After seeing a pair of snag-free sinkers at local tackle shop going for $5.00 I decided to do a little research on snag-free sinkers to see if I could make my own. I have been fishing with guides who made their own and figured there would be something on the internet about it. A quick search on Google landed me on the Forum of KatMasters.com. I found a couple of posts about the snag-free sinkers and decided to make them myself. Listed below are step-by-step instructions on how to make your own snag-free (slinky) sinkers. It is not rocket science, but I figured an article would help.
Materials & Tools
- Nylon boot laces
- Size BB Split-shot
- Pliers
- Lighter
- Drinking Straw
- Knife or Scissors
Step 1: Determine how much split-shot to use. I didn't have anything to measue how many ounces a single piece of split shot was, so back to Google I went. I found that 9 pieces of size BB split-shot weighs 5 grams. Great, but how many grams are in an ounce? Google says: 1 gram = 0.0352739619 oz. So I got out the old calculator and figured that roughly 50 pieces of size BB split-shot make up an ounce. After laying out my 50 pieces, I quickly noticed that my finished sinker would be over 9 inches long. I decided to make 1/2 oz sinkers with what I had and to go back to Bass Pro Shops and get larger split-shot for my 1 oz sinkers.
Step 2: Cut the ends off of the boot laces. You will see an inner lace and an outer nylon shell. Pull the inner piece out of the shell. You will be left with the outer nylon.
Step 3: (Optional) - Cut a drinking straw at an angle so you can use it to funnel the split-shot into the end of the lace. If you do not use a straw, the end of the lace will unravel more than if you did use a straw. The straw that I used was too big around to stick it completely into the lace. If I had a smaller straw or a lace with a larger diameter it probably would have worked better.
Step 4: Since I was making a 1/2 oz sinker with size BB split-shot I found that it was best to put the shot in 3 at a time and pinch it down the lace until it was in the lace about 1 inch longer than the length of a finished sinker. Since my final product was 4.5 inches, I pushed the split-shot down to 5.5 inches from the end of the lace. This left enough lace at the end to cut off and melt. I also found that pinching the split-shot closed made it slide down the lace easier.
Step 5: Next I held the end of the lace with my side-cutter pliers. These worked great because I could clamp onto the end of the lace very easily. Needle-nose pliers would work fine here too.
Step 6: Next use the lighter to melt the end of the lace. Be sure to place something on top of your work area to prevent a "wife delivered knot" from forming on your head...er to prevent hot burning nylon from damaging the work surface (dining room table in my case).
Step 7: While the nylon is still hot, use the pliers to pinch the end of the lace closed. This also makes it easier to get the snap-swivel on.
Step 8: Last, add the snap-swivel to the end of the sinker.
With 1 box of split shot containing 150 pieces, I was able to make six 1/2oz sinkers. After adding it all up they came out to .83 a piece. (It is actually a little less because I had some material left over.) Compared to $2.50 a piece this was a steal. This was my first time trying to do this and I was able to make 1 sinker in 5 minutes. I am sure once I start doing this more, I will get quicker.
Things I would do different. - Use a larger size of split-shot - BB was just too small. A 1 oz sinker would have been over 9 inches long.
- Larger diameter rope - The boot laces worked great for size BB split-shot, but I would need something bigger if I went to a larger size.
- Smaller snap-swivel - I think I could have gotten by with size 5 instead of size 3.
- Use lead (shotgun) shot instead of split shot. - This will save time closing the split shot.
