Split Decision
 

I've heard it both ways. When attaching a Finnish swimmer to a snap,
leave the split ring/ loose the split ring.
What is your experience?

I don't use snaps. Tie direct with at least 2x split rings. Except on Redfins. I don't use a ring on Redfins, because I want it up at the surface, no extra weight. Loaded Redfins get a ring.

i leave the split ring, doesn,t make any diff in action of the plug.
in fact i actually had to add split rings to some of my plugs cause i couldn,t get the snap on the eye of the plug. especially on deep throated poppers.
my .02 and my experience.

Split Descison is a apt title for this query. I think less hardward is better. I really don't see the need for a snap when a plug has a split ring.

Make sure your Finish Swimmer is not a trolling lure. I miss Nils Master - they had no split ring, but I recall fishing them direct most of the time.

Gather opinions, there's no harm in it. But in truth, I think you're better off asking a question like this directly to someone whom you know, who fishes where you fish with a similar style, and who has had success.

A split ring allows the plug to swing, giving it better action. If you use a snap, you can ditch the split ring. Use a snap with a rounded front to allow the plug better freedom of movement.

I almost always use a snap so i take the split rings off, i learned this the hard way years ago when i had one unwind on a small redfin, the bass was HUGE....:doh: If you using snap you dont need the ring there, its just annother thing to fail. Annother reason i take those rings off is a guy i learned alot from when i first started always took the rings off, and he bailed fish, so i trust him.:read:
I will downsize my snap size depending on the plug, you dont wanna use a 56 snap on a small 5/8th oz plug, wont swim right.

I had read where one should remove the split ring when using a snap for the basic reasons stated. I recently attended a Steve McKenna seminar and he attaches the snap to the split ring. I asked Steve about it and he suggested trying it both ways and see which way results in the better action. I thought this to be sound advice but I first wanted to seek the experience of others.

Most of those type of issues have nothing to do with whether the fish hits the lure or not. The odds are good that if you swim a crankbait by a striper, its gonna take it.
It's when you run into the fish of a season or a lifetime, that's when things start to get dicey; cheap split rings unwind, cheap hooks open, frayed leaders fail, etc, etc.