courtz

I think i should be free around those dates Looks like you had a great time, wish i could of made it.

Like a rotary letter all this, few good points raised though. Yes an inturned eye will close the gape, i prefer straight eyes and straight points for my ziggies, although there's not an abundance of patterns suitable for this, downturned eyes increase the gape even more and things such as esp stiff riggers would be good, but they don't come in smaller sizes. So sometimes when using smaller strong patterns i'm stuck with putting a small peice of clear silicon over the eye, which increases the gape. As tony says, fluoro is a no go, well for me anyway. Pre-stretched monos such as preston powerline are spot on . For fixed zigs small inlines are my preference, if it's weedy then patterns such as the korda distance inline work well as they pull through the weed easier, or fish it drop off style with a 6" (inch!!!) leadcore leader. When using tight lines etc i've always found there to be not much of a difference between semi-fixed or running leads, just still strike at every 2 or 3 bleeps, although i will always use a running lead on adjustable zigs, for obvious reasons

i've just eaten something along those lines

i use it pretty often

At a fiver per metre i'll stick to esp anchor tubing

Yeah i put the hook in a cup behind me then cast it out Hooklink - preston reflo powerline in 8lb 15oz b/s Hooks - Drennan Super Specialist Barbel size 10 or 12 For a rig use an inline lead upto baout 2oz with 1ft of tubing behind, and ALWAYS feather the cast down before holding the line just before the lead its the water, as this sends the hookbait forwards straighting out the hooklength so it should cast. It's strange really that i've not properly used a zig in over 8 months, even though last year i had my best ever winter/spring campaign using the method. Now when i cast them out i just have no confidence just because my new water has muchless fish in i cant seem to get my head around using them for some reason, im doing to try and keep on on atleast one rod next session

I like the thinking behind it and have got on well using it, I'm not too keen on the green version, as it seems too green if you get me. I've found that the grey/black blends in to almost all lake bottoms. The exposed braid bit is very supple, as there will be none of the coating holding the starnds together.

I dont used coated braid, a sheathed fluorocarbon for me Rig Marole hydrolink 15lb in black Really rate it

Blunt easily i presume then

The only time i prefer leadcore is with helicopter rigs (or chods), I've used tubing before but on one ocasion had the hooklink swivel sear through both the tubing and the mainline which put me off it forthat rig application. I've tried putting shrink tubing on the last inch of so next to the tail ruber to get around the problem, but then againthe chancesare that it could slip, and it's back to square one.

how do u find this sort of thing out???? Saw an advert somewhere

Osprey angling are bringing out a range of invisible end tackle, next year i think. Leads, lead clips beads rubbers, leads etc. This may be who goblin is already getting them from, not sure?

I'll only really use leadcore on helicopter rigs, as i find that using tubing the swivel will shear through the tubin and damage the mainline. ESP anchore tubing in 1.25mm along with as flying backlead helps to pin the rig down just as much in my opinion, and i prefer touse this foor safety clips. As with a few things in the right hands they are fine, but in the wrong hands they can be deadly

I was about to say that, but i think the other one covers hooklink materials as a whole

Rigmarole hydrolink 15lb It's not a coated braid though, it's a fluorocarbon with a braided sheath. Works on the same concept for combi rigs though. As the braid hasnt been coated when you remove the inner fluorocarbon from a section it is very supple. I use the black and find it camouflages very well on most lake beds. 10/10 for me

Just thought i'd mention i've also tried hydrolink in 25lb, but it was way too wirey for my liking

Rig marole hydrolink 15lb in black The best hybrid material i have used, and im confident my catch rate has improved since using it Used most others and esp stripteaze and suffix stif silt are also worth a mention

I'm having a bit of a problem, in the past two sessions i've had 3 dropped takes. I fish slack lines and backleads, when suddenly the bobbin shoots straight up to the rod blank and stays there. I've got the feeling that i'm being done. What makes it even more annoying is that there's only 35-40 fish in the lake, and you normally just get one chance per session! They are pressured fish so must be pretty good at dealing with rigs. I'm not sure what could be the problem with my rig, because out of 15 fish i've managed to hook this season i've landed all of them. It's just the few that i'm sure i haven't hooked. The rigs im using are helicopters with a 3oz square pear, and 2ft of solar contour leadcore with a flying backlead. On the business end it's an 8'' cotaed braid (rigmarole hydrolink 15lb) with the last inch left supple, hooksm are ESP D-7 in size 7, with 5mm of shrink tubing coming off the eye, and a peice of blowback tubing along the shank. Bait wise is a 14mm with a 5mm gap between the hook bend and bait. I change rigs after each fish and make sure they are always sharp before casting, and use a PVA nuggest to protect the hook point on the cast. I'm sure there's something i could do to convert these missed chances into fish on the bank? Here's a couple of idead i've been toying with -Larger baits -Longer hairs -Smaller leads -Counter balancing the weight of the hook with fake corn/half a pop up What ideas do you have? Cheers Courtney

Use a drenna submerged pike float

Yes You probably won't apply that much pressure during a fight, as long as you play the fish properly you can land large fish on light lines. p.s. it's cheaper to tie your own rigs

I use korda Hybrid and rig marole hydrolink, making a combi lin. The easiest way to form a hair rig is to use the knotless knot

I've been using a little rig that i came up with after having a play around with a few bits. i presume im not the first one to think of it though. I use size 12 drennan barbel hooks, basically a smaller version of the esp Big-T. Tie up a standard knotlles knot with blow back tubing on the hook shank and mount a peice of floating fake corn length ways. Then coil just enough lead wire (i use the surplus bits from splicing leadcore) so that it sinks the fake corn very slowly. Coil this tightly around the hooklink and push it up towards the eye of the hook, then use a bit of shrink tubing to create a line aligner which traps the lead wire inside it. The section of shrink tubing sits nicely on the bottom with the corn above it conceiling the hook. It may be easier to post a picture than underatnd that though Not sure if it would be relevant on a virgin lake as the fish shouldnt be riggy so a simple set up will be just as effective.

I suppose they both sound the same when you say it

krystonite 8lb or preston powerline 8lb 15oz I use a palomar with both to attatch to the swivel, and a knotless to the hook

I have along with korda hooks too, mainly when using shrink tubing to create a line alighner