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Monofilament Fly Tying Thread Substitute 2-6lb Mono.

Monofilament Fly Tying Thread Substitute 2-6lb mono.

If you are a Fly Tyer like me you see materials everywhere.  Craft stores make your head spin, every aisle creates a flurry of ideas in your head.  I can never have enough materials, I have a junk material bin that has little samples of material ripped and snipped off anything that made me think of “Ooh I could use that as a ________ , when Fly Tying”  Wings, Legs, Eye’s, Bodies, the list goes on.

Here’s a substitute for those tiny spools of Mono Fly Trying thread.

Looking at the line dia.

Waspi UTC comes in 3 dia.

.004″

.006″

.008″

UNI Products UNI-Mono Clear Monofilament comes in 2, Fine and Med.

.004″

.007″

 

2lb – 6lb Monofilament line falls right in that dia.

Monofilament
Monofilament Fly Tying Thread Substitute

I scored this 3000 yard spool on clearance for $5, when a local sporting good big box store was closing their fishing section.  I’ve been tying teaser and larger saltwater patterns for a long time without any problems.  I just re-use the empty spools.

Hitting the monofilament line with a Sharpie marker makes changing colors real easy.  Just a few wraps of red adds a nice touch for a gill plate.

Referencing a Tippet Charts show almost same values in dia. and lb. test

Tippet – Dia. – lbs test
Tippet Size Tippet Diameter test
 8x .003 1.75
 7x .004 2.5
 6x  .005  3.5
 5x  .006  4.75
 4x  .007  6

So keep and eye out for light tackle line, they could perform double duty on tying flies or home made leaders.


Kayak Fishing Bait Snag Rig

How to catch live bait from a Kayak? This is when you need a Snag Rig

Kayak Fishing Bunker Snag Rig for live bait
Kayak Fishing Bunker Snag Rig

Catching live bait from a kayak can be tough.  There a blitz of bunker inside of casting range, but you can’t get a bump.  Schools of bunker dorsal fins are breaking the surface, splitting and circling.  It must be pure mayhem under the surface.
Casting a $20 Popper into the school of bunker is fruitless and is going to cost you a fishing lure in short order, you may snag some bait but line abrasion from the hundreds of bunker rubbing you line is going to ruin your day.

How to Tie a Kayak Fishing Snag Rig

  1.  An inline  egg sinker tied between 2 barrel swivels on 4-6″ of mono leader.
  2.  12” – 16” length of mono leader and 2 good sized Mustad Treble hooks(#5 or bigger).  Snell the leader to the TOP Treble and Tie off the BOTTOM Treble with a Palomar knot.

Materials

Cast this into a thick school of bait and you will sure to get all the live bait you need for the day.

How to fish live bait from a Kayak?

With a Kayak Fishing Live Bait Rig Kit

Kayak Fishing Live Bait Rig Kit
Kayak Fishing Live Bait Rig Kit

 

To take it up a notch, and have versatile kayak fishing tackle, before attaching a Mustad treble hook to the Egg sinker section, add a Tactical Angler clip(I use 125lb size).  Now you can change hooks on the fly.  For live lining your recently snagged bait, switch it over to a circle hook keeping the Egg Sinker.

Tactical Angler Clip 125lb
Tactical Angler Clip 125lb

Hook your live bait and let em’ sink with the lead.  Be patient the Big Fish are circling under the school of bait.

Make a few with different oz. Egg sinkers, something you can cast easily with your rod and reel combo’s

 

How To Use A Kayak Fishing Snag Rig.

As a best practice don’t cast directly in a school of bunker, cast around the edge. This will save you rigs in the long run.
Cast your hand tied rocket fishing rig out and admired the long distances you so easily have achieved.  Now start to reel it in at moderate pace with your rod tip down.  DON’T start jerking it like a mad man like the other cowboys down the line.
As the line gets tight you will know when you are in the right spot, it will start to feel bumpy, as the line drops through the bunker school.

Now with a long sweeping motion, sweep your fishing rod to the side.  If you miss just crank the reel a few times bringing you fishing rod back to your center and repeat.

Once you snag your bait, set the hook just a little,  and slowly reel in your fresh bait.