ripped open easily while fishing allowing the shot to fall out.I make them in 1/4oz to 3/4oz but the sizes I use most are 7/16oz and 3/8oz.I use a snap swivel and poke the end of the snap through the end of the slinky.Lead does get you down better in heavier current but you don't have to be dregging bottom to catch steelhead.

[Capin' Dan]

Marty, Marty what have you done. Let the cat out of the bag. Was wandering if that was going to show up here. We have been using that for the last couple of years and I'm here to tell you it makes one hell of a difference. The feel is great and it is easier to tell when it is not the tap of the bottom if you what I mean and its time to rip some lips. This is a technique we learned from a very popular guide on one of the lower wa rivers and he seems to be secretive about them. They are relatively easy to make and yet we hardly ever loose them. You can get the materials at Barrier Dam tackle shop if you can afford to go there. It has been placed off limits to me by the big boss of the house. Good luck out there. Last Friday was a great day for us we caught a 8, 14, 14 and my second largest ever of 17lbs. All really nice steelhead look at the pic's if you go by barrier dam! We have been there the last few days though and not caught a fish. It was just our turn. Yesterday I do not think that a fish was caught on the river.

[Trout,myster]

I've used both, prefer lead for same reasons as others. It's fast, easy, and eventually ends up in the creek anyway.

I do use slinkeys for salmon on occasion especially to slow down the drift. Seems salmon like a presentation a little slower than the current where steelhead like it at the same speed. Slinkeys are good for that.

95% of the time...1/4" hollow lead pinched on a dropper.

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Troutmyster

[Hookset]

The totals so far............

Lead - 9

Sinkies - 8

Combination - 4

Whats very apparrent here is that many fisherpeople have experimented using slinkies and have found certain conditions favor one over the other. And how many people still prefer the constant rapport that lead provides. Sounds very reasonable on both accounts. What is really surprising is how even the numbers are between lead and slinkies. As stated earlier I was very reluctant to try something new when slinkies showed up. Never had a problem with lead and besides, very simple to use. I was always a die hard lead fisherman.

Since I started using slinkies several years ago, a couple things became apparent right away. You lose less gear. When using lead, it was very common to break off (for me) at least 10 rigs or more in a day. How many times did you just re-tie and break off on your first cast? Slinkies, this number is unheard of. Using slinkies I break off maybe once or twice in a day. This creates another problem. I like to change drift bobbers more frequently and now I have to cut and re-tie just to change offerings. Maybe lead created some habits that are hard to change, like changing lures.

The other point is feel. A softer tap bouncing among the rocks just didn't feel right. Became harder to follow your drift rig through the run. Often times I'd lose the feel only to find the rig hung up back upstream. This does happen with both, just more with slinkies. I'm still getting used to the F E E L, but now I'm spending more time fishing then re-rigging.

So, even though I now have a place in my tackle arsenal for slinkies, I'll still be packing and using lead for specific conditions like mentioned earlier.

Just one more comment to Salmonator. Slinkies may create a little more work for you in the short term, like building your own. But, you'll find you won't be tieing up as many leaders at night or re-rigging as often on the water. More time fishing is more time catching. Just have one of your fishing buddies rig some slinkies up for you in exchange for all the great trips you take them on. Something to consider.

happy hollidays everyone,

hook

[kingofbacklash]

