Thread: Swivels?

Even small swivels can affect the action of the bait.

Originally Posted by erichkopp

but could they still be too noticable and scare fish away?

Yes. I never use them for crappie or gills.

I do use them when spinner fishing for trout. They help prevent line twist in that situation.

Originally Posted by erichkopp

but could they still be too noticable and scare fish away?

Sounds like you're using a "snap-swivel" for changing lures quickly. I've had lots of fish follow, but not bite when using those. I use tube jigs, and they can twist your line pretty good, so I use a plain barrel swivel (no snap-clip) and tie on about 18" of line as a leader that gets tied directly to my jig. If you get good at tying the improved cinch knot, or the palomar knot, you can change lures pretty fast - not as fast as with a snap swivel, but fast enough to not spend a lot of time rigging your gear. Now the only time I use snaps is when I'm fishing for toothy critters like pike and pickerel - and those snaps are on the business end of a steel leader.

I agree, only use swivels on leaders that need them, like wire leaders or heavy mono leaders or on rigs that may twist.
I've had people I fish with use snap swivels to change baits quick, and I always caught at least twice as many fish as them. It ruins action and how many times have you seen a minnow with wire in front of his head swimming around?

I only use swivels when jug or R/R fishing for catfish. I think a swivel affects a jigs action to much.I will use swivels when trolling with any kind of spinner to avoid line twist. Allen

"Just say NO!" to swivels.

Just to add my lil ol .02 to the Great Swivel Debate. Growin' up, we used swivels on our line and still caught fish. But today, I wouldn't use em at all. I prefer the little fas snaps if I plan on changing hooks and lures a lot. The best thing is to tie direct and adjust your knot to make your jig stand up... Right folks?!!!

Thanks guys. I always assumed for some reason that most people used them, but I haven't been fishing too long either. The few times I've fished since taking off the swivel, I've caught more fish and got bites a lot more frequently. Needless to say, I took the swivels out of my tackle box and just spend the extra minute and a half tying my hooks and jigs on. Much better.