Adjustment, fine-tuning and tuning of the wobbler. Practical Tips
It often happens that fishermen complain that the “cool” wobbler, praised in all ratings, does not catch them in any. And discussions begin on the topic: “Another body of water - another fish ...”, “You don’t use it correctly, your hands are crooked ...”)), etc. Although in fact the reason may be banal. Wobbler bought with a small marriage. And you just need to adjust it a little and it will catch as it should.
Just as often in the forums there are messages of this kind: “The wobbler is good, but does not hold the current - it falls on its side”, and then the conclusion follows that this wobbler is defective and can be thrown away. And it is not uncommon that spinningists write this not for beginners, but with experience. This surprises me a lot. Any wobbler, even the most expensive, must be checked for the correct position of the loop. First, at least visually, when buying it, and then, more carefully - on the river. And if it falls on its side, rolls, even a little, then the loop must be corrected - its position must be regulated. This is the LAW. Factories have their tolerances and errors. And even branded models have their own percentage of “marriage” ...
As you know, a lot depends on the position of the front loop. Its lateral displacement can adjust the errors in the shape of the blade, body geometry and balancing, due to which the wobbler can roll in one direction or another. That is, the position of the loop can deviate from strictly central in one direction or another. Below I will describe in what cases and how it should be done. As a result, a properly adjusted wobbler should go straight, strictly in a vertical position, without losing its game when accelerating and even when changing direction.
A little about the blade...
Since we are talking about adjusting the loop, let's also recall other important elements of the wobbler, for example, the blades. The size of the blade and its location is undoubtedly one of the main parameters, along with the location of the loop and the load-balancing of the wobbler. I will try to briefly describe the dependence of the game of the wobbler on the shape, area and inclination of the blade:
The wider the blade, the greater the amplitude. That is, it plays wider and more aggressively (the wobbler “knocks” on the hand).
The smaller the blade width, the higher the frequency. That is, it fluctuates faster and smaller, and the game is less intense.
The steeper the pitch of the blade (more vertical), the greater the amplitude. That is, it plays more widely and powerfully.
Deepening: the more vertical the blade is, the closer the wobbler will go to the surface.
And vice versa: the smaller the slope of the blade (the more horizontal), the more the wobbler will go deep. And with the same parameters, a wider blade will have a greater depth.
For deep models - the longer the blade, the greater the depth.
Width combined with length form the total area of the blade, which affects all parameters in direct proportion.
Also, do not forget about the accompanying, “secondary” characteristics, such as the “stubbornness” of a wobbler, for example. In addition to the proportions of the body, it depends on the width of the blade and the activity (tension) of the game of the wobbler. Many people understand this parameter literally - it's hard to turn the coil. )) But what is important here is that a stubborn wobbler creates large hydroacoustic disturbances - it pushes the water more strongly in front of it, leaving behind a more noticeable "turbulent" trail and thus much faster detected by fish. But this is not always necessary ... The blade also affects the parameters of the jerky “scour” wiring, the speed of penetration and even the vertical position of the wobbler in the water (remember “Hardcore”). As a result: the blade is one of the most important elements of the wobbler, which affects all the characteristics of the lure.
Front loop
Next is the location of the front loop. There are two types of its placement - on the nose of the hull and on the shoulder blade. What is the difference? The shift on the shoulder blade is essentially forced. When, in order to obtain the desired parameters of the wobbler, you need to lower the loop lower, but there is no longer room on the body (nose) of the bait for its displacement (the blade does not give lower), then the loop is transferred to the blade of the wobbler. The essence is shown in the diagram. As a result, it turns out that the farther the loop is displaced along the blade from the body, the lower it is located.
And now about the dependence of the parameters of the game of the wobbler, on the height of the loop. This parameter is the most accessible for adjustment, tuning the game of the wobbler. The location of the loop is the distance between its center (the point of attachment of the fishing line) and the insertion point of the blade. So the dependency is:
The higher we shift the loop, the higher the frequency becomes. And vice versa, the lower we lower, the lower the speed of oscillations.
