Need some ideas for attaching droppers to long lines...

Steve McCullough

Steve McCullough

Active member
Going to expand my rig this year. I permanently attach my decoys to my long lines and store them in 55 gallon drums. For my older long lines, I took a tire tool, heated it with a torch and melted a hole into the main line and pulled the dropper through and then tied an overhand knot as a stopper. It was a LONG and TEDIOUS and stinky process. Not wanting to go through all of that again.
I am not a fan of clips as they slide up and down the mother line when picking up. I thought about tying a whip finish and keeping one end long enough for the decoy?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Best,
Steve
 
How about a Prusik loop at each decoy attachment point? You could then clip your droppers into the loop. You could also tie in dropper loop, like we do to attach droppers to a leader for fishing, but I think that would be tedious and maybe lead to tangling in a heavy main line.

https://www.animatedknots.com/prusik-knot

https://www.animatedknots.com/dropper-loop-knot

But I think getting the right size clips is a lot easier than either if Phil is correct.
 
Hi Steve

Here's the URL to a video I made to outline how I tie up longlines

Tim



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1jlPo55VSE
 
Ditto what Phil posted. My Memphis Net 5" clips never slide on the long line. I use 1/4" diamond braid nylon from Decoy Rigs.
 
Good clips on good line don't slide. The clips are made for hauling in several hundred pound fish on a longline, just like bringing decoys. If you don't like clips, that is another story.
 
I leave my decoys attached to the main line all season, but I do use the longline clips for a few benefits:

1. The extra weight gets the line down faster.

2. Easy to swap out a decoy for repairs, etc.

3. When you have an occasional snafu (major tangle, line getting underneath the boat or an ice sheet, you name it) it's a lot easier to fix the issue if you can quickly remove decoys.

As has been said, the clips shouldn't slide much if you have good quality (commercial fishing) clips paired with the right line. I do tie an overhand loop at either end of the main line where the first and last decoy get attached. If any clips end up sliding it will most likely be the ones on the end.
 
Hi Steve,

With a few exceptions, I stopped using clips a long time ago. With big lines tying/untying knots isn't hard if changes need to be made and no clips means less stuff to snag and nothing to scratch and dig into decoy paint jobs. Key thing is that the lines must be sinking. Note it's typical for me to use a lighter dropper line than the main, sword fishing long line. And yes being a bit anal I did whip the dropper to long line knots.

Scott

View attachment GE knots.jpg



View attachment LONGLINE KNOTS.jpg
 
I don't use droppers, or clips, on decoys that have a rear attachment, I tie the decoys fore and aft on the mainline, you could also tie a short loop in the mainline where you want the decoy after threading in a large snap swivel and fasten the snap to the decoy.
there are zero tangles this way, prussic knots slide in my experience, and longline snaps don't.
 
I use longline clips.
Properly sized, they dont slip
They make quick work if you have a sinking decoy.

You can change or mix species to target the local population

Save hours untangling lines wrapped together by wind changes.

Make fixing lines much easier if you snag a line in a big drifting logs or debris

Vary the length of decoy line to suit the situation. (More or less decoys)

Change the spacing of the decoys to suit conditions

Quicker in hunt repairs if you have to cut a line from propellers or cut loose snagged anchors.
Or am I the only one this happens to?
 
Tim, nice video.
I have a bunch of lines from Bob at Decoy Rigs and his stuff is the best. His catalog has all kinds of stuff that is really hard to source .
My setup has a 1 inch ring tied to the mainline with a snap swivel at the end of my dropper coming from the decoy.
I usually tape any tag ends to keep the potential of snagging down and make it easier on my hands.
 
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