It is time to get ready for the 2009/2010 long range trips. I hope the COWs show up in big number soon. (The Q-105 got some at the Hurricane and Rooster is heading there right now.) In case some of you are thinking about mono to spectra connections to use on these trip, here is the latest data on my “nub” connection that uses spectra nail knots (see my earlier posting for the concept of my “nub” and nail knot connection.)
I have spent over 6 months developing the strongest way to install the nub on the mono. The final result is that you can put 174# of tension on Izorline 135# First String mono before the nub will start to slip on the mono. This is key to an effective nub and it is also the reason that you can use my connection multiple times.
More testing at Izoline showed me that my nub connection is a 100% connection without the Chinese finger trap. To test this on a real fish, I asked Brian Sims from the Royal Star (April 2009 tagging trip) to test some special connections that had virtually no Chinese finger trap insertion of the mono into the hollow spectra. Brian (and the Royal Star crew) landed 6 tuna in the 100# to 150# class as well as 15 sharks on the same connection. The connection started out with 45 ft of Izorline 135# mono and Brian fished and re-fished it until there was 4 ft of mono left. He had similar results with two other special wind-ons with no Chinese finger trap. This on ocean testing validated to me that my Izorline lab testing results were correct. Bottom line is that I can make a nail knot nub connection that is 100% strong and can be used multiple times without the Chinese finger trap holding mechanism.
Please keep in mind that using my nail knots alone is a very risky situation, as it has no room for error. (Like a flying trapeze act without a safety net.) If any part of the nail knots were not installed exactly right, the connection may slip. If anything damages a critical part of the nail knot while fighting the fish, the connection will probably fail. Knowing how each part of my connection behaves under all conditions is necessary to design a very effective connection system. My design approach is to know what the contribution of each part is and whether it is a primary or secondary contribution.
So what does this mean to my connection? It means that the insertion of the mono into the spectra is for margin of safety. I have previously found that between 6 and 12 inches of insertion (for 135# Izorline mono into 200H Izorline spectra) is a 100% connection. The problem with only inserting 12 inches is that with most other connection techniques, the loading and re-loading of the line will induce a small amount of slippage from each re-loading of the line. This is one reason why you may end up having less than the required 12 inches of insertion and that is why most riggers use between 3ft and 5 ft of insertion. With my “nub”, I preclude all creep type of slippage on re-loading and so if I start out with 12 inches, I end up with 12 inches. Sorry to get carried away with my microscopic observations but this observation was what drove me to come up with the nub. I still recommend that everyone use between 2 ft and 3 ft of insertion to provide 200% to 300% margin of safety.
Right now I am working on how to reduce some of the excess margin of safety so that my connection can be made quicker. Sorry, but this is not just the simple act of shorter insertion length. I am evaluating some faster nail knot installation techniques.
Come join me on one of my long range trips and your can ask questions, ask about my latest findings and try out one of these connection that I can custom make for you. (You tell me how you fish and whether you plan on re-using the connections more than once.) I am running the Accurate Reel sponsored 10.5-day trip on the American Angler (Jan 5, 2010). I am trying to clear my calendar at work so that I can be on December 11, 2009 Izorline Red Rooster 3 trip. Check with the Red Rooster office.
Thanks for reading about the latest on my nail knot nub connection,
Gary Teraoka
