Bass Fishing Forum - Westernbass.com

Than a set of split ring pliers..I decided to change out some hooks and split rings on some lures today..Got all my stuff together, including said pair of pliers and proceeded to attempt to accomplish the job at hand..Well after an hour and a half, I finally managed to get one hook and one split ring off the lure..At this rate, I will be at the task long past my bedtime and probably into day four of the Rally..What ever do you mean the Rally doesn't last four days..Oh never mind back to the task at hand..There must be something about the usage of said pliers that I do not know or have not yet to guess or figure out..I get the split ring open, but then it is totally out of position for manuevering onto the hook hanger or the hook..Obviously it has to go onto one or the other to either take the hook off or the split ring off..So I very carefully release the grip on the ring and try to reposition the pliers to make the opening more accessible to either the hook or the hook hanger..I then find that it is virtually impossible to have the split ring open and be able to move it to where the hanger is or the hook is..Maybe my pliers are just too big, or the rings too small or some other thing..This is the most frustrating task I have tried since I was in the Navy and being required to do more and more with less and less until I finally could do anything with absolutely nothing..But I digress..What is the proper way of using this time saving device, that has yet to save me even a minutes worth of time..I think I will go back to the old knife blade trick I used to use to accomplish the same task..

mac

Mac, I know what you're talking about. I went through the same thing until I got a good pair of pliers. I use the Cabella's pliers but I hear Bass Pro also has a good pair. I like putting the flat part inside the ring. Can't use a knife as I have a tendency to stab myself and when using my fingernails they keep breaking off. Anyway, try a different pair.
Dan

Mac,
I have found the same thing as you. Split ring pliers suck, from the 4 dollar model tothe 20 dollar model. The best way i have found is to let your thumbnails grow out for a few days and use them! Just dont do to many hooks in one day, your nails will be offer sore if you do.

These work awesomely for me:

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage ... TTSRP.html

I will never use a knife or my nails again.

Here it is two and one half hours since my last post..I feel it is imperative I keep you all abreast of my trials and tribulations of changing out hooks and split rings..If I do not, surely the said offending useless device (split ring pliers) will shortly find itself in the garbage (that is French for basura) and I will in turn be found in the psychiatric wing of Santa Clara Valley Medical..

I finally managed to get all of the hooks off and the split rings followed, I then installed the new split rings and replaced one hook, only two more to go..Thank goodness this bait only has three hooks..So far I have spent very close to four hours on this job..The Lord only knows how much longer it would have taken if I had not used the afore mentioned time saving device..

I had to take a break and report my "progress" in order to maintain some semblance of sanity..The police department has already responded here once on a call of suspected domestic abuse, only to find that the only thing being abused was the English language and my sensibilities..

As soon as I am finished with this lure, I have to go to Home Depot and see about getting some replacement dry wall and new paint for the damaged walls..The pliers do make excellent wall puncturing devices, especially when thrown with any amount of force..I will also have to make a trip to Circuit City or some other electronics store to replace my now demised television..I think I will get one of the new HD versions..

As for the remaining lures I was planning on working on, they will soon find they are no longer in my tackle bag, perhaps I should have tried to sell them on e-Bay in order to recover some of my days expenses..No, I just can't do that, I would not want someone to buy them then decide they needed to change out the hooks and split rings and end up in the same situation I am in now..

mac

StockOption wrote:These work awesomely for me:

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage ... TTSRP.html

I will never use a knife or my nails again.

Same ones I have. They work awesome!

Mac is this your first time trying out these split ring pliers? It takes a little practice to get use to how they work. Its all about hand position, and being ready with all parts. The arm with the point on it should be placed inside the ring really close to the opening. Set the opening and have the hook ready to put on. Its way to hard to explain on here. Practice will make you better. i have been where you are right now, and I hear what you are saying.

hand position, and hook ready! LMAO! I've been there, but i got good at it!

I bet you are sweating!

