Terminal TackleLet’s take a look at terminal tackle – the bits that you cast out. When it comes to actually getting a fish to pick up the bait, this is the only bit that really matters.
Leads There are two types of leads, inline or pendant. Inline leads have the line running through the middle of them, pendants are normally attached to a swivel. They suit different situations. If you are fishing semi-fixed leads at medium ranges, especially when using PVA bags, then inline leads are fine. They give a nice neat lead arrangement, and if you get the right shape (I’ll come back to that later), probably the best hooking potential.
Due to the aerodynamics, they aren’t the most accurate when casting or the best lead for distance fishing. You also have to be careful when fishing over gravel as the lead can damage the hooklink as it hits bottom, though this can be easily sorted by putting some tubing over the swivel. Pendants are the best if you want to cast a long way, use running rigs, or when constructing ‘safe’ rigs – again something I’ll come back to later.
When choosing leads, there are two main considerations, weight and shape. Weight for two reasons – enough weight to cast to the spot your fishing and enough weight to help prick the fish (if that’s part of the setup). With the right setup 3oz is enough to cast 100yds plus, so weight is more often used to prick the fish when they pick the bait up – in theory the bigger the hook, the heavier the lead.
The other consideration is shape – you’ll find a short, dumpy lead is more efficient when it comes to pricking fish, but a long tapered lead is the best for distance. If you are fishing steep bars/shelves or in running water the ‘grippa’ or sea anglers watch lead would be better – choose what suits the swim you’re fishing. Swivels – Swivels are the vital link between the mainline and the hooklink. The one thing they rarely do these days is swivel as they tend to be covered in beads or bits of plastic! When choosing a swivel make sure it fits the bead/clip that protects it from the lead properly, or in the case of ‘safety clips’ it might stop the clip working. Recently there have been swivels with rings attached, they allow a bit more movement in the rig, especially with stiff rigs, but I tend to use them with all hooklinks. Hooks Probably the single most important piece of your kit, if all the other bits are spot on, but if you’ve got a rubbish hook, you won’t land that fish….
There are absolutely loads of different hooks out there – most of them are very similar in design, but all will have their pros and cons. Eye – there are three different types (four if you include spade-ends!) – In-turned, straight, and out-turned. This will relate to the angle the eye of the hook sits at, and all will have their advantages. For example, if using a knotless knot with braid, then an in-turned eye will be my choice. If tying a stiff rig with stiff nylon like ESP’s bristle then an out-turned eye may be the choice – you just have to look at the way you want the rig to sit. Shank – This relates to the distance between the eye and the bend of the hook and comes down to a choice between ‘normal’, long, and curved. Long shanks tend to be my choice when tying rigs like the ‘d-rig’ or blow out rigs, but I use ‘normal’ lengths of shank for probably 90% of my fishing. My favourite for ‘tricky’ fish is the curved longshank, but check the fishery rules before using them as many fisheries ban them due to concerns about the damage that can be done to smaller fish. Bend – This will give two different things, the ‘gape’ of the hook and the direction of the point. The gape is the distance between the point of the hook and the shank – a wide gape hook MAY have more chance of pricking the fish, but might possibly weaken during the fight if it doesn’t go all the way in during the fight. The point can be either in-turned or straight. To my way of thinking, a straight point has more chance of pricking a fish, but an in-turned point will give a better hook hold.
Point – The point is the bit from where the barb is (or would have been if the hook is barbless). They are either straight points or curved (beak) points. A beak point is like a cats claw, and as such will pull further into the lip if it catches….but that’s the problem, it might not prick the fish as easily as a straight point, so the rig has to be designed around that. Beak points are ideal when fishing over gravel as they wont tend to lose their point as easily as a straight point. Hooklinks – There are four main types: Mono, Stiff, Braid or Combi. Braid – Very soft material that allows a natural presentation, will allow the bait to move around. The downside is that it is prone to tangles.
Mono hooklinks will normally be just the same type of line that you use for the mainline. It normally offers low visibility, some anti-eject as it’s relatively stiff, and it’s fairly tangle free. Stiff – Specialist mono’s that are really, well, stiff!. Ideal for creating booms for combi rigs or ‘chod’ rigs Combi – These are materials like Kryston Snakebite, which is a braid encapsulated in a plastic outer skin to allow easy manufacture of combi rigs where you have a stiff boom, but a flexible bit near the hook where the skin has been stripped away – or any other combination! Originally developed to give the anti-tangle properties of mono, but with the suppleness of braid near the hook. There are some other specialist materials like Multistrand, a hooklink made of many fine fibres that can separate in the water, which is probably the ultimate in natural presentation, but a bit of a nightmare in use as you have to be careful how you design the rig and be sure of the bottom you’re fishing over. Not many use it, which is why I do! It’s also worth buying some decent rig glue (or superglue as it’s more cheaply known!), bait floss (or dental floss, unwaxed and unflavoured) and some shrink tube – electricians tubing that shrinks on contact with heat. In the next part, we’ll look at some of the rigs in common use and how to tie them. |
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