Hi everyone,

I'm not really too new to fishing but when it comes to saltwater I pretty much only have exp with live bait. I'm wanting to try my hand at using some lures and I'm not really sure on a couple of things.

First, when using lures, do I tie my line directly to the lure? Some lures have a split ring attached the eye of the lure and some don't. Do I use swivels and/or barrel snap swivels?

I have some top water lures, some shrimps that have the line hole directly on top of the lure, spoons etc and I'm really confused on how I should tie each of these off.

Sorry for the "duh" questions guys and thanks in advance for your help.

Any help at all would be nice ;-)

Check out the link in my signature..

You can use swivels however most of the time I take the split ring out and tie a Rapala Knot (Mono) directly to the lure.

For spoons attach a split ring and tie a loop knot however you will get line twist this way. By the addition of a barrel swivel attached to the split ring; helps reduce line twist.

For line Power Pro is great for topwaters as it floats. for sinkers and spoons I use a fluorocarbon leader just for piece of mind.



-Z-

How you tie your terminal tackle is determined in part by how you fish. What I mean by that is that if you have just 1 or 2 fishing rods, you will more than likely be changing lure quite often as needed. If that is the case you have 3 choices. You can tie on directly a new lure, use a snap swivel, or use a split ring.

I take several rods with me so that I don't have to be retying. I prefer to use split rings where needed because I've lost some big fish to snap swivels that popped open. The only problem to using snap rings is that you will need a pair of good quality split ring pliers.

Just based on what I've written, I can tell that I haven't even begun to touch the surface of the question you asked. I still need to discuss leaders and leader line with you. Write to me at carlosh@austin.rr.com and I would be more than happy to share additional information, illustrations, and caveats with you. I've gotten my information by asking fishing guides and then putting together what works best for me.

I like to use a swivel when fishing spoons to eliminate line twist. When fishing around rocks or over oyster reefs I like to use a 25# flourocarbon leader. What species are you going to be fishing for? Will be able to help more if we know what you're after.

it is important to know before giving an answer, what you are fishing for and where?