Decoy riggin

[ducks_inc]

Does anybody Texas rig with monofilament fishing lead line? If so what pound line is it?

[Merganeezer]

400

[aweyerman]

Don't do it! Use .80 Husqvarna line (found at Lowes) less memory, tougher, lasts longer, and much much cheaper. Thank me later.

[greenheadgrimreaper]

Don't do it! Never use Husqvarna products they're anti-hunting!

[Tedl10]

[RF]

Don't buy your mono based on breaking strength...buy it based on diameter. The best is 1.8-2.0mm. I have used 1.4mm for really short rigs (24" or less).

[Take 'em]

+1 on crimp size. If your doing a lot and plan to bulk order off eBay, crimp size comes into play. Cheaper to do it by bulk (around 100) and get a buddy to chip in if you want to end up with rigs for 100 deeks. Will be less than half the price of buying them already made. Egg weights are the toughest to find

[Tedl10]

i know they are selling crimps by the dozen at dick's in madison. I can't remember how much exactly they were charging for them.

[ducks_inc]

i've rigged a dozen with the green coated 1/16 cable from home depot, with swivels and mushroom weights..... i like the design but think the cable and size weight i used are a little overkill for the next setup im gonna do, 12-18 teal decoys, i thought something lighter would be a lot easier.

[medic11]

SNL corp... Best place to buy rigging supplies in my opinion

[Drakeshead]

[jwz4]

+1 for snl and 400# line

[MudHog]

200 pieces of 48" clear straightened mono and 400 pieces 2.2mm black copper mini crimps for $38

http://www.snlcorp.net/cgi/commerce.cgi ... &key=14346


100 6oz egg weight for $89

http://www.ebay.com/itm/100ct-6-oz-egg- ... 25679bc98f



100 4oz egg weight for $63

http://www.ebay.com/itm/100ct-4-oz-egg- ... 20bcccd15c

[Wildfowler]

I still think it's hard to beat my method for simplicity. (at least for shallow water)

2-3 feet of real Tanglefree line. One of the big rolls of Tanglefree line will last a regular duck hunter a lifetime. I use zip ties in lieu of crimps. Tie a "figure 8" knot in one end of the line. Pull the knot tight, but still can be untied and the whole thing re-used if you want to. I now put the zip tie all the way around the keel through the hole with the knot on the outside of the zip tie. It's not going to pull out.

(Confession time - before I started using zip ties, I did loose two lines. But I don't think the knot came untied, I think the knot pulled through the hole in the keel.)

For an anchor, I use a one ounce egg sinker that's pounded flat onto the tanglefree line. Unless you're hunting in a gale force wind and on a clean bottom, one ounce is plenty of weight. If you are in super high wind, just step the weight down into the mud.

Any more line than that can become a mess. I will usually wrap the line a time or two around the "shoulder" of the decoy. I also took my grinder and ground off any "hooks" or "curls" on the decoy with do snag the anchors.

Here's some pics of what I'm talking about. I actually have most of the zip ties done this way shown in the photo to keep the knot from pulling through the hole. The zip tie can't fit through the hole, but the knot by itself can. You can also ziptie all the way around the keel to keep the knot from pulling through the hole. Either method works equally well.

Here's what a "figure 8" knot looks like before you tie it tight. It's actually an old sailors knot. Often used on the terminal end of a line that passes though an eyelet to keep the line from pulling through:



Here's what it looks like when you pull the tanglefree line that's been tied in a figure 8 knot tight. I pull to where the line starts to stretch. If you're using the real tanglefree line, this will not untie: (disclaimer - I purchased my large spool of tanglefree line that I still use and re-use to this day from surplus city in Jackson back in 1992. It could be made in China now for all I know?)

Notice how I removed the tie-off hook on the front of the G&H decoy that will otherwise snag an egg sinker from another decoy while you're trying to put them out. Angle grinder, or I'm sure a sharp box cutter will do the removal nicely.



Here's what I would recommend doing with the zip tie to keep the knot from pulling through the eyelet:




Lastly, here's what a wrap around the shoulder looks like. Some will come off in the bag, most will not and it's no problem to toss them out in the morning. If you don't wrap
the decoys at all, and just throw them in the bag loose, it can be a problem that will slow you down the next time you put them out. I use the drake decoy barrels too:

[Drakeshead]

I buy my lead weights from Miaba. 50 pack of 4oz egg sinkers for 33.12 which includes shipping.