I started on lead, but now I use slinkys. I like to make them, different weights and lengths. I always leave an extra length of cord at the top of the slinky, this is also left open in order to add or subtract lead shot. I burn the bottom closed ( this is done before begining to build the slinky ). I lighty burn the top of the cord so to be able to add or subtract lead shot. I then use snap swivels to connect them to the main line ahead of leader swivel with a bead in between and let it slide. How I connect the swivel to the slinky is by running the snap through the top of the slinky this will close the slinky up, then I run the main line through the eye of the swivel. After a cast or two I then have an idea as to how much lead shot I'll need to get the correct drift, if I need to add lead shot I unsnap the swivel and add lead, resnap and I'm fishing again, same thing goes for taking lead away. I've found some days fishing several holes I only use one slinky weight with this method.
I put the largest lead shot I can get into the largest parachute cord I can find. Then I'll use the smallest lead shot(#8 bird shot),for real low and clear water. These slinkys you have to heat the cord a little after you find the right size for the drift, as they will all fall to the bottom of the slinky if you don't. These smaller slinkys enable me to cast and fish slower drifts that are generally impossible to drift otherwise.
I was introduced to the slinky by a friend when they were first being used. Back then they were made with white parachute cord and BB's.As you can guess, they were very long in order to get them to drift the bottom. My first drift with them was above Dabney Park on the Sandy River... sandy bottom, couldn't feel a thing. It took a while to get used to them. My friend said they were made to be able to fish the Pipe Line Hole at Dodge Park. He was right they do enable you to fish snag free longer, especially in areas that were tough to fish with pencil lead.
Happy Holidays to all Ifishers'.


fearsnofish

[Salmonator]

In addition to the opportunity to change corky colors more often, I think a leader has a certain life expectancy (number of casts) before you start seeing nicks and abrasions from rocks, whether your slinky is hanging up or not. Sometimes it's one cast, sometimes it's twenty or more. I find that the rate that I break off rigs with pencil lead keeps new leaders on the rods at just about the right number of casts. I did use slinkies for awhile and in the water I fish, it didn't make a great enough difference in saved rigs to give up that tic tic.... tic that I so dearly love!!

[Osprey]

I would say I'm about 75% slinky and 25% lead,,I like the ease of lead since I purchased a set of lead masters years ago helps,but the feel is what it's all about thats why fish slinkies.
I couldn't figure out what to do with all the tubing I had left over.....Thanks Marty...great idea Merry Christmas

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Row quietly and fish a Cataraft !!---
Release all Wild Fish --<'))>><

[Hotshot]

Try melting lead in front of a hot and tot it helps fish that fast water right after the riffles you can also fish youre bait faster if youre running divers and bait

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www.olympicpeninsulafishing.com Fish Willy Boats

[Timber Man]

As some have mentioned lead gets you down quiker in high flows so I use lead. In low conditions I use slinkies.I think with slinkies you can feel the bite better so I try to fish slinkies as much as possible...TM

[meyersbilly]

Marty’s surgical tubing technique works well and years ago this was my favourite method. If you use a small quick-change to attach the tubing several things can happen when you get snagged:

1. tubing and lead will slip free of the rocks (good for angler who's quickly back into action);
2. lead will slip out of tubing (good for angler as only a fresh piece of lead is added to the tubing);
3. tubing will tear leaving you with only the quick-change, that you easily attach a fresh tubing/lead combo to; or
4. you lose everything, but hopefully you have various tubing/lead combinations tied up and you are quickly back in action.

Lead and float fishing go hand in hand, but then shot works very well, that whole parabolic curve thing. Different topic.

BM


[This message has been edited by meyersbilly (edited 12-26-2000).]

[scooby]

I have been using the same set up as Marty for a few years now. When drifting it gets down fast like lead (and bounces like it) and does not snag up as often as it bends. Much better than a slinky. If I use lead, I always cover it with black tubing and put a bend in it. this is when I drift fish which is less now as I am float fishing more and more, but have alot to learn with this technique.

Happy Holidays

scooby out

[Phish_on]

lead.

Tried slinkies, couldn't make the transition.

[THE REEL HEY_YALL]

It depends on what hole I am fishing. I started out fishing lead, but have varied it in some ways. I like the tap tap tap for the outlay of the bottom. I know every drop-off/ripple/whatever all the way from the boat launch to the dam on the Cowlitz. If I feel algae or smaller rocks, or large rocks with spaces, I will use a slinky. For experimentation, I used those snagless sinkers Cabelas offers and love them, and I have also used Marty's method of a rubber slinky and I love that too. Marty's method is time consuming like a **** though, but effective

[Wog]

I have used lead in the past but now I prefer Slinkies. Most of the streams I fish are quite snaggy. While fishing lead, losing a dozen or more rigs a day was common. With Slinkies I can still get down and lose less gear.