Would You Trust a Paper Clip?

My favorite part of Bassmaster magazine is the half-page write up titled "10-Minute Angler".  In this section editor James Hall gives a quick run down of simple DIY projects that nearly any competent angler can complete in just 10 minutes.  Unfortunately, I'm not very competent by my own definition because I was having a hell of a time bending and unbending paper clips for half an hour trying to test out November's project; a pre-rigged Carolina rig shortcut.

When I first saw this month's project, my pessimistic skeptic side took over:  There's no way I'm trusting some cheap little piece of crap office supply as an added link between myself and a big mean largemouth!  And then I saw a spinnerbait sitting on my coffee table.  We all trust a thin piece of aluminum on almost all of our hard baits, so what makes a paper clip any different?

Still feeling skeptical I decided to put it to the test (after all, I should probably use my weight bench and set of weights for something) so I grabbed a ten pound weight and hauled it to the sofa.  The first thing I discovered during my control test was that 10 lb test line won't support a 10 lb weight...  That's right, we're all getting jipped...  So I grabbed a 5 1/2 lb weight, good enough.

I was surprised by the results.  The paper clip held just fine in all of the tests I put it through.  I tested many different weights and strengths all the way up to 20 pounds and every time the line snapped (usually at the knot) long before the paper clip seemed to show any signs of stress.

I don't want to infringe on any copyrights or anything, so I'm not going to discuss how to rig this beast up, but I think from the pictures above you can probably figure it out.  So would you trust a paperclip with a fatty on the line?  Any other paperclip rigs you've used in the past? Tell us about it in the comments!

* On a side note, another thing that impressed me about these tests were the quality of the Rosco Barrel Swivels I used.  Even under 20 pounds of pressure they held up strong and moved freely, much more impressive than the cheapo brand I previously used.