The lower we lower the loop, the more active the game becomes - the greater the amplitude, and the frequency of oscillations drops.
Impact on penetration: the lower the loop, the deeper the wobbler goes. The lowest location, as I wrote above, is placement on the blade. The further the loop is from the body, the deeper the wobbler goes.
As you probably noticed, loop offset affects three factors at once - frequency, amplitude and depth. Everything in varying degrees, but, nevertheless, they are all interconnected. Therefore, you have to look for the mostsuitable option or the only possible compromise. For example: when the loop is raised, the game becomes more high-frequency, but the activity of the game drops, up to a complete stop. And vice versa: you can increase the activity of the game by lowering the loop, but again, up to a certain point - beyond a certain limit, the wobbler loses stability and starts to go astray ("scour around"). And do not forget that all parameters also, and even to a greater extent, depend on the geometry and location of the blade and of course on the shape of the body and balancing.
Loading. Balancing.
I will not consider the types of wobblers according to the shape of the body, otherwise the size of the article will increase by 2 times, but you need to dwell a little on the load, since this parameter can also be adjusted if desired, thereby significantly changing the game of the wobbler. The load performs three functions. The first is, of course, the mass of the bait, which is important for casting performance. Then the sinking characteristics of the lure. And finally, the balancing of the wobbler, which has a great influence on the pattern of the game and other indicators. The location and distribution of the load are the most important parameters and are set at the design stage by the manufacturer. What does balancing affect?
The simplest is flight characteristics. The location (concentration) of the load in the tail of the wobbler makes it fly with its tail forward, stabilizing it in flight.
The next thing is the stability of the wobbler - the lower the load is located and the greater its mass, the more stable the wobbler is in the current.
Further, the influence on the nature of the movement during jerky wiring. The closer to the tail the center of the load is displaced (or spread to different ends of the body), the more pronounced will be the “prowling” movements (turns to the sides).
For some models, the inclined position of the wobbler in the water, relative to the longitudinal axis, is also important, which is also regulated by the load.
And, finally, the main thing is the character, the pattern of the wobbler game.
In comparison with the shape of the body and the geometry of the blade, this dependence may not be so significant, but it is the balancing that can become the last, decisive “stroke” in creating a catchy model. When the wobbler at first glance works perfectly, but does not catch any, it makes sense to experiment with an additional load. These are already subtleties of adjustment, but there are also simpler examples of application. For example, an "unstable" wobbler ...
Recently, I have undergone refinement of two models - this is the Strike Pro MG-002 and the Hypnose SSR. In the first case, the wobbler simply did not catch. It turned out that it was not quite stable, which was visually almost imperceptible, but this was enough for the fish. After experimenting with the placement of additional weights, the game was stabilized with a small piece of sheet lead glued to the belly of the lure closer to the tail. Along the way, the pattern of the game has changed - it has become more similar to the work of the famous "forty-fourth".
The SSR model from the Hypnose Pontoon21 series of wobblers also suffers from a similar “disease” - it “does not hold the jet”. Without refinement, SSR works stably up to a certain speed of wiring, but at a fast current or acceleration of winding, the wobbler simply turns upside down. Editing the loop in this case did not help and I had to fix a piece of lead in the area of the lower loop (the photo shows a temporary additional load during the adjustment process).
The game is 100% stabilized. But do not forget that such additional loading inevitably changes other indicators - sinking properties, depth parameters and, of course, the pattern of the game. Once, for the experiment, I made a "creative" plasticine wobbler, where the center of the load is very easy to move when adjusting. And when testing it, I was clearly convinced how noticeably the pattern of the game changes when it is moved to the tail or closer to the head.
