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As soon as a rig I use has some dodgy hook holds, I firstly tweak it and see if the hook hold is bang centre of the bottom lip. If that doesn't work then I'll change to a different rig totally. Fish welfare is paramount to me. As for stiff material, that's all I use. If you doubt its effectiveness, I'll gladly show you my photo album 😉

Pays hundreds on stainless bank sticks but won’t buy dongle...🤣

You be mad to spend out on a wired set these days ... I had all that fox sounder box set up years back & was glad to see the back of it . Another ATT fan

The clip on mine fitted my storm poles and storm rods. The receiver clipped either at the end of my bed or next to the door was enough to wake me up. Ah, but at the same time, because the remote is not in his pocket never tempted to go a bit further away from the swim than he should... I have a mate who also sticks with (my) wired Delkim sounder box. He stays close to his rods unless he has reeled in. Too many times I have seen 'anglers' 3swims or more up the bank with the receiver in their pocket thinking it is ok.

Haven't seen mine in about 8 years, at the bottom of a pile of carp. Looks very old school 🔌

I’ll check in the garage in the next few days, I may be able to help you out.

Judging by the replies it seems I have not explained the Active Lead system very well. I live the life of a recluse and have no contact with other anglers (apart from the odd digital exchange such as this) so communication is not a strong point of mine. I will try and be a bit clearer. First of all the lead is a bog standard, in line, torpedo or bomb shaped lead. It has a swivel at the blunt end which detaches in the event of a crack off to avoid a carp dragging the lead around for the rest of its natural. The ONLY difference I make is to hammer a steel washer onto the slimmer end. Ok I sometimes paint it black. It is no more complicated than that. It may lack some aerodynamic qualities but, because of arthritis, I always use a bait boat so that does not bother me. You use it in exactly the same way as any other in line lead. You wind in the slack line but then gradually increase the tension until you have a slight bend in the rod. If it slips whilst doing this, repeat a couple of times until it holds. Unless the lake bed is completely smooth this doesn’t take much. You sit there and watch your rod tip. All the time your rod maintains a bend then you know your bait is untouched. The slightest movement by a fish of any description will cause the weight to slip and the tip to straighten. If it is a carp then it is usually followed by a one toner as it bolts, frightened by the sudden small movement. It may only be a small bream, in which case it might not get the bait in its mouth but it can still release the tension with just a very small tug. So, if you see your rod has straightened but no line is taken out, you know immediately that the bait has been interfered with. I have found by trial and error that a weight of around 60 grams is ideal. I have been using this system for over 5 years now and rarely miss a take. The secret to its success is, I believe, a short hook link – which is where this discussion started.

With the plastic disc at the swivel on the lead, (originally done with the integral swivel in the lead), the direction of the take, straight away from the angler, or lift and turn etc will have the disc having force put on it at a different angle, before going upwards.

I can only describe what works for me Leonard and what I find easiest to use with confidence. Chacun à son truc as they say around here.

Totally agree with the lead sizes. On my old lake you'd get "done" numerous times. The majority of anglers using as you say leads between 2.5 and 3.5 ounces. One mate switched to 5oz leads and hammered it. When he told me I switched the other way to 1oz leads and started converting pick ups to bites. Just a little tweak like that can change your season

Each to their own. If we all agreed, used or done the same thing it would be a very boring world and no need for a forum like this. Just saying

Good question but that is not how it works. The washer is forced onto the lead so that is a permanent fixture. You have to experiment to get the washer to match the lead diameter. The downside is that there is a bit of drag when you retrieve it but with a fish on you would never know it was there. I will try and add a photo of one.

That’s where I put mine until I sent them off and got them put inside

Sorry I was a bit sharp, I have a tendency to say/post exactly as I think it. I agree with braid looping up, although I did find once it was wet I could rub mud or putty over it, the whole length, and it would sink. Short braid hooklinks loop up more than longer ones I think, but I tend to use braid in short lengths, normally a maximum 9inches anyway, mostly in PVA bags where I want the rig to be coiled, definitely not straight. I'm not sure about always fishing stiffer material on a helicopter lead set-up, this is where we have differing opinions, but it may be, because I prefer combi-rigs with a mono or fluoro stiff section on gravel, sand or clay, not silt, and always make them with a loop at the end, or use a ring swivel. If I can I prefer running leads with a slack line, however undertow can ruin that idea, so on the big fish water I end up fishing the tight line. This is where our opinions split apart again, as my big fish water has so many different features, from massive gravel bars, to weedbeds and silt patches, and I want the right rig for each as fish spend time on or in all of them. I could also find myself fishing another water over the causeway if the main water is crowded with anglers, hence plenty of rigs.