# Riddle me this!



## Skinner 2 (Mar 19, 2004)

OK I cannot get this figured out so somebody else take a shot at it.

This happened the last two trips trolling for steelhead on lake Erie.

The end of the day clearing lines I pulled in a dipsey and noticed the spoon was not only missing the hook but also the split ring. Good quality spoon and well known brand. I won't say which as I don't think it matters.

I don't know if I set the rod last or my dad. Matter of fact my son may have set it also. I don't know if we lost a fish or what. Just no hook or split ring

No big deal I replaced the split ring with a new one and placed a nice red Gamakatsu round bend treble on the ring. We caught a fish or three on the newly rigged spoon. My dad was into a steelhead and it was nearing the boat so I was getting the net ready. A second steelhead hits the newly rigged spoon and is leaping and ripping line of the reel. I decided to leave the rod in the holder and net the fish my dad had on. Only a minute or two passed and as I netted my dads steelhead the line with the second one goes still. Oh well lost one fish.

I grabbed the rod reeled the line and and was shocked to now find just the treble missing from the newly rigged spoon. So I lost two good quality hooks off the same spoon in two trips. I have never lost a split ring off a spoon before How did it come off? NO way was it straightened out??? How did the second treble come off. Did the eye break or did it get worked out from a twisting fish??? 

NOTE: split ring is still nice and tight not stretched out or pulled apart.

Anyway a third hook is now attached to the spoon.

Skinner


----------



## mkroulik (Jan 14, 2003)

Those must be hatchery fish raised in Detroit. They'll steal anything!!!!

Mike


----------



## sfw1960 (Apr 7, 2002)

mkroulik said:


> Those must be hatchery fish raised in Detroit. They'll steal anything!!!!
> 
> Mike


:lol: :lol: :lol:

eXceLLaNT!!!!

:evilsmile


----------



## Skinner 2 (Mar 19, 2004)

sfw1960 said:


> :lol: :lol: :lol:
> 
> eXceLLaNT!!!!
> 
> :evilsmile


 
OH GREAT! We have hood heads!!!!!!!!!!

I would not have figured them into play.

Just seem strange... I have broken shanks on hooks before but never an eyelet. Never broken a split ring or straightened one out on a lure either.

Skinner


----------



## JJ Mac (Dec 29, 2003)

Standard dipsey or slide divers?

If standard dipsies, were you using a snubber shock cord? If not, the area behind a dispy takes a tremendous amount of force. I've seen salmon snap 50# leaders behind the diver or between a flasher and fly. I've also seen heavy duty hooks break or straighten. This effect is even more significant when using braid or wire line. Setting your drags loose on your reels can help tremendously. Usually you have to set them loose enough so that they "creep" out when trolling at the higher speeds. If they are not creeping out then you are going too slow or your drags are too tight. A rubber band or other device connecting the reel to the line will help to eliminate the "creep." Let me know if I can explain this better or post a pic of what I mean. 

Could a good sized steelie break a split ring or a hook eye without a loose drag and snubber? You bet they can and will!

The fish on the first trip stretched and broke the split ring. The fish on the second trip broke the hook eye of that pretty red Gamakatsu you put on.

Last year I got a screamer on a wire diver and the line seized in the spool of the reel. I had 50 # leader on. It ripped the hook out of the fishes mouth along with a big chunk of flesh.


----------



## Treehopper (Aug 18, 2007)

do you buy your split rings from harbor frieght??


----------



## Denko (Aug 14, 2006)

Hey Ron,
This was actually discussed in an earlier thread I think wheatley spoons was the title. I like to change my hooks to siwash, and 2 guys posted about crimping an open eye siwash directly to the spoon to avoid split ring failure. At the time I dismissed it as not being attentive to the condition of their equipment, and guys, if you read this I apologize for that because it has now happened to me twice in 4 trips. Both on brand new first time in the water spoons, and when we pulled lines at the end of the day, another was starting to work its way off the spoon. They were 3 different manufacturers, all well known. I don't like the idea of crimping straight to the spoon, wondering if there is a better solution? One thing is for sure, cleaning the fish exposed no split ring pliers or opposable thumbs!

Dennis


----------



## tsr770 (Mar 3, 2010)

I'm one of the open eyed siwash right on a spoon guys. I lost the biggest silver king of my life while fishing on my friends boat last summer in Lake MI, the 3 of us that saw it at the net all say it went 20+ without question. It either straightened or broke the split ring on a mag stinger that I bought that morning. After that I followed the friends advise and started buying 3/0 and 4/0 Siwash hooks for my salmon sized spoons, even my walleye spoons have 1/0 Siwash on them now. Yet to have one come off, and the guy I was fishing with that day said he has never lost a hook in 4 years of using them. Fish usually attack a spoon like its their job and the single hook doesn't seem to make a difference on hookups even with walleye.

