CoreyH Posted February 24, 2020 Report Share Posted February 24, 2020 I am not very familiar with split ring sizes since I generally don't swap out the split rings on baits I purchase. I had a dozen or so split rings that I had purchased a while back in case I needed to replace a split ring, but have no idea what size they were. I have used them up and am needing to purchase some more to place on the baits I am making. I am using .041" stainless steel wire for making my line ties and hook hangers. What size split ring will open up well without deforming or getting ruined when using the .041" wire? I have typically been using size 4 treble hooks on the baits I have made so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 24, 2020 Report Share Posted February 24, 2020 Owner Hyperwire split rings are bulletproof, but also expensive. I buy heavy duty #4 split rings from Barlow's in the 100 count. 4 out of 5 are fine, but the price is so good I put up that failure rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted February 25, 2020 Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 I use size 2 rings on average size bass baits with .041 wire and think that’s the size you see on most bass baits. Owner hyperwires are great but I just use bulk rings and can’t remember the last time one failed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonteSS Posted February 25, 2020 Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 The rings from Predator are good and inexpensive. Theirs are listed as 5mm which are very small and good for small ultralite baits 6mm most popular for regular cranks and jerks, topwater etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoreyH Posted February 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 Thanks for the help. The ones I had before I believe were the Owner Hyperwire, but I just don't want to spend that kind of money since I've never had a normal split ring fail. I had two that didn't snap back to normal after trying to put them on my baits, so they were ruined. I figured they must have been too small since they did that, so I wasn't sure what the "normal" size would be. Since I plan on getting the less expensive ones, I'll probably get a few different sizes. But it's good to know the size 2, 4, and then the 6mm are what I need to be looking at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 25, 2020 Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 For me, the only failure I've had with the Barlow's split rings are right when I open them with my split ring pliers. The bad ones don't reclose after I've opened them the first time, so I just discard those and try another. Easy to spot. Otherwise, the split rings are very strong, and I've never had one fail on a fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoreyH Posted February 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 Mark, that's the exact problem I've had with a couple of the split rings I tried putting on. That's why I was wondering if I was using too small of a size and by opening them up farther to put them on I was over-flexing them and causing the failures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 25, 2020 Report Share Posted February 25, 2020 3 minutes ago, CoreyH said: Mark, that's the exact problem I've had with a couple of the split rings I tried putting on. That's why I was wondering if I was using too small of a size and by opening them up farther to put them on I was over-flexing them and causing the failures. Corey, I use the #4 rings because they are good for most of the cranks/baits I make. If a ring won't snap back shut after I put it on a treble hook I immediately replace it. Since I use .072 screw eyes for some of my hook hangers, being able to slip onto that size eye is my test. I just haven't found a split ring smaller than #4 that will consistently work for me. I do use smaller rings sometimes, but those are on small baits that are thrown on light line, so the line will break before the rings open up. If I'm using a lighter wire split ring for my line tie, before I tighten my line tie knot I make sure the gap in the ring is in the line tie itself, so my line knot is on the part of the ring that's doubled, and the knot holds it closed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted February 26, 2020 Report Share Posted February 26, 2020 One thing that helps is using good split ring pliers. I’ve used Texas Tackle pliers for years and many consider them top of the heap. Very rarely get tweaked or open rings with them. However, I just saw a YouTube video about a guy who bought some on Amazon and got cheap Chinese knockoffs. Either knockoffs or the Texas Tackle folks have sold out! So I’m hesitant to recommend them unless you buy direct from the he company. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoreyH Posted February 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2020 BobP, I actually do use the 4" Texas Tackle split ring pliers. I bought them from Tackle Warehouse a year or so ago after the guys at Tactical Bassin recommended them. I have a feeling the ones that failed on me were just bad rings and most likely not the Hyperwire (at least I hope they weren't). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoreyH Posted February 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2020 On 2/25/2020 at 7:18 AM, MonteSS said: The rings from Predator are good and inexpensive. Theirs are listed as 5mm which are very small and good for small ultralite baits 6mm most popular for regular cranks and jerks, topwater etc. Where do you purchase these from? I tried to Google "Predator split rings" but the only ones that came up were split rings made for predators like pike. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ Fisher Posted February 26, 2020 Report Share Posted February 26, 2020 He's listed here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoreyH Posted February 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2020 Got it...thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted February 28, 2020 Report Share Posted February 28, 2020 Corey, look for Predator Bass Baits, or take a look at the crankbait providers list at the top of this forum. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoreyH Posted February 28, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2020 Thanks BobP, I wound up finding it. I was thinking that the brand of the split ring was Predator. Once I looked on the Predator Bass Baits website I found what I was looking for. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Epp Posted March 19, 2020 Report Share Posted March 19, 2020 Anyone ever use the Eagle Claw split rings? I know they sell them at Wal-Mart, and they're pretty cheap, but that's pretty concerning... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RM3 Posted April 6, 2020 Report Share Posted April 6, 2020 On 3/19/2020 at 9:47 AM, Big Epp said: Anyone ever use the Eagle Claw split rings? I know they sell them at Wal-Mart, and they're pretty cheap, but that's pretty concerning... I think you answered your own question.............. If you look at a per piece price on most hardware, generally speaking, cost difference is minimal between "cheap" and quality. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
