I struggle with both the hair and the hook, can anyone provide me with a few tips?
I'm really struggling to think what the difference might be?
I use Korda hooks which are quite a thick metal compared to some, I don't know if that has anything to do with it in that it will need a greater force to rip the hook back through the meat and I just push it in until the bend comes out the other side, pull until the point is clear enough to twist and then just push it back in again until the bend is level with the meat.
I have on occasions used tiny bits of bankside twig or a cut down piece of matchstick tucked under the bend and pressed into the meat but it's rare that I feel the need.
I use a piece of plastic straw that you get with the small cartons of juice … cut them to the size of your meat cube then pass the hair rig through the straw its stops the line cutting the meat
Or I use enterprise meat stops
What size hooks do you use binka? I have tried direct on the hook using a size 8 Drennan hook. Perhaps it's too fine.
It varies a bit and the Korda seem to be a size bigger (size for size) but usually an 8 or a 6 so probably a 6 or a 4 in the Drennan?
I do have some Korda hooks and comparatively, they are a much heavier gauge than anything I have seen Drennan produce. I think you are right in saying the thicker hook material helps by being too wide to slice the meat like the hooks I have been using, perhaps the same could be said for paste baits, which I have also struggled with in the past. Out of interest, what pattern do you use?
Thanks
What size hooks do you use binka? I have tried direct on the hook using a size 8 Drennan hook. Perhaps it's too fine.
---------- Post added at 16:37 ---------- Previous post was at 16:34 ----------
I have seen this on a YouTube Chris, I thought it was a little bit crude, but if it works, I'm willing to give it a try. What do you use as a hair stop?
I'd have to check the pattern but I'm sure they are a wide gape which might also have something to do with it, i'll have a look when I go in the garage tomorrow and let you know :thumbs:
Edit: Sorry, I meant later today
If I’m using a straw just a quick stop… or the enterprise kit … one I have found that does not cut into meat like the plastic stops is the humble spaghetti (brake it in 6mm length) it hard when put though the hair then when it softens in the water it won’t cut in to the meat… keep 5-6 stands in your tackle box
Great thanks Binka.
---------- Post added at 16:59 ---------- Previous post was at 16:57 ----------
Great tip, I would never have thought of that! Thanks, what is a quickstop?
I'm struggling to get this,are you trying to cast longish distances,are you on the lead or float,as I rarely get a problem,in summer the bait can be soft,but if i'm float fishing I mount it directly on the hook,going a bit like burying into a caster,pulling the hook out,twisting it and pulling it back into a fresh area,don't try to force the cast.If i'm using it on commercials in 6-10mm cubes I always cube it,then put the meat in a bait box full of water,that way it holds some integrity,in winter when fishing for barbel in coloured rivers the meat hardens because of the fat content and a big cube 1.5in hair rigged stays on the hair for ages,it actually is so hard that I wouldn't put it directly onto the hook as it is hard to strike through it to hook a fish,sometimes threads are difficult to visualise for no other reason that we're not actually seeing the issues first hand....
I do use normal luncheonmeat together with tubing and meat stops occasionally; however more often than not I use the spicy and palomy flavoured luncheonmeats that they sell in tackleshops for a couple of quid. I can hear the Yorkshire and Scottish members amongst you saying "I'm not spending that much on luncheonmeat!!!
But the barbel love it and it is firm enough to stay on the hair without having to use special meat stops and tubing even on long casts and the flavours are evenly spread throughout the meat and not just on the surface
Plus the wife usually pays my bait bill so the cost isn't really that relevant for me
Keith