Tackle

We really doesn't need most of it, even the stuff you think you really need. Obviously, from time to time, we all buy tackle that we know in our heart we will never use. That's part of the fun. I've probably got about 100 floats (at least 20 of them are porcupine quills that I have an unreasonable attachment to). I use no more than a dozen most years. Luckily it doesn't seem to stop me catching fish. I admit to being a "float tart", but am not a "tackle tart". So I have a relatively small collection of tackle (except floats).

My first rod was a solid fibre-glass (blue) 7 foot rod with a through action and 2½lb test curve. Of course in 1974, I'd never heard of a "test curve". I cheerfully caught all sorts of fish on 3lb line for many years without anything sophisticated than a small porcupine quill, a size 14 hook and worms. Landing fish was "hoisting" as I had no landing net. Anyway there was no room for it on my bike. I had an Intrepid Challenger reel, with 2 spools, with 3lb Line (coarse) and 10lb (for sea fishing). Heady Stuff.

I had three floats (no money). The 'Challenger' has gone to the great tackle box in the sky now, but I replaced all the bale arm springs and the line roller at least twice if not more. I still have the rod though and (the "pool cue"), still has it's uses.

• Rods
• Reels
• Kingpin Review
• Line
• Hook-Lengths
• Floats
• Attaching Floats

• Knots
• Pole Stuff
• Unhooking Mat
• Shot Weight Conversion
• The Spoon
• Useless Stuff
• Useful Stuff

Rods

I have several rods more than I really need:

I did have a 'Fox Floater Special Carp' with a 2lb test curve and a soft progressive action. This rod didn't work for me, not setting hooks well, so I swapped it for a Cardinal 66.)

1. A 4 piece 11ft Avon, 1lb 10oz test curve, (also built myself on a Harrison's blank in March 2005) which I use for most fishing. A light and versatile rod with all the doubles (carp) taken on it so far comfortably within it's capabilities. Amazing rod, if a little stiff for some things.


2. The old carp rod is a 2 piece 11 foot through action rod 2¼lb Test Curve (built myself in 1981 when carbon fibre was really exciting and new), which has great power, if not at the longest ranges. It's sill the rod of choice if I know there are very large fish around.
   
   I gave it a re-furnish in June 2008, new handle, moving it towards the butt-end, as it used to have a double hand "horizon cast" thing going on. A new set of rings and it's whipped 'camo'. C'et un blague. My Harrisons was a test bed for thread colours and the tip sports several, plus the whole rod has 1ft market intermediates. It was dubbed a camo-whipped Avon by a friend, so on the old rd I went the whole hog and mixed colours and spacing for odd intermediates along the entire length. None of the rings have two whippings the same colour. Good fun. I look forward to my first 'bite' on it...


3. A 3 piece carbon float rod, which I got at a junk shop in Thatcham about 15 years ago. I don't use it much, but for general river fishing with a pin it's great. It need re-ringing as it has tiny eyes that were once the fashion but make casting hard work.


4. A 5 piece 'Fox Trek' 2½lb t/c carp rod, with a middle action. This is beautifully made and finished if a little tip heavy even with a reel attached. It dealt with a 15lb pound fish first time out with ease. Having said that I didn't use it half a dozen times this in (2006) and not at all since February, until this year when I got it back out the bag for some serious snag-adjacent floater fishing.


5. I retain my trusty 7 foot 2½lb t/c solid fibreglass. It's easy to mock solid fibre glass now, but it's very tough and unlike hollow sections does not deform when bent and is consequently better (I think) for playing fish.


6. I have a Webley & Scott Super Avon, which cost me £10 in a junk shop in Leominster in 2007. The male ferrule on the lower section was split and still had a mud plug in it which was how it split. I took the but cap off, and dropped a section of old roach pole down the inside and araldited it and added Fuji rings. I kept the yellow and green whipping style and preserved all the markings, include the initials FB and the number '25'. I made a butt end out of a champagne cork which looks better than the original. It's banked several carp to 11lb and a 5lb chub. Not bad for £20.


7. In 2008 I got a new Chapmans 550 cane carp rod. I've yearned for cane for a bit and eventually ordered a blank going for the convenience of three pieces. I rejected the arguments put forward that the cane through the butt improves the rod's action as Richard Walker himself used dowel in his original. Being honest with myself, I wasn't likely to benefit from that small improvement either. It took me four outings on a new water to christen it, but eventually I had a brace of 10lb commons and a couple of 5lb ghosties. Now I see why some prefer it for playing fishing. Having said all that I never really took to it. I bumped of a lot of tench, it seemed very stiff and the ferrules were a bu88er to get apart. After a bit fo the rack, I took of the fuji rings and stuck on cradle wire guides and an agate butt ring and a white agate tulip tip (Hardy) and whipped it in maroon with some green overlay on the ferrules.


