Hooklinks and Hooks for Light Floatfishing
BEFORE ANYONE STARTS wondering when I'll get to the knotless knot (usually for tying hair-rigs) let me make it clear this is about small hooks (up to 14) and light hooklinks for floatfishing.
There are several topics within this; hooklink materials, hooks that I use and can recommend, and tying them. Let's start with hooklinks.
Hooklinks
For light floatfishing there can be distinct advantages in using a short hooklength of 18 - 24 inches that has a weaker breaking strain that the main line. The main one is that if you get snagged the stronger mainline will ensure that you only lose the hooklink. But it can also allow the use of a hooklink more likely to fool the fish through its increased suppleness, fineness, invisibility, or simply by helping the bait to behave more naturally. And it is therefore these qualities that we must seek for hooklink materials rather than those that make main lines better at their job.
Not that long ago, perhaps fifteen years, we had one choice (no, I'm not going to hark back to hooks to gut, though I can just about remember seeing a packet of them in 1969) and that was hooks tied to regular nylon.
For the past thirty years the first choice for fine line floatfishing has been spade-end hooks. This means that whatever hooklink material we choose it must be capable of being tied to a spade-end hook. With bigger eyed hooks it becomes much easier to use materials like braid. Silk whipped hooks ceased back in the sixties if my memory serves me right though the late Colin Dyson bravely attempted to trigger a revival in the 80s claiming that they were far superior to using spade-ends though the idea never caught on again. So the three choices for hooklinks for this type of fishing are regular nylon, co-polymer lines and fluorocarbon lines.
Regular Nylon
The old favourite, and many millions of hooks must have been tied to this, was surely Bayer Perlon.
It's certainly tough, and I was still using it in the early nineties when many of my match fishing colleagues (any old Team Castle members reading this?) had switched to Damyl Tectan. They reckoned that the extra high breaking strain allowed them to use far finer line than I was using. For comparison they were using 0.06mm (bs 1.1lbs) compared to Bayer of 0.10mm (also bs 1.1lbs). Because stiffness is related to thickness the line they were using was probably less than half as stiff as the one I was using, as well as being much finer and harder for the fish to see. And yet it was making far less difference to our respective results than ought to have been the case.
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Eventually we concluded that other factors, ie, feeding and bait presentation were much more important than mere thickness/stiffness of the hooklink (we'll come back to this with fluorocarbons). At that time I was not convinced of the reliability of Tectan, finding it brittle. I'd also given Drennan Double Strength a good trial and found that wanting too. But when Ignesti Special came along I finally made the switch to co-polymer lines.
So, do regular lines still have a part to play for hooklinks? If you need a really tough hooklink and bait presentation is not affected then this is your answer.
One situation that I came across many years ago in match fishing was fishing for eels. I'm only talking about small ones up to a pound or two and generally much less, but those tiny needle teeth can cut through soft nylons. Many expert pole anglers used Force or Racine Tortue for eels as these were really tough lines. I used to use the Racine in 2¼lbs for fine line chub fishing too, and it rarely let me down. If you want to use a regular nylon for hooklinks today you could do worse than Bayer. Though I still use it as a reel line I've always found Maxima to be useless for hooklinks, can't seem to buy a bite on the stuff?
Co-polymers
The big advantage that modern co-polymer lines offer for hooklinks is increased strength for a given breaking strain. They also seem softer, and can improve bait presentation. Against that they can be fragile, easily abraded, and vulnerable to kinking. That said, I feel they are a useful addition for floatfishing, and for me have replaced the regular nylons. But it is only through much trial and error that I have found lines that I trust implicitly.
I suppose Pete Drennan started the ball rolling with his Double Strength about twenty years ago. I could see the potential but always found the spade-end knots that I tied with it suspect.
I must confess a liking for lines with some stretch to cushion the strike and found this line's lack of stretch made it liable to breaking. I did use it to a limited degree for very fine lines like 0.07mm for canal fishing where I was only fishing for very small fish and therefore not putting any strain on it. As mentioned above I did not take to the Tectan line either for similar reasons. Both lines were vulnerable to kinking at the knot as well as being brittle. Ignesti Special was the first really tough co-polymer and I found it, and still find it, outstanding. It is difficult to obtain, and I rely on stocks obtained some years ago. To fill the gap, I use Reflo Powerline to an increasing extent.
One line I did try a lot was the Silstar Matchline (Now W B Clarke). I found it best in higher breaking strains like 4.4lbs up and outside the scope of this article, though did use it in the 0.10 (2.6lbs) and 0.12 (3.3lbs) strains for light line bread fishing. One point worth watching with Matchline is that it is very vulnerable to sunlight, something to watch with any line that you carry on the bank. For much of my stillwater fishing where I need a line with a breaking strain of around 4 to 6 pounds I use Daiwa Matchwinner, and have been very impressed with this line, landing a number of double figure carp using the 4lbs line.
There are many other choices out there, and it would take an enormous amount of research to determine the best one. I have found that sometimes the ideal 0.08 line for fishing fine wire 22s is far from the best line when scaled up to 0.14 for size 16 forged hooks for chub fishing.
