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To order from this page just make your selections and click on the "Add to Cart" button or the "Buy" link. If you run into difficulties please make use of our toll-free line and give us a call. Our phone numbers, fax and email addresses are posted at the bottom of this page. Upon placing your order you'll receive an immediate confirmation via email. You are not billed at that time. We process orders manually, preferring to have a human actually check things over and contact you should there be questions. Within 24 hours of placing your order you will receive a follow-up email confirmation and final invoice reflecting your total charges (Monday-Friday). You are not billed until we actually send you your final invoice. Orders shipped to CA addresses will have California Sales Taxes applied, out of state orders are tax free. Orders over $100 are shipped FREE!* Standard size/weight orders less than $100 are billed $8.50 for shipping. During the ordering process you can select expedited shipping if required. (Within the USA we ship via UPS ground. International, and oversize/weight items will be billed for shipping and you will be sent an emailed invoice reflecting total charges prior to actual billing. We will not ship without you having had a chance to review the invoice). Sato Line Winder The Sato winder is a less expensive option that also has a lot going for it in terms of flexibility. Instead of putting dollars into a motor and housing, the Sato winder makes use of a 1/2 drill to power through winding chores. With a decent 1/2" drill there's great torque, so you can deal with spooling Spectra effectively. The smaller 3/8 can work for mono, but NOT spectra. You can pick up a 1/2" drill for about $70 (or more), so factor that into the cost of this winder. This is the least expensive winder available with the power to deal with heavy spectra winding which requires much torque to spool properly - meaning tightly - so it won't dig into itself. The line winder does not use a brake, you control the packing of line by adding resistance yourself. At the shop here, we rarely use a brake anyway, preferring to use a gloved hand to get a better feel for the pressure being exerted. I'd recommend the same for you. You'll also need to level the line as you put it on the reel. The only winder with a built in leveler is the big Triangle HD which runs you about $2K (for comparison). The Sato winder comes with a peddle control that allows you to vary the speed of spooling (making use of the variable speed drill's motor). The Sato winder is a good system, and economical when compared to other options with similar capability. In reality, to get a winder capable of dealing with 135# Spectra you are usually looking for something between $1.2-2K. And, the Sato system has some unique advantages even comparing to the $2K products. For a long range fisherman or a private boater, it's a darn good option.
To order from this page just make your selections and click on the "Add to Cart" button or the "Buy" link. If you run into difficulties please make use of our toll-free line and give us a call. Our phone numbers, fax and email addresses are posted at the bottom of this page.
Upon placing your order you'll receive an immediate confirmation via email. You are not billed at that time. We process orders manually, preferring to have a human actually check things over and contact you should there be questions. Within 24 hours of placing your order you will receive a follow-up email confirmation and final invoice reflecting your total charges (Monday-Friday). You are not billed until we actually send you your final invoice. Orders shipped to CA addresses will have California Sales Taxes applied, out of state orders are tax free. Orders over $100 are shipped FREE!* Standard size/weight orders less than $100 are billed $8.50 for shipping. During the ordering process you can select expedited shipping if required. (Within the USA we ship via UPS ground. International, and oversize/weight items will be billed for shipping and you will be sent an emailed invoice reflecting total charges prior to actual billing. We will not ship without you having had a chance to review the invoice).
Sato Line Winder
The Sato winder is a less expensive option that also has a lot going for it in terms of flexibility. Instead of putting dollars into a motor and housing, the Sato winder makes use of a 1/2 drill to power through winding chores. With a decent 1/2" drill there's great torque, so you can deal with spooling Spectra effectively. The smaller 3/8 can work for mono, but NOT spectra. You can pick up a 1/2" drill for about $70 (or more), so factor that into the cost of this winder. This is the least expensive winder available with the power to deal with heavy spectra winding which requires much torque to spool properly - meaning tightly - so it won't dig into itself.
