Terminal Tackle isn’t glamorous. But occasionally new ideas seem so simple, that the idea becomes remarkable from the standpoint that you wonder why you didn’t think of it first. That’s the case with the new Invisa Swivel from Aquateko. At first glance it looks like a plastic swivel. But it’s really a transparent, miniscule, yet still fully functional and practical replacement to the common barrel swivel made out of a fluorocarbon-like material called fluoro-clear.
While metal barrel swivels won’t be going the way of the dodo bird, Invisa Swivels will likely frequent a lot more tackle boxes this year. For me, the first thought that popped in my head was eliminating line twist on a drop shot without having an obtuse swivel above my finesse offering. I bought a pack of the Invisa Swivels with the idea that I’d test it on a drop shot.
I’m not really throwing a drop shot a lot this time of year, but I rigged one up nonetheless to test the swivels. The first thing I noticed is that when the heavy drop shot weight is hanging on the end of the line and I twist the line in a circle the swivel didn’t spin immediately. I found that a little odd but the millisecond that the pressure released from the dangling line all the tension spun out of the line.
After a few casts it was easy to see that the water helps it swivel. Reeling the drop shot up quickly commonly induces line twist while fishing a drop shot. The weight and the bait spin off axis from each other and twist the line like a Boleadora, even with common barrel swivels. But with the Invisa Swivel and the occasional pop of the rod tip (to make sure the line was releasing the coiled tension at the swivel), the drop shot fished well without line twist.
It seemed to do the job equally well on a Carolina rig. Although, with a big egg sinker next to the swivel, maybe it doesn’t really matter if your swivel is invisible or not on a Carolina rig. But the less invasive tackle is to the fish’s environment, the more bites anglers are going to generate.
The new swivels come in 12-, 25-, 35- and 55-pound sizes and are $4.99 for a 5 pack or $18.99 for a 20 pack. While they were intended for saltwater use, I see them crossing over into freshwater tackle boxes as well.
I actually put one on the concrete and hit it with a hammer to see how “indestructible” it was. While it did still perform and was still very strong, it did take some tinkering to get it swiveling again. Not sure where a swivel could get mashed in freshwater fishing, but it is something to consider. A barrel swivel generally quits working all together when it gets smashed with a hammer on concrete. So I was pleased to see it held up to that amount of force and abuse.
I tied one end of 12-pound line to a vice and the other end I wrapped around a stick with the swivel in the middle and pulled. The line broke before the swivel did. So these things are tough. I want to use them a bunch more to get a real feel for how they hold up over several uses. But so far I’m very pleased with their performance.
For more information on Aquateko and their Invisa Swivel, check out their website here.
