Today we are reviewing something that is so small but is a vital component for anyone throwing lures, which is often overlooked by even some of the most experienced of fishermen – lure clips!

Get a bunch of fishermen together around a fire, with a couple of beers, and soon enough everyone will be debating about what which braid, rod, leader etc is best. No one is wrong, yet no one is right. But the one thing that everyone always seems to agree on is the importance of lure clips!

There are hundreds of shapes and sizes but for us there is only one… this quick release clip is made by Dennis Swannell from the Eastern Cape. Each clip is hand made to suit the high standards of Dennis. From the tiny 0.8mm right up to the 2mm clip, Dennis ensures that there is a clip available to every type of lure fisherman.

Clips have many advantages and come to think of it there is not a single disadvantage to this tiny piece of tackle. Its provides a quick and easy way to change lures. Saves you time and effort on replacing ever-shortening leaders and provides better lure action all whilst protecting your knot! Lets not forget to mention how easy it makes it to stow away lures whilst travelling, saving unnecessary damage to rods and reels. The list of positives is never ending when it comes to lure clips.

Matching a clip to a lure is critical.. it is senseless to make use of a huge 1.6mm clip, on a small surface lure, whilst fishing for grunter in an estuary or to tackle up with a 1mm clip on 80lb braid whilst popping for GT’s. Make sure that the clip you pick matches the type of fishing, with the wide range available there really are no excuses! That being said, it is important to always try use the smallest (yet most suitable) clip possible – these clips are incredibly strong and are highly unlikely to be the weakest link in your gear. From experience, 0.8mm clips is suitable for braid up to 30lbs, 1mm for braid up to 50lbs, 1.2mm for braid up to 65lbs, and 1.6mm for braid up to 100lbs – this is just our rule of thumb and not cast in concrete at all.

One last bit of advice, remove split rings on small swimming/bass type lures. There is essentially no need for split rings on the front of the lure when using clips. The addition of split rings inhibits the ultimate advantage of these clips – ease of lure change!

Dennis Swannell provides a wide range of accessories for fishermen, ranging from quick release clips, snaps, corkscrew, slides etc which are available in most decent tackle shops around South Africa.