I know its been done to death, but a few guys (newbees) have PMed me asking for instructions on how to make them. I though, (difficult for me), as I am going to write something I may as well make it a general post.

1st off, a couple of disclaimers:-

I am not laying claim to the method, it is a combination of ideas gleened over the years and "poached" from others who are far more skilled and knowledgable than me.

This is not necessarliy the best way to do it, it is just how I do it.

It is "anal"

Please feel free to take what you want from this, but I aint responsible for any lost fish as result.(Bwahaha)

KIT

It is handy, but not neccessary to have a selection of needles for threading line. A large sewing needle would be the bare minimum.

you don't really need the others, I have them because Im old and lazy.

You will also need:

Sandpaper (800)

Old 8-10lb braid (or similar thread)

Dacron

Line (or tennis gut)

Heat shrink tube

Superglue

Scissors

lighter

Kettle.

LINE PREP

Most line is shiny and coated. take the last 1m+ (the bit that is going into the Dacron) and lighty sand it to the end, just enought to rough it up slightly and remove the "gloss finish"

take the lighter and melt the tip to give you a nice round end.

I generally use about 3 metres of Dacron and tread 1.5m on to the line. like so

Once the line is in the dacron, (go to what ever depth you want) I whip finish the tip. Using the 8 lb braid wind the last 2-6 cms of the Dacron tightly onto the line, with the braid (dental floss works really well too). This is important as it forms the achor for your friction knot, the more line you have threaded into the dacron the stronger the knot.

Large whip finish

Smaller whip finish

Take the whip finish past the dacron and on to the line (5mm should do it)

to finish the knot add a bit of superglue to the tag end (where the thread meets the line, not too much, 1 drop will do it).

slide on your heat shrink and dip into the boiling kettle. (heads up, when you are finished empty the kettle, I forgot and the missus made coffee from the water. She threw the kettle away and bought a new one because she thought the kettle made the water foul. I now hold the heat shrink over the sink and pour the boiling water over it. (One day I'll tell her the truth).

heat shrink before water treatment.

Now for the other end.

thread the dacron through your needle, find the mid point, decide how big a loop you want,  and then "stitch weave" it for 6-8 cms, thread the needle through the dacron for 30 cms, repeat the stitch weave and then thread the dacron through to the end.

The stitch weave?? (if thats what its called)

and then threaded through

finally, to ensure that this never comes undone, I find the end of the Dacron, (run your fingers down the dacron, you'll feel a bump) whip finish that (5mm) and add a touch of superglue. Again this helps in holding the friction knot together.

like so.

Yea I know i'm anal, I am not that good a fisherman so I like to make sure that my tackle won't fail me when I catch the bigun.

finish product

Heavy duty windon (150 lb - 6 metre) on a torium 50

Light windon (6m of 80lb) on a saltist 50

the catspaw knot works well.

COUPLE OF NOTES TO FINISH OFF

Tennis gut works really well for Sharks, it is a multi strand line, designed to handle abrasion.

You can also tie a steel windon for those of you who are really hard core. It is tied a little differently in that I use two Dacron braids and cover the whole leader, except for the last metre. this ensures a double protective "coating" between the steel trace and your eyes during the cast.

the trace on the right has the 1st Dacron line, the one on the left is complete.

 that is it, hope it helps someone

cheers.

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