split ring strength

[BassSteve]

hey,

 

I purchased some smaller split rings for my squarebills, smallest size I can use without impeding freedom of hook movement. it says they are rated at 7 pound breaking strength which doesn't seem that good. even though they are rated for 7 pounds do you think it's likely they can handle more than what is rated?  should this still be ok for largemouth bass fishing? 

I wonder how much pressure or power 7 pounds actually is and if most bass can produce that kind of strain on the split ring 

 

 

[MN Fisher]

7# split rings?  Seems cheap to me. Even VMC rings start at 11lb for a #0, which I think would be too small...a #3 is 22lb, which is the size I use on my mid-size lures, a #2 for the smaller ones which comes in at 18lb.

 

I'd drop those cheap rings and get something decent.

[BassSteve]

4 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

7# split rings?  Seems cheap to me. Even VMC rings start at 11lb for a #0, which I think would be too small...a #3 is 22lb, which is the size I use on my mid-size lures, a #2 for the smaller ones which comes in at 18lb.

 

I'd drop those cheap rings and get something decent.

perhaps but when fighting a bass, is it likely they would cause a split ring rated at 7 pounds to bend out and possibly fail or is that unlikely? of course I'm not talking about situations when you need to horse a tangled fish out of thick cover or anything. Just open water situations with light cover maybe 

[MN Fisher]

Just now, BassSteve said:

perhaps but when fighting a bass, is it likely they would cause a split ring rated at 7 pounds to bend out and possibly fail or is that unlikely?

I'd be wary of a 7# ring even up here where the state record is only 8lb15oz and a 6# bass is a rarity. A good tug by a 5# fish during a fight can pull more than 7#. Down where you are - I'd think a 18# ring would be minimum I'd accept given the DDs you can pull out of your waters.

[BassSteve]

3 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

I'd be wary of a 7# ring even up here where the state record is only 8lb15oz and a 6# bass is a rarity. A good tug by a 5# fish during a fight can pull more than 7#. Down where you are - I'd think a 18# ring would be minimum I'd accept given the DDs you can pull out of your waters.

I'm just curious what it feels like in practice, to set up a scale and hang onto some fishing line and pull it until it reached 7 pounds of pulling force. it's probably more than I would think..but yeah if I end up having to buy a different brand rated higher strength for small size then I will do that

[T-Billy]

Do you really want to risk losing the fish of a lifetime because of cheap 7# split rings? You can buy quality stainless "hyper wire" rings on Amazon plenty cheap. I use the Dr. Fish brand on my muskie baits and have been 100% satisfied with them. 

[BassSteve]

4 hours ago, T-Billy said:

Do you really want to risk losing the fish of a lifetime because of cheap 7# split rings? You can buy quality stainless "hyper wire" rings on Amazon plenty cheap. I use the Dr. Fish brand on my muskie baits and have been 100% satisfied with them. 

Yeah I bought a couple packs this morning of the 6mm and 7mm, quite a bit more breaking strength but also larger. They should be ok 

[MickD]

There are "heavy duty" split rings, too.  You can hardly open them, so they would be plenty strong.  7# is a gamble, IMO.

[BassSteve]

39 minutes ago, MickD said:

There are "heavy duty" split rings, too.  You can hardly open them, so they would be plenty strong.  7# is a gamble, IMO.

do you think it's a gamble for open water situations? I realize if you have to wrestle them out of cover then you need more strength

39 minutes ago, MickD said:

There are "heavy duty" split rings, too.  You can hardly open them, so they would be plenty strong.  7# is a gamble, IMO.

I bought some split rings by strike king, "tour grade" 00 and 0 size. what is strange is i can't find any info on what strength they have for these two sizes. but being strike king brand is guess I should assume they will be strong enough 

[MickD]

The heavy duty ones I bought, many years ago for salmon fishing, to correct the split ring failures of the shock strike of king salmon, are visually thicker, stouter, than other split rings. I don't know the strength numbers, but never had one fail and they are easy to identify by appearance.

[BassSteve]

On 11/19/2024 at 3:23 AM, T-Billy said:

Do you really want to risk losing the fish of a lifetime because of cheap 7# split rings? You can buy quality stainless "hyper wire" rings on Amazon plenty cheap. I use the Dr. Fish brand on my muskie baits and have been 100% satisfied with them. 

I bought another pack of split rings, they are slightly larger and say rated for 12 pound breaking strength, I'm assuming these are suitable without problems 

[VolFan]

Either will be fine as long as your drag is set within a normal level. 7 lbs is still needlessly weak for a split ring. 

[BassSteve]

9 minutes ago, VolFan said:

Either will be fine as long as your drag is set within a normal level. 7 lbs is still needlessly weak for a split ring. 

I agree, I did a pull test myself and it didn't take much strength for me to bend it out...so I ordered slightly larger ones with 12 pound rating break strength, these should be ok 

[T-Billy]

I use rings rated at twice the break strength I think I need.  

[BassSteve]

22 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

I use rings rated at twice the break strength I think I need.  

the bass or panfish i usually encounter in my fishing areas are probably from 1-5 pounds, so i guess 12lb breaking strength is sufficient. I was wrong to order the small rings at 7lb break strength...they feel like they give out too easy. good thing i didn't spend a lot on them 😅

[T-Billy]

52 minutes ago, BassSteve said:

the bass or panfish i usually encounter in my fishing areas are probably from 1-5 pounds, so i guess 12lb breaking strength is sufficient. I was wrong to order the small rings at 7lb break strength...they feel like they give out too easy. good thing i didn't spend a lot on them 😅

I wouldn't count on them to live up to their rated strength. 

[BassSteve]

1 hour ago, T-Billy said:

I wouldn't count on them to live up to their rated strength. 

yeah I get your point, unless they released testing footage or data which I didn't see. when they arrive i will do a "pull test" myself to get a general idea of how much muscle I need in order to straighten it out 

[Tim Kelly]

Ott Defoe has a good video on tying braid loops instead of using split rings. Very easy to do and ideal on baits that are difficult to get small enough split rings onto the lure to stop the hooks tangling as you can control the loop size very accurately. 

[BassSteve]

6 minutes ago, Tim Kelly said:

Ott Defoe has a good video on tying braid loops instead of using split rings. Very easy to do and ideal on baits that are difficult to get small enough split rings onto the lure to stop the hooks tangling as you can control the loop size very accurately. 

hmm that is an interesting idea, and as we know braid lasts a long time too