The line winder does not use a brake, you control the packing of line by adding resistance yourself. At the shop here, we rarely use a brake anyway, preferring to use a gloved hand to get a better feel for the pressure being exerted. I'd recommend the same for you. You'll also need to level the line as you put it on the reel. The only winder with a built in leveler is the big Triangle HD which runs you about $2K (for comparison). The Sato winder comes with a peddle control that allows you to vary the speed of spooling (making use of the variable speed drill's motor).
The Sato winder is a good system, and economical when compared to other options with similar capability. In reality, to get a winder capable of dealing with 135# Spectra you are usually looking for something between $1.2-2K. And, the Sato system has some unique advantages even comparing to the $2K products. For a long range fisherman or a private boater, it's a darn good option.
The Heavy Duty Linewinder Kit
Note** KIT DOES NOT INCLUDE POWER DRILL Because of insurance & liability issues the kit does not include a drill motor. It can be purchased separately if desired. A list of recommended drill motors is available.
Sato Winder Kit - Contents
Optional Extras
Recommended Drill Motors
The following drills have been found to work the best in filling spectra onto a reel. The amp rating is important to match up with the foot switch. The foot-switch is rated at 6 amps. Milwaukee #0234-6 1/2" 5.5amp 0-850rpm Milwaukee #0244-1 1/2" 5.5amp 0-600rpm Makita #DP4700 1/2" 0-550rpm Makita #DP6302H 1/2" 6.5amp 0-550rpm Craftsman 1/2", vari speed, trigger lock, model #315.101100 5.5amp Craftsman 1/2", vari speed, trigger lock, #315 101110 6amp Note: For winding mono, any lower cost drill will work just fine.
New updated Sato winders are now available. The features are the same as above, but there are some notable improvements in the reel seat assembly.
SPECTRA to FLURORCARBON (or) MONOFILIMENT
For connecting mono or leader to Spectra we generally recommend a 30-40 turn Bimini and 30-40 wind Albright. However, some folks prefer a less bulky transition, especially for use with heavier mono above 100#'s. In this case there are two ways to go. Izorline makes a great loop to loop leader which we are now stocking in both Fluorocarbon and mono. An alternative approach is the Sato Crimp System. They have improved the design of their crimps for 2005, now we can recommend their use. Sato Crimping Systeo The Sato system uses a crimp, hollow sleeve and specialized adhesive to create smooth transitions between your Spectra backing and leader material (mono or fluorocarbon makes no difference). The previous version of the crimping system had problems with the crimps used. Spectra cuts easily if it even gets near a sharp object when taut. The new crimps are much better, will have less issues with failure or cracking and they don't have the sharp ends to cause future problems. At this point I'd say the system is proven and worth use. Frankly I like this system much more than simply "serving" one end and trying the Chinese finger trap method. On our 2005 Red Rooster III 10 day trip (with 300# fish taken...and 100 over 200# yellowfin tuna) I saw six served connections fail with a fish on the other end of the hook. I never saw a bimini/albright failure or a Sato failure. The Sato spectra to mono/fluorocarbon leader connection system is hands-down the slickest way to connect your mono to spectra. For most applications a bimini to albright will get the job done reliable if properly tied. But, especially for the heavier tests, the smooth connection possible using the crimp system is a vast improvement over any other method. It's also a preferred means of connection when you're running a short top-shot since there's less issue with casting, since the crimp is much smaller than a knot as it moves across a rod guide. Gary Sato came up with the system a very few years ago, refined it, and it's now the best connection, most reliable connection available.
For connecting mono or leader to Spectra we generally recommend a 30-40 turn Bimini and 30-40 wind Albright. However, some folks prefer a less bulky transition, especially for use with heavier mono above 100#'s. In this case there are two ways to go. Izorline makes a great loop to loop leader which we are now stocking in both Fluorocarbon and mono. An alternative approach is the Sato Crimp System. They have improved the design of their crimps for 2005, now we can recommend their use.
Sato Crimping Systeo The Sato system uses a crimp, hollow sleeve and specialized adhesive to create smooth transitions between your Spectra backing and leader material (mono or fluorocarbon makes no difference).
