Interesting thoughts. I personally wouldn't think the difference in sensitivity would be enough to notice, atleast not when bottom bashing for larger fish. Possibly when fishing light for small fish, but even then im not sure if you could notice.

Do you think simpler is better with rigs for appearance (to the fish) tho? Does terminal tackle scare away shy fish?

not too sure on sensetivity as we use 50lb braid braid with 60lb mono trace of about 5mtrs, our rigs consist of snap swivel down to a 3way , short trace to another 3way and we can still feel the wrasse and footballer sweep from 90mtrs down so my answer would be a big no, but if you were using straight mono all the way i would say yes

nice topic Adam.

im prabably one of the worst offenders when it come to have too much terminal tackle in my rigs .. a standard rig is : large clip swivel from main line to the top of a  3way swivel (the crane type) then more line with 3 way then more line to last 3 way. all lines are crimped so no knots. this gives me 3 droppers and a lot of metal in the water :P

do i think it makes any differance .. not to feeling the bites no ..

to actually getting bites i suppoose it might but my rigs still catch enough fish to keep me happy so i dont care :P  

I have been out here bottom bashing with a mate. Poor bugger was tying and retying his rig all the time. Braid to a leader via Double Uni. Snag and a retie. That is a lure/popper/anything that is not potentially going to meet "Terror" Australis. Jigging and SP I do use a straight braid to leaderbut that is not bottom bashing 

Since I am fishing and not trying to break any records it is braid to a good snap (no cheapies here). Mostly single paternoster with a surgeons simple loop short. Then a short crimped/Uni tied lenght of Flouro with another surgeons. Loop to loop and if a bitey (NW blowy or sharp toothed critter) bites the hook off wind her up, change the hook and I am back in there.

I also tie a "poor" knot on the sniker (I mean sinker but some would sniger at my rig). Bloody things snag more than anything else and it is a quick retie. Fish fairly light with braid (it is more sensitive IMO)

Sensitivity wise. With braid I dont think you will ever notice any difference apart from the above. It is all about stretch that gives you the feel. I am certain that braid would stretch more than any metal bit you have in the line, and braid dont stretch.

I hate sitting on a boat tying rigs. Plan and do that at home. Fix the problem, get your rig back over and love the fun.

Ah a little lesson I learned some time ago from a surgeon fishing fanatic. When doing the simple loop, tie the first grany, and then figure eight the next. Stiffer knot, keeps the dropper away, and the pressure is spread more evenly. He claims it is better, stiifer and stronger than a twisted loop, and 10 x's quicker to tie.

Neels

due to the fact that I have a barrel swivel as part of my rig, then I figure they are s**t fish or really small and I dont want to catch them anyway.

I dont think your terminal tackle makes a scrap of difference to the sensitivity. Its not like they have any stretch or shock absorbtion properties. They are generally solid units and metal - they will transfer any vibration through without hassle.

i agree with the sinker snagging ... i always attach my sinkers with a lighter line than the main line so that sinker line breaks first if i get snagged ..

usually about 10 -20lb less

some of the bommies i fish are just going to steall gear no matter what i do .. but its cheaper to just replace the sinker and quicker .

And some of the better hooks are certainly just about the price of a sinker. Hoodlums are made by "hoodlums" ripping you off. But they are the beez kneez.

Neels