Hooklinks

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Frothey

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In a recent discussion, rik mentioned that he prefered "boomed" combi links over reverse combi links (ie stiff by the hook, braid for the rest) as it pushed the bait away from the lead

my question(s) is(are) this(these):

is it from a better hooking point of view - the hooklinks going to get the weight of the lead straight away as its already extended or is it just to get the bait away from the lead so the fish is less suspicious of the lead etc

how or would you use it over a silty or weedy bottom as the boom might stick up in the air?

do you think the rig will land with the boom extended when using big bottom baits or pva (as it normally does with criticals/pop ups)

i go both ways (oo-err) but prefer reverse combi's over silt/weed....always wondered whether i needed to bother?
 
B

Big Rik

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Dave,
when you use boomed links, do you think the bottom make up you are using them over is as flat as your desk?
The reasoning behind using a more supple boom is so that it lays flat against an un-even bottom, but is it just silt and weed that make it stick int he air?
How flat is a gravel patch?
One 1" high stone next to the lead would make the hooklink stick straight up if that was the case.
I don't think that any bottom is as flat as we would like, and boomed hooklinks work in that scenario, so why not over weed, which we know to be uneven.
 
S

Stuart Dennis

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This is a toughie I must admit, but at the same time could be a really interesting thread.

I would want my bait to be far away from my lead on the basis of the view the carp has. I would also want my hooklink to hug the bottom as much as possible based on the point above i.e. we will not know the exact contour of where the bait and lead lands. Unless of course we are wearing our Korda Goggles!
 
F

Frothey

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good point re the 1" stone....so are we catching despite the stiff bit or because of it? a heavy braid would hug the bottom better?

with regards to the bait being pushed away, if a (lets say) 6" stiff hooklink is being used, does it really make a difference if the carp are "clued up" - its not that far away after all.

in most casting situations, wouldnt the hooklink actually fall back close along the mainline unless you use a bit of tubing over the swivel/hooklink - but then you lose a bit of mobility dont you. you could pull back, but then not if you're over weed....
 
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Big Rik

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but a braid would land in a heap anyway....

so are we catching with supple links despite or because?

I'd rather have my bait 3" away than sat on top of my lead.
 
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Frothey

Guest
what about that pop-up rig that nick helleur was using lol!

the braid might fall in a heap, but is it tangled? also with most people seeming to favour shorter hoolinks, it wont be that much of a heap will it? it was the multistrands that were causing most of the problems with tangles/balling up.

the because/despite questions cant really ever be answered can they. we'll never know if we would have caught the last fish on a different rig/bait will we....
 
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Big Rik

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tangled or not, I'd still rather have it away from the lead for 2 reasons.
Firstly, I'm not happy having the hooklink trapped/tangled/obscured by the lead or link and
secondly, I'd rather have the fish pull against the weight of the lead as soon as possible, negating any chance of it spitting the bait before the hook pricks.
 
F

Frothey

Guest
ok, so if we're fishing over a less than perfect bottom, would you use a boom that was a bit longer and a bit less stiff, to give a better chance of decent presentation. you hear people talking about using amnesia, esp stiff, flouro's - look at 15lb in each of those and you'll have 3 totally different levels of stiffness wont you. and then you've got all the different types of coated braids...

thinking about it, in weed it probably wouldnt matter if the hooklink did stick up as baits would be at different depths in the weed anyway....
 
L

Les Clark

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For 70% of my rigs I use a boom ,tight over the swivel of about 3-4 inches,and pre stretched I.Q.,15lb,the hooklenght could be from 6-20 inches long,and to try to decrease the chance of a tangle I will tie on a small stringer or p.v.a.net of goodie`s.
 
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sash

Guest
Eh? I posted a message on here earlier and its dissapeared???? I know a couple of the other forums had hacker problems, not the same here is it?

Did say, is it worth playing around with stiffening gel on the braided hooklinks to get the bait away from the lead initially? Messy and awkward but worth it? And the 'initially' is key isn't it as a soft hooklink can soon be blown into a heap by a passing fish.
 
B

Big Rik

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good point Sash, having seen the mess that hooklinks are left in on the Korda DVD....
 
J

Jeff (Cheeky Monkey) Woodhouse

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I thought all bottoms were absolutely flat, with no silt and free of any weed. Well at least that's how they're potrayed in Angling Times and all the other magazines.

I'm kinda lost on this one, don't know what you're trying to prove to each other. Will just say though that if you feather the line just before the lead hits the water and then hold it tight thereafter, the hook length should straighten out on its way down anyway. Shouldn't it?

I'm using different ideas of booms using silicon tubing for barbel fishing, but only because I don't use rig tubing behing the lead. My longer (18") hooklengths were getting tangled around the lead (sometimes a feeder) and I'm trying to prevent it.
 
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sash

Guest
"Will just say though that if you feather the line just before the lead hits the water and then hold it tight thereafter, the hook length should straighten out on its way down anyway. Shouldn't it?"

Can't see how Jeff? Surely the lead will go down first with the hooklink, bait, stringer etc following it.

If you've ever wound a rig in using braided hooklength and tubing and the braid is all wrapped around the lead it's a sure sign that the bait and hooklink were in a pile on top of the lead and not a tangle caused while casting.
 
M

MaNick

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This is a bit of a longshot.....

why not tie something to a soft hooklength with PVA string, that floats off once settled down on the bottom, leaving a nice straight line?...

Iv'e often wondered if the attentions of other fish could totally disrupt even the most carefully planned presentation?.
 
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Frothey

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as sash said above nick, they can ruin it! as well as sometiomes improve it - straightening out stiff rigs as in korda dvd.
i think the only way you can know a rig is straight is by pulling back after the cast, but then you're always wondering about masking the hookpoint, though if you use critically balanced baits and stiff rigs, the hooklink will tend to fall straight.
but then the question is does it matter? will a bit of boom looping off the bottom put a fish off, and as soon as a fish sucks at the bait its going to straighten anyway and do its job isnt it?
 
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Stuart Dennis

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Lately I've been cutting down the middle of a PVA nugget, inserting the hook, then sticking it back together. In the hotter months I'll do this twice but this method does allow me to pull the lead back without catching the hook on any bottom debris. I have found it dose not work the same (due to time etc) with just piercing a hook through a nugget.
 
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Stuart Dennis

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I know you use the reverse combi rig Dave and have had good sucesws on it, is that using a knot between the stiff link and the braid?
 
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Stuart Dennis

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have you tried connecting the two with a double ring for extra agility and movement?
 
R

roto fryer 1

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personally i ony use a boom for popups. sometimes i use a 20 inch link in a soft braid like silkworm and fold the link up and tie with pva string to stop it getting tangled up on the cast this then allows the bait to be wafted around by fish a lot more than a short link
 
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Frothey

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i dont want to make it sound like thats all i use stu - lately i've been using flouro/mono a lot more than i ever have done, and as i said above, i do use normal combi's a lot as well. i only really use reverse combi's for pop-ups - never seem to done as well on them with bottom baits, - but i definately prefer the way you can create the withy pool style presentation.

i normally knot it or use a micro swivel - i put putty on it, so i dont think i'd get the benefit of the double ring. i also use multistrand when i think i can get away with it, which is pretty supple anyway.
 
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