None....

I feel like most of the newest gear out nowadays is pretty extreme. My old man, is exactly that in his fishing style, an old man. He still believes in Penn Squidders with mono and old honey lamis and black harnells that he must of bought for 48 cents about 70 years ago. He keeps telling me that I don't need have the stuff I have, and he may be right.

I don't use triple split rings because I haven't had an experience that justifies needing them. If I lose a big fish because of a split ring problem then, hell, give me quadruple split rings.

I keep saying I want to get back to the basics but all this cool, new shhtuff keeps coming out. Do we need these things, probably not, but do we feel me confident with them, most definitely.

I've used cut trebles extensively in the past and never had them fail by breaking off a plug. And this was even during the Block Island run of cows that put to test every treble on the market. During that time every type of treble was used and all were abused by those outsized fish - they all would straighten but the cut eyes did not break. The only trebles that broke on us were made of stainless steel - stainless treble points would snap off because stainless was brittle.

That said, the only time we had problems with cut trebles was when you had to remove them - bending the eye more than once on a cut treble was too much stress and they would break. As we all know metal fatigues when bent repeatedly - My advice would be: if you're going to use cut trebles use them once and then dispose.

DZ

Cover the cut with epoxy (clear nail polish will do) to retard rusting.

Depends.

Mustad stainless---brittle as an egg.

VMC Perma-steel--no problem.

Tip: I know most guys do not do this but if you rinse your plugs with warm soapy water after each use, then rinse with clean water, they will last a long, long time. I am still using original Dannys that have barrell swivels that look new. Hooks will also have better longevity if you complete this procedure. I know it is a pain in the a@# to do after a long night and at 3am but it really works. Every body complains about the cost of wooden plugs. Rinse them off after each trip and they will last alot longer! The same rinse system should be used on rods and reels.

I agree. I rinse all my plugs after every trip
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:agree: I usually don't get to it until the next day but I do it and it makes a h u g e difference. First you notice the VMC hooks don't corrode nearly as fast and in general your plugs look good much longer. I dump them out of my bag rinse them off and let them dry in the table out-back, they stay nice. Leaving them in the bag wet with seawater is the worst thing you can do.

Also, I believe there are enzymes in the fish's mouth that also act on speeding the decay of the hardware...wash it off.


This year I am going to try a "new" system. I ordered a internal hanging system for a 5 gal bucket that I plan to drill a bunch of holes in the bottom, I hope to be able to hang them and wash/hose the all off good and let them dry in the bucket and then pick the entire thing up and place it in the truck for the next night. We'll see how it works.

I left my plugs on top of the picnic table after washing them a few years ago.
Neither one of the plugs or the neighbor's springer fared well. Woke me up after my bedtime to a dog yelping in the yard. In his lip and leg and he was not happy. My nearest neighbor is more than a 1/4 mile away and this dog was not his.