ok, so heres the deal. I make slinkies in .175 dia. # 5,7,9,11 and .210 # 8,10,12,14. the small ones are a pain because there aren't any good slinkie makers for the smaller sizes. I'll pass on my tips if you folks will pass on yours.
I use a Blazer micro torch to heat the ends and a paperclip to put a hole in them to clip them on the snap swivel...much faster than a regular lighter and it can be locked on.
I also load about 30" of cord before I start sliding them down and burning the ends. kind of looks like a string of sausages before I go back and snip them apart with scissors.
I've heard of using arrow shafts to speed the "loading the cord" part. That only works with the cord sizes that are larger.
What tips have you learned to speed the process and make things easier?? I probably make a couple hundred a year and figure there are alot of short cuts out there that I need to know. Post your tips!!!

i carry slinkies cut and ready to use, but a friend of mine carries a 2-3 footer and cuts what he needs on the river. you already should carry small scissors for yarn, all you would need to do is carry a lighter to seal the ends (i don't smoke and i think its quicker to have them pre-cut, even if i carry more weight because of it)

as far as stuffing them, i use the .270 ball and just fill them by hand. after the end frays a little, heat it up and seal around the edge to make it into a funnel. i will stuff maybe 20-30" and leave about 6" unfilled. then just cut and seal into the lengths you want. it takes no more than 30 minutes start to finish and makes more slinkies than i can lose in a long weekend.

also keep in mind when you pull on the cord it constricts and tightens around the shot...push the cord along with the shot and this will open up the cord and the shot will slide right down.

pencil lead

A few years ago I inherited about a half gallon of #6 shot from someone who quit reloading. I use a small funnel to get it in the cord. Then I hold the end with hemostats while I hold a lighter to it. I try to do it all in phases. First, I cut all the cord sections I'll need. Then I melt one end on all of them. Then I fill and seal them.

pencil lead?? Hard drift...slinkies tell you when a steelie picks up the bait!

im not sure i know what a hard drift is but for me a slinky kills a drift rod, there not used much down here..

go with the pencil lead -faster to make -cheaper and you get a lot better feel for the bottom.

Hollow core pencil lead, and save yourself about a gazillion hours over your lifetime makin slinkies. Leave the tag end long when tieing your leader to your swivel and just break off and pinch the lead on the tag. You always just lose the lead if you get hung up ,and you can fish with half as many leaders as you would with slinkies.

Tried using slinkies for a season, and I hated them. It made my drifts feel "mushy". I personally like the sharp tick of the lead core on the bottom.

Nice think about the lead core, is that you can keep trimming it up a little at a time for the perfect amount of weight for a particular drift. We have some real snaggy rivers, and you can count on losing 50-70 hooks in a day, plus a ton of lead. I like to crimp the lead core on a mono tag, or a real weak swivel. It saves a lot of gear. It's pure hell on our fish!

i havent found a easier way of making slinkys than you folks, but however on a differant note, does anyone know where i can get a telescopic rod (not fishing rod) but anything up to 10 foot, im gonna put a net on the end and make me a corkie catcher, any info on where to get a device like this? btw, using a slinky means youwill snag less and lose less setups, and you will feel the bite much better, i have improved my hookups by swtichin from lead..

River Raider

I pretty much do the same as you. I do diff. diameter shot as well. I use a candle- not a torch or lighter. Sets an ambiance dont ya know--Ya. I use my leadmasters to pinch and seal and punch a hole.

Depending on the river Im fishing or what the drift looks like--feels like designates whether I use pencil lead or slinkies. Like Pop's says be flexible and adapt.

In my experience I found that slinkies tend to twist up my leaders. I also do not like the mushy tick they give, prefer a hard tic...

Also like others have said it is easier to trim pencil lead down to get the proper amount of lead for a particular drift.

Plus out of all the fishing gear I like to tinker with I absolutely hate making slinkies.

I also use hallow core pencil lead. I run a piece of steal safety wire down the middle of it, make a loop an one end and pinch the other end. With the wire you can run it through a 3-way swivel so it's ready to go. I usually make a bunch of different sizes. And I just pinch the other end of the lead with pliers so the wire stays inside of the lead, just pinch it though. That way when you snag up you can pull and the wire will come out of the lead without breaking off your whole set up.