The previous version of the crimping system had problems with the crimps used. Spectra cuts easily if it even gets near a sharp object when taut. The new crimps are much better, will have less issues with failure or cracking and they don't have the sharp ends to cause future problems. At this point I'd say the system is proven and worth use. Frankly I like this system much more than simply "serving" one end and trying the Chinese finger trap method. On our 2005 Red Rooster III 10 day trip (with 300# fish taken...and 100 over 200# yellowfin tuna) I saw six served connections fail with a fish on the other end of the hook. I never saw a bimini/albright failure or a Sato failure.
The Sato spectra to mono/fluorocarbon leader connection system is hands-down the slickest way to connect your mono to spectra. For most applications a bimini to albright will get the job done reliable if properly tied. But, especially for the heavier tests, the smooth connection possible using the crimp system is a vast improvement over any other method. It's also a preferred means of connection when you're running a short top-shot since there's less issue with casting, since the crimp is much smaller than a knot as it moves across a rod guide. Gary Sato came up with the system a very few years ago, refined it, and it's now the best connection, most reliable connection available.
This project started over four years ago when Dave Urodomo lent me his personal kit to take on one of my first long range trips. It was his spectra to mono connection kit. Needless to say it was quite a revelation in how easy and how well it worked, I had to get one of my own. After much inquiry I found that the major parts of the kit were no longer available at any price. And at that time the crimping sleeve system was falling into disfavor because of failures of one kind or another.
So my objective was to build my own set of pliers that would accomplish the following: Have exact tolerances to have consistent results and be versatile for a variety of sizes.
What followed was the beginning of a long journey, too long to go into here. But what I finally ended up with was what some say is as good as it gets. The pliers are cast from hardened chrome steel. Machined 8 times for the shapes and tolerances. Laser etched, with dipped handles, and then personally hand inspected for 13 different measurements. The tolerances are held to .005" for consistency. I designed the pliers so that one could not over crimp the sleeves, which would result in cracking & failure of the connection. That is why the tight tolerances are so important.
With the help and oversight of Stas Velonkanis, I started manufacturing sleeves that are matched to the pliers. The tolerances are held to .005", so consistency is assured. Each sleeve is individually machined in a multi step process then specially heat treated to prevent cracking.
The system (pliers & crimps) was put on the market in December of 2003. The first big public test was the Taka's Charter on the Royal Polaris of that winter. Since then it has proved to be a viable option for making mono to spectra connections. Since the roll out, there have been no reported failures when done properly.
By popular demand, the kit was developed. The kit contains all the state of the art, tricks, gadgets, illustrated instructions, and products to make the connections easy and quick. One could gather all the items themselves but not without some time and experience. The kit has everything one would need to get right on the boat and fish.
The Sato Pro Crimp Kit
Crimp Kit Contents
Sato Crimping pliers, over 100 crimps, (12 each of 40# thru 300#), hand labeled crimp storage case, Sato Spectra opener, Sato 4 way mono buffer, crimp threader, 3x loop for inspecting your work, spectra adhesive, 3 spools of hollow spectra, (80#, 135#, 200#) for making top-shots and connectors, illustrated instruction book, storage case, and reference charts. The kit now comes with a Daho Starter Needle kit consisting of 50 & 60# threading needles and one small latch needle.
- The kit contents have changed, the small magnifier glass is NOT included, also Sato has shifted to the one-part adhesive (like the CharkBait product). Regular price $279.99
Regular price $279.99
NEW! Sato CharkBait Starter Crimp Kit
For the Long Ranger Angler who wants to try the crimping system but can't spend a lot of money. The starter kit contains all the tools and gizmos needed to make knotless connections with spectra and mono. Contents: Crimping pliers, 50 crimps, (10 each of 40# thru 100#), hand labeled crimp storage case, Sato Spectra opener, Sato 4 way mono buffer, crimp threader, illustrated instruction book, storage case, and reference charts. The Starter kit comes in a 3600 size Plano box for storage.
