Pulling lures or baits from a low angle on a short flat line helps keep your baits in the water and can really make them swim. Most big-game boats mount some flat-line clips on the transom - usually a Black's Release Clip threaded onto a piece of mono and secured to the transom rub rail with a pair of screws or a suction-cup device. (After watching several suction devices disappear into the drink, I'm partial to the more permanent method.)
However, if you put the clip on a section of mono, the elements will cook the mono over time and weaken the rig. Instead, I like to mount the crimp using 65-pound Steelon plastic-coated cable and the appropriate double-barreled steel crimps, not aluminum crimps.
To make this rig, I measure the correct amount of cable I need to fit between the screws on the rub rail, thread on the clip and add a bead to each side. I then crimp a couple of small loops on each end of the cable to fit under the screws. Before I attach it to the transom, I slide on a couple of clear or glow crimp condoms over my crimps to keep the rig from scratching the boat. (I made the wire length a little longer on the one shown so you could see the construction; normally, the chaffing gear covers the entire length up the loop.)
Walker Holcomb
Maitland, Florida