I took a dremel to the tip of mine so it would slip into the ring better and make it a little easier for smaller rings. I basically made the tip of the tool narrower and it seemed to help. MT

Well, that is over..I finished one triple hook lure..It only took just shy of six hours..Yes siree bob, those tools are sure time savers,,Now here I have one guy saying to put the flat side of the pliers in the ring and another saying to put the pointy side inside the ring..Truthfully, I tried it both ways multiple times and noticed no difference at all in their being useful for installing and/or removing split rings..Now I will freely admit I did not spend 20 dollars on them, but I did spend more than 10..Yes g, this was really my first concerted effort at using the pliers, although I have used them before and had just as much frustration then..

I can assure you, if someone were to develop a set that was simple and effective to use, they could die rich..

mac

Mac;

Now you have discovered what I did some time ago, that they (pliers) are not worth the powder to blow them up !!

But they do make excellent throwing weapons that will really stick into the wall or in my case "The Kat" here kitty, kitty, kitty.

After spending some considerable time and money on various styles and makes of these, I have discovered the advantage of a old butter knife. Nice and dull so no chance of stabbing my self. I slip the blade between the ring and open it up and slide the old one off and slide the new one on at the same time.

Then same process for hooks.

Good luck and watch out for the guys in the white coats

Re: Is there a more useless tool made

Yes, some were conceived.

GET A PAIR OF HEMOSTATS!

They have the small teeth and the locking ability whick makes them the best thing I've found to changes rings and hooks, plus you can use them for a whole bunch of other crap!

BassManDan

Mac,

First off, the cheap split ring pliers are really lousy. You need to bear down during these tough economic times and buy a good pair.

Second if you are getting rid of a hook but keeping the split ring, just cut the hook eye and throw it away. (That ought to save you an hour right there.)

If you are replacing rings, just clip those off with dykes. To avoid having little cut split rings to step on while barefoot I cut them in a big plastic trash can. Let them richochet around in there for awhile. (Two hours saved.)

I just use the split ring pliers to get them started, to go around, a small pair of hemostats. The hemostats are much handier to run them on. But they have to be the very small ones that fit in your split rings easily, not bigger, medium sized etc.

Cut off the rings and hooks you don't want, that will eliminate half the job, throw those junker pliers away, get a good set.

A.G.

I am a thubnail spit ring opening hook changer whenever possible. There, I said it.

I get the split ring open with my thumbnail and slide the old hook off into the gap I created... just enough so that I can slide the new hook into the opening (which is held open by the old hook). I then slide both hooks around until the old hook falls off and the new hook finds it's new home.

However, some split rings use thicker/stronger wire and they really take a toll on my thumbnails. Bomber Long A's and crankbaits, for example, have the toughest split rings around. So with these I have resorted to split ring pliers. And use the same process.

Be carefull with some of the cheaper split rings out there (like on Smithwick Rogues) because they use such light wire that they occasionally do not get back their original form after you change out hooks. They end up with a slight gap and get deformed. In this case you need to change out the split rings as well.

With hooks and split rings, my motto is "if in doubt...change them out". Better to be safe than sorry.

I appreciate everyones efforts in advising me on the proper way of changing out split rings and hooks..Honestly I have done it before, using a knife blade, this was my first and probably last time trying to use the pliers especially designed by KGB interrogators as a torture device, no doubt..

I stopped yesterday after completing just one lure, I still have several to go, but I most certainly will not be using the split ring pliers I have..I have read reviews on several types and will be getting a new pair soon..Surely someone makes a pair that does function efficiently..

mac

mac (Doyle McEwen) wrote:I stopped yesterday after completing just one lure, I still have several to go, but I most certainly will not be using the split ring pliers I have..I have read reviews on several types and will be getting a new pair soon..Surely someone makes a pair that does function efficiently.

The ones made by Xuron and Texas Tackle are the best split ring pliers I've used. It shouldn't take more than 1 minute per hook to do the replacement...

Links below (click on pic):



Texas Tackle


Xuron Split Ring Pliers

mac (Doyle McEwen) wrote:Well, that is over..I finished one triple hook lure..It only took just shy of six hours....

mac

LOL Hey Mac. The guy I hire to work for me does each hook in about 45 seconds to 1.5 minutes using his fingernails. I pay him ten bux an hour. Let me know if you need his number.

However, he's never on time and often never shows up unless he's low on pot.

But he's as strong as an ox and twice as smart.