8. A Chapmans 500, 1960's vintage (according to Chapmans themselves based on the label). I got this on Fleabay for £60, andit was advertised with a loose ferrule, which turned out to be the male on the top section, which I slid off, and araldited on. I replaced the rings with Fuji and changed the pattern of rings to that for the 550 (adding an extra one). Gun barrel straight and I had an 11lb carp and several tench first time out and it performed beautifully. Having said that if the 550 with the wire guide makes me smile I'll change the Fujis for wire guides as well.


9. An Ugly Specimen 1½lb t/c, which I bid £18 on Fleabay to see what it did. It sold for £18. Wasn't sure what I'd do with it, but a handy rod to have on the rack…and in the end I discovered it makes a useful floater rod.


10. In early 2009 I acquired what appears to be a reconditioned Dennis Pye, Chapman 700. 4lb t/c (!) nuts, but I rather like it. [It turns out it has the wrong tapers and is not a Dennis Pye, but I still like it.]


11. April 2009. I have acquired a B James MK IV, late 50's vintage. The reel bands are missing, replaced with two brass ones I had to cut off to avoid damaging the cork. The butt thimble was "uhu'd" on, and it came away without damage when I put in a very long 3/8"bsf thread. The butt button was badly perished. The second ring on the bottom section was not original and corroded, whipped on with D grade thread, and the varnish over the top made the colour run out of, three intermediate whippings down. The top section has a set against the rings and a bit of a dog leg near the tip.
    
    A closer look shows the ring on the top section were removed, the rod turned around and re-whipped by a blind spider. So I removed all of them, clean back the varnish to the cane and re-whipped in bottle green (not Garnet I know, but I plan to use it for a bit, see how it 'sets' and then rebuild properly if it's OK.) This included gluing on the tip ring, which hadn't been. Slightest of knocks on the ferrule nothing candle-wax won't make fishable. A Project.
    
    I've cleaned the butt thimble (inside) and got hold of the right reel bands and a button for the end (silly expensive for originals). I've let in the cane at the butt very slightly (I can here the sharp intakes of breath around the world) to prevent the thread on the button or a spear (I have a few, I use them) pushing off the thimble at a later date. The cork was restored with five minutes of a plastic pan scourer and washing up liquid, more or less pristine, no cork removed. It's managed a couple of double figure carp, although the 16lb'er made it bend alarmingly.


12. I picked up an LRH No3 on the way back from a bad day. It was £60 and is a serious rod, with a 3lb t/c (estimated), would pull a donkey out of a field of carrots as the saying goes. It had been re-built with agate all through, which looked nice if not the original idea. Also, on using it for a bit of piking, I realised the set of the rod was at 45 degrees to the ring alignment which was what gave it an odd feel. I decide to take of the agates, too heavy, and rotate the rod and put the rings opposite the set. I put on some hardy game guides, which are light, a jade butt ring and an agate tip. Bottle green and maroon, reinforced whipping. There was also some plastic insulation tape on the corks, to jam the hardly reel fittings. This had compressed the cork underneath and left sticky glue residue. I cleaned it off with white spirit and steamed out the dents, which worked better than I'd hoped.
    
    It now looks good but more importantly feels the biz. now and I plan to use it for the margin carping with 14lb line, when it's snaggy. [first time out I hooked a 10-12lb fish and had to hold firm to stop a tree branch incident. The hook came away, what are the odds?] I've christened this rod the "Norfolk Enchanter".

***********

I currently use the first rod for most things - I'll explain.

I'm not all that fond of fishing a long way from myself. No reason, I just prefer to be near the action. By and large the waters I fish are small enough to get close to the fish (as long as you are stealthy) and a through action rod is fine for this. I prefer to fish this way. What I want out of a rod is power and shock absorption and flexibility. By the latter I mean able to handle a range of line breaking strengths, as I tend to fish for whatever is going and don't often focus on one species - although I tend to fish for larger fish and exclude small stuff with large baits. So for example the Avon will work quite nicely with line strengths of 6-10lb b/s. As I tend not to have the "dedication" of the "serious" angler, I make double sure that if I do hook something exceptional, I land it. This means avoiding break-offs and a through action rod is good for this.

Even when piking I tend to stick with through action and especially if you use a modern superbraid for a main line (for piking), the lack of stretch in the line more than compensates for the through action of the rod, at all but the furthest ranges.

I like the convenience of a 4 piece or 3 piece rod.

I also like the split cane Avon and carp rods. I don't spend much time holding a rod, so the weight would not be an issue and they are better for playing a fish, as the cross section does not deform under pressure, which any tubular rod section will. Cane is prettier as well.

I do own a roach pole (5M) with standard and heavy "top threes" plus a short whip, which is handy for taking the children fishing.

