Gemini Mini Crimps

Overview

The Gemini Genie Mini Crimps are a sea-fishing rig crimp designed to lock swivels, beads and other terminal components securely onto a monofilament rig body. Supplied in packs of 50 under product code G3801, they're rated for use with monofilament up to 60lb, making them well suited to the heavier rig bodies commonly used in UK shore casting. The blackened finish keeps the small metal components discreet rather than glinting on the rig.

Each crimp is threaded onto the rig body during construction, then compressed with suitable pliers to create a permanent, fixed stop. Unlike an adjustable stop, a correctly fitted Mini Crimp won't move once compressed, giving anglers precise control over where snood swivels and beads sit along the trace. Veals specifically recommends the Mini Crimps for use with a 60lb rig body when building paternoster rigs.

Perfect For

These mini crimps are particularly useful for anglers building flapper rigs, paternoster rigs, clipped-down rigs and other multi-hook shore traces where precise component spacing matters. A typical 3-hook flapper, for example, can use three trapped snood swivels positioned exactly where the angler wants each hooklength to sit along a 60lb rig body.

They're also a natural fit for clipped casting rigs, where the crimped swivel assembly gives a fixed reference point for the hook snood relative to the bait clip or release system. For anglers who tie their own match, scratching or general beach-fishing rigs, replacing knotted stops with crimps speeds up rig building considerably.

Technical Insight

The trapping principle is straightforward: two crimps are positioned either side of a bead-swivel-bead assembly, fixing the swivel's location on the rig body while still allowing it to rotate freely between the beads. The crimps themselves don't rotate - their job is purely to stay put and mark the boundaries of the assembly, eliminating the need for extra knots on a multi-hook trace.

Correct crimping technique matters: the aim is to secure the crimp firmly enough to hold position without crushing or weakening the monofilament rig body. Veals suggests a gentle squeeze with long-nose pliers is sufficient, while other retailers recommend dedicated crimping pliers - either way, over-compression should be avoided to protect the integrity of the main rig body.