Fluorocarbon Lines
Just when I thought I'd got it figured out along came fluorocarbon mono.
With a refractive index much closer to that of water than conventional line fluorocarbon lines are much harder to see when underwater. These lines are denser than other lines and therefore sink more easily. It doesn't stop there. Their breaking strains are lower than conventional lines/co-polymers for comparable diameters and also it is much stiffer as well. Knotting the stuff isn't especially easy either and it can shear unexpectedly. So, with seemingly several disadvantages, and only one major advantage, why bother?
Put simply, in the right conditions, this line will fool fish when regular and co-polymer lines fail completely. Logic tells me that the finer and more flexible lines should be better as well as more robust yet my results last summer appeared to disprove this.
For me it's early days using fluorocarbon line. The line I have used most, Vanish, has its flaws, mainly unreliability, yet I've been staggered by its usefulness in clear water, bright conditions for crafty chub. Once I get organised, I shall give other brands a trial this summer in other breaking strains than 4lbs. I've got some Riverge Grand Match, and so far it seems better than Vanish being stronger and finer for the same breaking strain - I've had some big chub on it as well. I also want to try a fine fluorocarbon, and at present only Drennan seem to do really fine fluorocarbons.
So as far as fluorocarbon lines for fine floatfishing (breaking strains 1.5 lbs to 4lbs) are concerned I'm still open to suggestions.
Hook Patterns
For this type of fishing spade end hooks are the best choice, and that gives us many brands and patterns to choose from.
As it can take years to assess the precise qualities of a hook for various uses I cannot possibly comment on the many hundreds of hook types available. Furthermore, not all hooks are readily available so in time I have settled on a few reliable, easily available hooks that do the job for the type of fishing that I do.
An example of a fantastically good yet virtually unavailable hook is a Katsuichi pattern, a few of which I obtained many years ago. Put simply these were the best hooks that I have used for this type of fishing, bar none. But recommending them is pointless if there is no chance of getting your hands on some, so I'll stick to brands like Drennan, Kamasan and Mustad. I have used others, including Browning, Preston and VMC, but those I'll list are the ones I find do the job for me.
If you do different types of fishing to me, for example, lots of pole fishing with bloodworm, then you may well disagree with my choices but I have found these patterns sufficiently reliable for the purposes described.
What I have found sometimes is that a pattern of hook that is excellent in a certain size for a particular task is not necessarily very good in other sizes.
Bread Punch Fishing - Dorset style
My usual choice of hook for bread punch fishing is a size 16, possibly a 14, occasionally an 18.
As I am usually fishing for roach that means a fine wire hook with a shank that is slightly on the short side. I have found a load of different hooks that will do the job well. Sometimes I will experiment on the day but I usually have a feel for what is expected. For many years my favourite hook for this type of fishing has been a Drennan Carbon Match size 16. For a finer hook Mustad Canal Seed size 16 or Kamasan B511 size 16 or 14 are worth trying. Sometimes I need more strength, maybe there's a chance of mullet, bream or chub, and then a Mustad Power wide gape size 14, Kamasan B611 or Drennan Carbon Chub size 14. These hooks are usually tied to Silstar Matchteam.
Fine Line Roach and Dace Fishing using Maggots and Casters
For bagging on dace and roach I use Drennan Carbon Chub in a size 18. When I need finer and smaller hooks the Kamasan Whisker Barb in 22 and 20 remains a favourite though a round bend Kamasan B611 is a reliable choice. I tie these to Ignesti Special, 0.10 for 20s, 0.12 or 0.14 for 18s and 16s.
Floatfishing for Chub
For caster fishing the aforementioned Drennan Carbon Chub in 20, 18 and 16 is my choice. For fishing hookable pellets a strong size 14 - Drennan Super Spades or Drennan Feeder Hooks, tied to fluorocarbon in 0.18.
Fishing Summer Stillwaters using Pellets
When I can buy them I use Tubertini 808 in a 14 tied to Daiwa Matchwinner in 4 to 6lbs. These are very strong and hold well. I've also used Drennan Stillwater Carp barbless and found these strong and reliable. For this type of fishing one is spoilt for choice nowadays with a vast range of hooks that will do the job.
Winter Fishing on Stillwater using Maggots
If I think there's a chance of a decent tench I use Drennan Team England size 20 which I've found totally reliable, these being tied to Ignesti special in 0.10.
I've listed just a few of the lines and hooks I use. The choices are endless and I am constantly experimenting. There are days when one hook seems problematic and a switch to another pattern cures the problem; going bigger isn't always the answer either.
I tie my hooks with an ancient Esi-Tie bench tier at home or a Matchman tier on the bank. The important bit is that the line comes off straight and undamaged when tying the hook, and that's all about getting the tension right when you tie the knot, wetting it when necessary (very necessary when tying fluorocarbons). The number of turns matters, too. For very small hooks you can get away with as few as 6 turns but I prefer more on the bigger hooks, usually 10 to 12 turns.
As with much in angling it's a case of experimenting with what you find best and gain confidence in. Happy tying!
Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)
