Use this tried-and-true topshot technique to keep your line fresh.
Mike Harris
Spooling 80-wide reels is expensive but if you use a topshot, you can spool five reels with a single 1,000-yard spool. Text and photos by Mike Harris.
To splice Dacron or hallow-core braided line to a monofilament topshot you will need the following: waxed rigging thread, Dac Wax, snips and a pipe needle sized for the mono you are using.
Place the end of the mono in the pipe needle. If it's a bit lose you can bite the end of the mono gently to help it stay in the needle.
Insert the needle into the Dacron about one inch down from the end.
Carefully push the Dacron over the needle, making sure the needle does not poke through the sides of the Dacron.
Once you have the needle fully inside of the Dacron gently work the needle and mono up further into the Dacron.
Continue this process until you have about 12 feet of mono inside of the Dacron.
Once you have the correct length of mono inside the hollow-core line, poke the needle back through the Dacron.
Pull the needle all of the way through the Dacron and remove the needle from the mono.
Pinch down on the line where the mono ends and push all of the lose Dacron towards the mono.
Take the wax thread and begin to make a series of whips down towards the tag end.
Continue working your way down, whipping the tag end to the mono and continuing just past the end of the Dacron.
Work your whips down onto the mono and finish by forming a loop and rolling it back up the line towards the knot. Then unwind the wax thread to form the knot. You will be left with a loop and a tag end.
Pull the tag end tight to form the knot and trim off the excess.
When finished, I like to use a bit of Dac Wax to make sure that the knot in the rigging floss does not unravel in the water.
My finished whip that I tie with the rigging thread is just over two inches long.
It is very important to make sure that the Dacron grips tightly over the mono and is not loose at all.
Start the second whipping on the last inch of mono inside of the Dacron and work your way towards the mono end of the line.
Continue whipping onto the Dacron, making the finish knot approximately two inches long as you did before and finish it in the same way.
Again, I apply wax to the whips when finished. You can now reel the monofilament onto the reel and prepare the drag for fishing.
