Jinkai makes it very easy. Their line and crimps are coordinated by a letter code.

The other way is just to look at the diameter of your leader and buy a crimp that is slightly larger. Off memory 125 lb would be like a 1.1 or 1.3 mm crimp.

Get a single barrel crimp. Put the line through the crimp, go through the swivel or whatever you are going through, go back up through the crimp, with a lighter mushroom the tag end a little, pull tight and crimp.

If the crimps aren't round, which is likely the cast, make sure you crimp the right way. Hard to explain it so easier to just google a picture of it. I help at the halibut booth at the Saltwater show and see a lot of guys do it wrong.


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If you haven't bought the leader material yet, get something heavier. It's not that 125 won't work, it's more that heavier will work slightly better.

Once you get a crimper, you can make all sorts of stuff, like building spinners with mono. Spinners on wire is so stone age.

 

Get a good crimper, if you put to much pressure on the crimp the mono can fail under its rating. I like the Braid Products crimper, use the correct hole in the jaw and the crimper releases at the correct crimp.

I'm using Jinkai 100# size J sleeves and 1.2mm anti chafing springs.

Order

Sleeve
Spring
6 bead swivel
run it around, pull some all the way through heat with a lighter to form a small ball, cool
Pull it into a loop
Crimp

 

I use crimps on most salmon leaders and bumpers. You can get crimp sleeves down to 0.6mm, which I use on lines as small as 25#. I use the copper double barrel sleeves and the work well; better and less bulky than single barrel aluminum sleeves.

 

If you or someone that you know has exchanged his downrigger cable for super line.... use that for your bumper. place a swivel on each end then form a loop and crimp... I make mine 24" and 36".... coil and they store well...

 

I prefer the oval aluminum crimps from Jinkai and use a variety of different sizes and mono brands. As stated before, Jinkai does make it easy to match up the gear kinda like Geranimals for the kids😜

Try this link for some good basic info. http://www.leadertec.com/tipsandtechniques/crimp_techniques.html

Cheers,

 

I prefer the oval aluminum crimps from Jinkai and use a variety of different sizes and mono brands. As stated before, Jinkai does make it easy to match up the gear.

Try this link for some good basic info. http://www.leadertec.com/tipsandtechniques/crimp_techniques.html

Cheers,

Anybody that crimps gear should check out the link NRR posted.

I started the gear making at the SSS many years ago and the link above is where I got my info to show folks how to crimp. There are better crimpers, but I have two of the basic type and I've never had a crimp fail, though I mostly crimp heavy mono.

I have crimps of many sizes, Englund's is where I get mine. I suggest getting the boxes of 50 in many sizes and when you know which size you'll use most, get a box of 500, much cheaper per unit then. If you get the red handle crimpers, check thru the stock to get one on which the heads match up well. The Jinkai crimpers I have are probably slightly better, but I use the red handle ones more.

FWIW, I like really heavy( 300 or 400 lb) mono for hali leaders, that way the leaders tangle much less and the hali don't chew thru them.
ron m

 

Awesome, some great info here. Thanks! Already went to fishfield (checked it out for the first time) and he set me up. Started crimping already! Now that i have some flasher bumpers, Im going to crimp up a bunch of 50 or 60 lb spinner leaders for buoy 10. Im starting to think of all kinds of applications....

 

Send a PM to Mark Mc, he's a wizard. Hat and everything.





P

 

After watching saturdays Outdoor GPS on my dvr, i was extremely alarmed. They mentioned that crimps on mono break at less than half the line rating. I believe he said 200 lb mono was breaking at 30 or 40 lbs??

Anyway, i was devastated, being that i just invested nearly 100 dollars in all sorts of equipment. Naturally i had to do a test...

I rigged up my very first crimp, and secured it to an immovable shelf in my garage. I began pulling... the results were surprising. I had originally secured my crimp loop to the shelf with the largest duo lock snap i could find in my tackle box. The snap opened up with what i would consider very minimal force. No more than 10 or 20 lbs. I believe this snap was rated at 100+ lbs. I'll probably never use a duolock again....i then re-rigged with a mcmahon (scissor snap), and began pulling. I ended up pulling about as hard as i could, and the crimp didnt budge. And this was my very first crimp! I believe it stood up to 70 or 80 lbs of force easily.

So im not sure what the simon guy was talking about. Crimps seem to be strong. Naturally ill do a dozen more tests before using them on salmon, but the initial results are promising! (I was using 130 lb mono)

Anyone else test their crimps?

 

Crimps - if done even near correctly - will be stronger than knots. If you're using 130 lb mono, it won't break under 100 lbs of pull and should be good up to 130 lbs. I'd hook it to a trailer hitch or something else you can really pull on, not a shelf in the garage (at least none of the shelves in my garage!).
ron m

 

I don't think any of us have our salmon drags set at ten lbs so beyond a cursory tug, I don't test.

Crimps will damage line if the wrong sleeve is used in the wrong slot of the crimping tool. Good way to test a tool and sleeve is to put a sleeve in tool with no line and squeeze it down. The size of the opening that remains will indicate the amount of damage done..if any.

Using the correct sleeve for the line diameter is also necessary. The line should fit snug so the sleeve will get a good grip without reducing the inside dimensions too much. A person doesn't need to use every ounce of strength when crimping. If pull tests indicate line damage, loosen your grip or have you wife do it.