Greg, I kinda figured my problem with the split ring pliers was because I wasn't as smart as they are..I know there has to be a trick to using them that I haven't stumbled across..If I had done them as I always had before, it wouldn't have taken more than maybe ten minutes per lure, but I figured I paid for the pliers, so I might as well figure out how to use them..Unfortunately they defeated me..

mac

Ten bucks says your pliers are WORTHless.



A.G.

Mine look like the Texas pair or the ones with orange handles.

To answer your Topic Question, Yes, Camp Meat,or Bruizer it's Kinda of a Toss up.

Mac, YOu have to have that $4 pair of all stainless split ring pliers. YOu need to stop being a cheapie and get a good pair. Kinda like flipping a jig with a snoopy rod in the Delta

Nope, The set I have cost a bunch more than $4..I will admit they cost less than $20 though..As I said, no doubt I wasn't using them properly, but I'll be damned if I can figure out any other ways to use them than what I tried..I don't doubt they would be very useful on split rings the size of dimes or larger, but for those you find on typical LMB baits, they are a total waste..The good old knife blade worked wonders for me until I purchased the pliers..Now after my weekend experience with the pliers I am returning to the use of the knife to get the job done..

mac

[quote="Andy Giannini"]Mac,

First off, the cheap split ring pliers are really lousy. You need to bear down during these tough economic times and buy a good pair.

Second if you are getting rid of a hook but keeping the split ring, just cut the hook eye and throw it away. (That ought to save you an hour right there.)

If you are replacing rings, just clip those off with dykes. To avoid having little cut split rings to step on while barefoot I cut them in a big plastic trash can. Let them richochet around in there for awhile. (Two hours saved.)

Thats all great advice as per usual from you Andy.

I guess I must have bought good split ring pliers in the first place, because I just timed my self and it took 37 seconds for me to change a trebble hook. Being a miserly kind of guy I usually reuse the split rings

JC

LMAO... Hey Pardner, you sure made my day with your post..lol

Take it easy.. See you soon for the Rally...

Kap

I second the Xuron Split Ring Pliers, I can assemble 50 baits in one hour with these things.
This was pretty funny to read though.
Josh
http://www.thewiredangler.com/wiredangler/

Great reading Mac !

Thumbnails work for me.

Mac,
I know this is a day late and a dollar short... But I have to ask. If you were replacing the split ring and the hook, wouldn't it have been easier to cut the old split ring off with a pair of sidecutting dykes and just add the new ones?

Yeah, that would have been a whole lot easier, but being the hard headed idiot I am and wanting to really try out my split ring pliers, I opted to remove them that way..Under normal circumstances, I would have cut the split ring off and replaced it with the new hook attatched..I was truly disappointed with the performance of my pliers, as I said..If one was to consider them a time saving device it would have required me to normally spend two hours or more to replace a single hook and split ring..I can and have done the job in about 5 minutes or less using my pocket knife..Truthfully I wanted to save the split rings for possible future use, but I had no intention of saving the hooks at all..

mac

But Mac, isnt that like blaming Ford for building a moving explosive piece of steel called a car......just because you don't know how to drive one

I'll tell you what at the Rally, we will hold a seminar on how to use split ring pliers

Let the rAllY smack talking begin!

Its called the 2% rule. You have to be 2% smarter than the object you are trying to operate. Its ok, I've ripped off a nail or two trying to change em out also.

Scott

Ash and Scott, I never claimed to be the sharpest knife in the drawer..But I have operated much more complicated machinery and tools with a whole lot less problems..I do not doubt there are better pliers made than the one I was using..Surely there has to be..

mac

I have the tiny p line split ring pliers and they work great. I grab the split ring about 1/4 to 1/2 inch away fro where the loop ends. I make sure the pliers and the split ring make a perpindicular angle. This is a really fast way for me to do this, and doesn't take more than 1 minute for a split ring and hook.

MT wrote:I took a dremel to the tip of mine so it would slip into the ring better and make it a little easier for smaller rings. I basically made the tip of the tool narrower and it seemed to help. MT

This is the hot tip.
Take any split ring pliars, grind the tip end more narrow in circumference, and also grind off enough of the tip itself that the part which actually separates the split ring is narrower and thinner, and easier to insert.
Leadmaster makes a split ring pliar that is like that right out of the box.