A Dacron loop for your trolling setups helps you get the lines in the outrigger clips quickly.
Mike Harris
Placing a Dacron loop on the running line of your trolling outfits helps you place the line in the outrigger clips quickly and easily. The loops will not slide so you will also know that the lures are in the correct position at all times. Story and photos by Mike Harris.
To make a Dacron loop for you marlin trolling outfits, you will need fluorocarbon leader, 200-pound Dacron, splicing needles, waxed rigging floss, Aquaseal adhesive and serving wax.
Cut an 8- to 10-inch length of the Dacron and feed the loop-pulling needle through the Dacron, exiting the Dacron at the halfway point.
Take the tag end and fed it through the eye of the needle.
Gently ease the Dacron back through itself by pulling on the needle.
Be sure to leave the inside piece of Dacron slightly longer, as this will make it easier when whipping the line into a solid loop later on.
When you have the loop the size you want it, cover the loop with Aquaseal, which is a special adhesive made for wader repairs. You can also use Super Glue.
Rub the Aquaseal in with your fingers and be sure to form a nice open loop. Let the loop completely dry, which will take roughly one hour.
Take a needle the size of the line class you intend to use for the leader and feed it down through the inside piece of the Dacron so the hollow end of the needle exits on the loop side, not the tag end.
Melt the tag ends, ensuring the inside tag is longer than the outside.
Roll the needle in your fingers to smooth out the ends and make the Dacron uniform.
As you can see the inside Dacron tag is slightly longer than the top side which helps prevent the Dacron from collapsing.
Place the mono into the open end of the rigging needle.
Pull the needle so the loop slides freely on the running line.
Gently apply heat to shrink the Dacron to the line for a snug fit.
Slide the loop to the proper position. Place the loop so the lure is where you want it in the spread from the point of the outrigger. This is normally done at sea while the lure is in the water unless you know the actual measurement for each lure position in your spread which is how we do it. Once in position, you can began to whip the Dacron loop into place.
Tie several half-hitches working from the loop towards the tag end. Pull the half-hitches tight as you do not want the loop to slip.
Form a loop and roll the tag end back up the line and then unroll on itself and pull the tag end tightly to finish the whip.
Apply some serving wax to ensure the whip does not work itself loose.
Dacron loops are a fantastic way to make sure your lures get back to exactly the correct position in your lure pattern.
We also put red and green tape (port and starboard) to ensure the gear gets set out fast and efficiently.
In a hot bite it's the little things like getting the lures to the correct position quickly which can make the difference in catching one or two, or six or seven when the bite time is short.
