Loop 2 Loop, vs Splicing Topshots?

[divegod1]

Originally Posted by fitz01@surewest

For what we are discussing there is no need for taking any needles or crimps out on deck..Were not serving the leader at this time we are attaching a pre made wind on leader by splicing a section of hollow to hollow via a doubled back piece of wire I can do it in about 30 secs on any hollow above 80. L2L after a fish in my opinion requires a new loop due to spectra vs specta + extreme force on a small L2L knot be it 1-2 or 3 pass connection. You simply cut main line pull in your wind on pull in your main line trim and your done. The wire puller threaded up into the main is the only step that takes any time at all and I can make the twelve to eighteen inch thread in a matter of secs on deck and my entire rig is new again. I fished L2L for a couple of years but IMHO this system is cleaner and faster. Fitz PS Cordell provided several good tuna days for me this year and I hope they open it up to rockfishing again someday.

And there are a bunch of folks that can do it on deck in the wind in less than 3 minutes, cause I have timed e'm. And after that big fish you can use a 3-5 minute rest.
In fact a prerequisite for gettin on one of Takas LR trips is to be able to make a whole new topshot, cut spectra,slide up a crimp,slide up your flouro, crimp it and tie on a new hook in less than 5 minutes. On deck.

[Steve K]

I do a little of everything.

For the lighter outfits like the 40-50-60 lb stuff on the Shimano Tyrnos12II and TLD20II, I use loop to loop pre-made wind-ons. For me, this connection is seldom used when fishing for a personal best or the fish of a lifetime, but I've never had a loop to loop failure. And, I'm pretty handy with the hollow spectra and the Sato crimps, so I ususally make these up at home or on travel days. When changing these, the point of a hook helps a lot to open up the looped connection. I always inspect the loop on the line coming from the reel, and if it shows wear or is damaged I will cut it off and give it a new loop.

When fishing the big stuff, 100-130-150 lb, I go with the inline spliced connection. It's cleaner and as I said I'm pretty handy with the hollow. Also, it seems like you always have plenty of time to do this connection when you're fishing the heavy gear. It's not like you go after that big tuna with only one outfit.

Of course the topshots for the 40 and 50 lb reels used for throwing jigs/bombs and fishing yoyo iron are all done crimping directly tothe spectra on the reel. And since I usually have at least two of those on a trip, that's not a problem, either. I do carry 1 lb spools of 40 and 50 lb mono in case I do need to respool those outfits.

[ifish42na]

His reasoning is that....after fighting a large fish, if you want to change a loop / loop connection, the loops are tightened together so much that it is difficult to un-do them without a (needle-like) tool, and without fraying the line. Whereas he can simply cut the spliced-on topshot, and splice a new one on, in less time than messing with the loops.

So if you're cutting off the old spliced-in topshot, why can't you cut off the L2L? You don't have to undo any loops if you're going to cut it off, do you? Just cut on the side of the topshot loop, pull out the little piece left over and loop a new one on. Much easier than fooling around with splices at the end of a long day, and just as strong.

[JSR]

yep
one way you have to have a pre made looped leader
and
the other requires putting together the raw materials
whatever
floats your boat