Man, I used to be a die-hard slinky user. Well over 15 years or so. Man, let me tell you, if you can feel a subtle egg bite on a slinky, switching over to hard lead makes that bite feel like a plug take down! Dang near idiot proof when using hard lead.

Problems I always had when using slinkies was I never seemed to have the correct size, and even though I always carried a lighter with me, more often than not, it was wet outside, making it near impossible to cut and seal up a slinky.

I've mainly been using solid or hollow lead the last 2 years. Get's the presentation down quicker, and the bite is super easy to pick up.

I just carry around some 12" sticks of lead with me and a set of guide pliars. Pinch off a piece, pop a small hole at the top fo the lead, and slap on the swivel. Done deal. If it's super grabby, I might do the tag line and hollow lead thing. Or, if you pinch the hole on the lead right near the top, you can pull the swivel out of the lead.

Easy way to make slinkies is go to a hobby shop and by a 3' long hollow tube. I forget what they are used for, but just about all hobby shops will carry them. Get the appropriate sized tube for the shot you will be using. Thread your parachute cord over the tube, burn the end close, and fill it up with shot. Remove tube, and voila, insto 3' of slinky. Takes about a minute or so...depends on how slow you are at filling the tub with lead. Cut and burn to desired lengths. I don't bother with making holes at the end of the slinky, because if you leave about a shot worths gap at in your slinky, you can just slip a swivel through the parachute cord.

Have made thousands of slinkies. Put them in many stores in Aberdeen, Montensano, Satsop areas. Used to buy all my lead from "Larry's Sporting Goods", in 5 # bags., parachute cord by the 100'.......have stopped putting in stores but I have my supplies...

here's what I do!!!!!

1. use a ruler
2. take parachute cord, cut it in lengths of the following: 2", 3", 4", 5". I don't use longer than 5" but I have been known to have 2 5" for really heavy water.

3. Cut about 40-50 of each length.

4. Pull the insides out of the parachute cord.

5. Use large candle, lite of course.

6. Heat 1 end of the parachute cord, take a pair of pliers and squeeze tight.

7. I do all of 1 size at a time, just makes it easier when you start putting the lead in.

8. I use BB size lead shot.....remember I got all this stuff 10+ yrs. ago........don't know if you can still buy lead or not.

9. Go to 7-11 store, get a few straws.....not too big or it won't fit in the end of the parachute cord.

10. put end of straw in parachute cord, put BB size lead in straw, then push in with a "tamper", made one out of electrical wire.....think it was 10 guage.

11. do all of 1 size........believe me its just faster.

12. now heat the open end, squeeze with the pliers. Should now have slinky make BUT now for the holes in either end.

13. Go to your friendly dentist, ask him for 1 of those "picks" that they probe for bad spots in teeth. They are very sharp and make very nice holes in the ends of the parachute cord, I put holes in both ends cause its just faster once I'm on the river.

14. I have a plastic container, that I store mine in..........take about 10 of each size with you.

Sorry this post was soooooooooo long but just had to take the space.

"Worse day sport fishing, still better than the best day working"

carry em both to the river. depending on the conditions one will be better than the other. it's all good folks.

i will add that using slinkies saves wear and tear on the elbow. lot less false hooksets due to rock bites when using bait.

Gee, Parker, where did you get that grand idea to use the 3ft brass tubing from the hobby shops? Actually, it is tough to find the right sizes for the right cord since the shot gets stuck in the tube sometimes. However, once you find the right size tube and shot you can bust out 3ft. of slinky-filled cord in all of about 10 seconds.

As far as the drift with slinkies goes, you should not be using slinkies over gravel bottoms because it's like wearing 3 condoms, meaning that it works, but you ain't gonna feel jack sh!t. Go up to Reiter and tell me how many rigs you lose with lead compared to slinkies since large boulder bottoms are very grabby. I like the feel of lead but not when all I feel is my weight stuck in the rocks every cast.

Slinkies also have a lot less drag than lead and speed up your drift which is not good for lethargic winter steelies, but a very good idea for summerruns which like a speedy, natural drift.

I cut solid pencil lead into lengths.
Then I take a pair of wire cutters and make cuts about 1/4 apart, but not all the way through the lead.
Then I slide the lead into some parachute cord, melt the ends, poke a hole, and put in my vest.
When I get to fishin', I take one out, give it a few twists and bends, and I got me a slinky. If I don't, it's lead.
It's quick and my wife doesn't bi*ch about shot being sucked up the vacuum cleaner.