I was meant to do this some time ago but it slipped my mind. I previously chucked up a quick post to show you how to make wire traces, using Fox easy twist wire and crimps. However you can also make traces without the crimps. It's not called "easy twist" for no reason. Instead of a crimp you can use a twiddling stick to twist the wire. You can pick up a twiddling stick from Lumby here by the way.
So first job, get your gear sorted. Choose a suitable strength wire first to suit your liking. I'm using 30lb but I also know it comes in 20lb too if you prefer. Other makes might have heavier or lighter breaking strains also. Choose a suitable strong swivel according to size and choose your clip to your preference. Plenty of examples can be bought from Lumby and elsewhere, try a few out as each has their own benefits and you might like a different clip to the stay lok clip I'm using.
Make a loop in the wire and thread it through the eye of the swivel. Push the swivel back through the loop and pull tight. Try to keep this neat and tight for better presentation and finish.
Hook the twiddling stick into the eye of the swivel. While holding the wire tight, and the tail end of the wire out to virtually at right angle, begin to twist the twiddling stick. By keeping both the tail and main wire tight you will get a better, tighter finish.
Once you have made a start and now have a shorter tail it is time to think about finishing the job off. If you keep twiddling at this point, the tail becomes stiff to twist and will become frayed and won't be neat. However, by simply heating the last 1-2cm of wire under a flame (lighter) it will soften the wire enabling you to make a better finish and help prevent fraying, which is untidy and also will pick up more weed and debris. Keep twisting until the last bit of tail is nice and neat. Repeat for the clip at the other end and you are done. Your trace needs to be 12 inch minimum in length. If you catch jacks hooked in the scissors you will never have a problem but if you do drop on a big pike that hammers the lure right down it's throat your 18 inch trace will give you the protection you need to land a pb. Final job before your trace is finished is to test it. Get a small screw driver or something to help you get a grip on each end and then give it a good old tug. Keep in mind if you have 15lb wire you could snap it easily. Your trace and the twists won't budge but it is always good to give it a yank to make sure clips, swivels and your wire is strong. That's another tip to help you land that pb fish.
It really is as easy as that to make your own wire traces. I use these kind of traces for my light lure fishing and also as a back up for when perch fishing but know there are also pike around. The wire is not as tough as my titanium jerk bait traces, but these will do a good job. They are cheap to make and after a dozen or so pike they have done their fair share of work and often need to be scrapped. Bent and curled up wire is ok to use so long as your presentation isn't effected, but if you see a kink in that trace it's time to bin it and tie on a new one. Pike can make a mess of traces but all you have to do is cut your swivel and clip off and then make another fresh trace up, all you have lost is a few feet of wire. Knock up half a dozen of these and you'll be set for some time and it won't take you long at all.
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