Practical recommendations
And finally, let's sum it up. Any wobbler can be upgraded beyond recognition by changing the shape and inclination of the deepening blade, the location of the front loop and additional load. Therefore, such adjustments must be approached with caution and thought out, which, firstly, concerns changes in the shape of the blade. But often refinement is simply necessary, such as adjusting the front hinge. Below are practical recommendations.
1. The wobbler falls on its side. It is necessary to bend the loop in the opposite direction from the one into which the wobbler falls. That is, if it turns over with its belly to the left, then we bend the loop to the right side. Usually a very small change is enough. I remind you that checking the correctness of the lateral position of the loop is required for ALL wobblers.
2. You are not satisfied with the frequency, amplitude of the wobbler's oscillations or its depth. This year I had a similar situation with the Gripp 55 from River2Sea. The wobbler is considered NEAR-surface and, in theory, should be deepened to 40 cm. But this did not happen with one of the wobblers - with all my desire, I could not deepen it even by 5 centimeters. And on the game, on closer examination, he was different from his catching brothers. There was a factory defect on the face, which was expressed in a large protrusion of the loopforward. I cured this ailment in the following way.
Since the loop of this wobbler is thick and it is simply unrealistic to correct it without the risk of breaking the wobbler, I used a low-power soldering iron. I had to sink the loop into the body of the bait, and to increase the depth, just lower it down a little. We heat the soldering iron and gently press on the loop in the right direction. As soon as you feel that the loop has given in, immediately remove the soldering iron and fix the position of the loop, for example, with a screwdriver, until the plastic cools down, making sure that there is no displacement to the side. We compare it with the catching original and if everything is fine, after this operation we carefully melt the loop attachment point if surface defects appear there. Then we cover this place in 2-3 layers of varnish. Done, you can catch. In the same way, using a soldering iron, we adjust the lateral position of the loop made of thick wire, which is risky to bend with pliers, as the fragile plastic of the bait body can burst.
In order not to cripple the wobbler by repeated heating and moving the loop, you must first determine the position of the loop as follows. When testing, we attach the wobbler to the cord without clockwork rings, clasps or a loop on the fishing line, and we knit it with a hard knot so that it does not mix along the loop. Raising or lowering, turning the knot on the loop to the sides, we imitate its displacement. Thus, you can determine where and how much you need to sweep the loop.
3. Adjustment with additional weight. Defect - the wobbler "does not hold the stream", goes astray. Editing the loop does not help. At first, you can try to increase the load by replacing the lower tee with a larger one. If this does not help, then the approach is more cardinal - "lead". The example described above is the Hypnose SSR adjustment. You need to add loads at the bottom of the wobbler. The lower, the smaller the load required. The simplest option for attaching a load, on the forend of a tee, is the lowest point. It just wraps a thin lead plate around the forearm. But a more aesthetic, and in my opinion, a more correct way is to mount a wobbler on the belly. We cut out a lead plate, cut an elongated rectangular hole in the center and, having removed the tee, temporarily attach it to the abdomen, for example, using a thin layer of plasticine. Next, we test the wobbler by adjusting the position of the plate, moving it back or forth and achieving the least impact on the game or choosing the most attractive version of the wobbler game. We also gradually reduce the weight of the plate to a minimum. When everything suits you, glue with waterproof glue and paint over the color of the model. Done, you can catch.
4. When nothing helps, then you can risk correcting the position of the blade itself. This is a deadly operation for a wobbler. The first samples can be fatal, but with experience you can get your hand in and work wonders, creating real masterpieces from Chinese “blanks”. So let's try. You can heat with steam, a hot air gun or simply with a lighter. The main thing is to heat only the spatula! If the wobbler body itself softens, then when straightening the blade, the walls of the wobbler body will also lead, which means that it can be thrown away. Therefore, we heat carefully and evenly from all sides. It is better to bend with special pliers with smooth lips. Try it first on an unnecessary model, since this method is rather complicated and I personally almost abandoned it.