I still believe the split ring broke because that spoon wobbles a little different and wore a notch into the ring, still has a funny wobble to it and still takes fish a year later he tells me.


----------



## Skinner 2 (Mar 19, 2004)

JJ Mac said:


> Standard dipsey or slide divers? Standard
> 
> If standard dipsies, were you using a snubber shock cord? If not, the area behind a dispy takes a tremendous amount of force. I've seen salmon snap 50# leaders behind the diver or between a flasher and fly. I've also seen heavy duty hooks break or straighten. This effect is even more significant when using braid or wire line. Setting your drags loose on your reels can help tremendously. Usually you have to set them loose enough so that they "creep" out when trolling at the higher speeds. If they are not creeping out then you are going too slow or your drags are too tight. A rubber band or other device connecting the reel to the line will help to eliminate the "creep." Let me know if I can explain this better or post a pic of what I mean. Size 0 dipsey 15lb main line Power pro, 20# flour leader. No snubber,drag is set very light. Light rod action
> 
> ...


I have been fisihing Erieau/ Wheatley since the 80's let alone trolling for salmon. Never had this happen before yet twice in the last two trips on the very same spoon. Spoon was also "experianced"!.
[/COLOR] 
Skinner


----------



## Skinner 2 (Mar 19, 2004)

Denko said:


> Hey Ron,
> This was actually discussed in an earlier thread I think wheatley spoons was the title. I like to change my hooks to siwash, and 2 guys posted about crimping an open eye siwash directly to the spoon to avoid split ring failure. At the time I dismissed it as not being attentive to the condition of their equipment, and guys, if you read this I apologize for that because it has now happened to me twice in 4 trips. Both on brand new first time in the water spoons, and when we pulled lines at the end of the day, another was starting to work its way off the spoon. They were 3 different manufacturers, all well known. I don't like the idea of crimping straight to the spoon, wondering if there is a better solution? One thing is for sure, cleaning the fish exposed no split ring pliers or opposable thumbs!
> 
> Dennis


First I heard of this. I 'll have to search for this thread after work. Funny I looked for split ring pliers and thumbed fins also and didn't see any.


----------



## bombcast (Sep 16, 2003)

Treehopper said:


> do you buy your split rings from harbor frieght??




:lol::lol:


----------



## Skinner 2 (Mar 19, 2004)

bombcast said:


> :lol::lol:



OH yeah I missed this..


UM NO!

Skinner


----------



## JJ Mac (Dec 29, 2003)

Skinner 2 said:


> I have been fisihing Erieau/ Wheatley since the 80's let alone trolling for salmon. Never had this happen before yet twice in the last two trips on the very same spoon. Spoon was also "experianced"!.
> [/COLOR]
> Skinner




Sounds like you did everything right on your end then. Pretty good mystery. Maybe it is those Detroit hatchery fish after all? :lol:


----------



## Skinner 2 (Mar 19, 2004)

JJ Mac said:


> Sounds like you did everything right on your end then. Pretty good mystery. Maybe it is those Detroit hatchery fish after all? :lol:



That's what I kind of thought. Just weird to have this happen twice in a row not to even mention the same spoon. There were 3 other lines in the water. Why just this spoon..

This spoon is now wearing another bright shinny red Gamagatsu round bend. Not that I think red is any better just was on sale and cheaper LOL.

Skinner


----------



## MSUICEMAN (Jan 9, 2002)

Split rings plus jb weld. Or solid rings welded 

Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk


----------



## davido (Feb 2, 2009)

Treehopper said:


> do you buy your split rings from harbor frieght??


----------



## Skinner 2 (Mar 19, 2004)

davido said:


>


I answered that earlier. No not from Harbor Freight.

That said the spoon was used this weekend and fish were landed landed off it and at the end of the day still had a shinny treble and split ring attached.

Skinner


----------



## Gone Fishing (Jul 31, 2001)

I've had that happen a handful of times with the latest being last week. Only seems to happen with Steelhead. With their speed, spins and acrobatics, they somehow ocassionally can manage to unthread those split rings.


----------



## Skinner 2 (Mar 19, 2004)

Gone Fishing said:


> I've had that happen a handful of times with the latest being last week. Only seems to happen with Steelhead. With their speed, spins and acrobatics, they somehow ocassionally can manage to unthread those split rings.


 
So it actually appears this is not an isolated incident. The only oddity was it happeing twice to the same spoon in two consecutive trips...... I should have played the lotto that day!

Hey maybe it the same fish doing all of this as nobody has landed it yet. Being the first to discover this um fact I hearby name this beast Steelie Dick! This is how Legends start. Think of all the jewerly that beast is wearing!!!!!!!!!!

Skinner


----------



## Gone Fishing (Jul 31, 2001)

Skinner 2 said:


> Being the first to discover this um fact I hearby name this beast Steelie Dick! This is how Legends start. Think of all the jewerly that beast is wearing!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> Skinner


----------