Attaching Floats

The above picture shows how I attach my floats for most still water fishing

The reason for this system, is a simple one. When I first started to fish for carp on purpose (1985 or so), I was aware of the need to remove all potential weak points from the line (30-40 yard runs runs from 6lb "Wildies" have a way of focusing you mind on these things). One of the most obvious of these (with nylon mono main line) was the bit where shot are clamped to the line. I'd always been a bit suspicious of that method of attachment, and as I was using braided hook lengths already it seemed a short step. I had been using a 1BB crystal antennae in 13 feet of water, with a slider knot to stop the float and the idea came from that rig being adapted to shallow water as I moved swims.

The idea is to tie one end of a bit of braid (I save old braid hook lengths for this) around the mainline, using a slider knot, thread the braid through the eye on the float as shown, which stops the float moving much on the braid and then tie the other end onto the mainline, using a further slider knot.

A few points to note. Keep the distance between the knots as short as possible, bearing in mind that the place to put bulk shot is on this bit of braid. Cut the tag ends off the slider knots very short (2-3mm). This is not a load bearing knot and those tag ends will tangle with everything - especially if the knots slip and the bit with the float & shot on starts dangling about. Put the shot on the "rod" side of the float. That way the float moving on the braid when striking will not chip your shot off...which of course you never notice until you have recast and are wondering why your float is perched up out of the water.

The number of turns you need in your slider knot will vary as well. For an 8lb mono and 11lb "Black Spider" 4 turns was fine. For 6lb mono and using 10lb Drennan braid, I needed about 8-10 turns to stop the knot sliding.

It's not a huge deal, the knots sliding about and if you mark off the depth you are fishing on your rod against the rings, you can easily check it cast to cast. If you are really obsessive about it whip 1 foot markers up the rod, in a light green thread. (I must admit I have done that.)

This method means I never have split shot on mono line, as the shot goes either under the float or on the braided hook length - beware tangles. This is fine for still water. For river fishing this may need some thought, but typically the shot tends to sit lower on the line in moving water, so you can spread in down the braided hook-length.

I've shown a porcupine quill float in the picture, because they're really easy to draw and I like them.

In waters where fish are tackle shy you can use a crystal float and mono to tie it on.

The other advantages of this method, are the ease of changing depth and also the ease of changing floats - cut the braid off close to the knots, slide the knots down and tie on a new float. There is no reason you cannot put a small "snap link" on the braid to make this even easier and I have tried that, but I don't really like the link rattling on the float.

2008 Update: Of course now you can buy rubber float stops which do the same thing. It's probably cheaper to use old braid, but the stops are easier to set up. If you are mean like I am you can use a needle to rethread the used ones...

Reels

I started out with an Intrepid Challenger, which served me for many years - as mentioned above [2009- I got a good one on Fleabay for the heck of it]. The second reel I owned was a centre pin, given as a present during a period when for some reason we were keen on them. Bruv and I used them first at the Dyke and in coloured water during the early part of the year we both caught pike on worms. I still have the reel, will a fair bit of the excess weight drilled out, but it has been far exceeded by today's centre pin reels, works of art that rotate for minutes at a time. One day I'll be a good enough angler to justify having one.

I next owned an Abu Cardinal 40, one of the original stern drag (when it was new) reels that came out around 1978 or thereabouts. I have 4 spools and carried 3lb, 6lb, 8lb, 10lb line for all occasions. It served me faithfully until about 2004 when the gears just got so worn the reel stopped rotating freely. I moved onto a Shimano Sedona 4000 GTE in 2005. Used to dowdy tackle by preference, I painted over the chrome parts with matt green enamel...

In the interim I picked up cheaply a Cardinal Bronco and a Diawa AG1650CT, both with one spool and they were my pike fishing reels loaded with 12lb mono. In 2005 I bought a Shimano 3000, with extra spools to allow me line combinations to suit the majority of my fishing, without carrying more than 2 reels Generally speaking I use 4lb/6lb/8lb/10lb/12lb/16lb(braid).

I literally picked up a Ceratec ML2C - a small fixed spool, nice rear drag and ceramic lime roller. This was in a patch of long grass on a swim at Jubilee Lake in Thatcham and despite me placing a card on the notice board, no-one ever called for it. I use it for the rare occasions that require really light tackle.

The only real reason for the new reel is that both the 2 aforementioned have the one spool, with no chance of another both being discontinued. I suspect I will keep them somewhere.

I have an old (Shakespeare I think) Centrepin, which I first used in 1980 and have started to use again lately. It's worn, but works, but I have acquired a Series 2 Arnold Kingpin, which is amazing. Most fishing now is with this work of art and again liking it I bought a second. I used the 'pin almost without a break for 12 months 2007-2008. A revelation to one who'd never really fished with a pin before.

In 2008 I got converted by Nempster to a Cardinal 44x, which is a wonderful reel. It had all the nostalgia of using my Cardinal 40 but was just better. I enjoyed it so much I bought another and consequently have about 8 spools. I liked them so much I spent a few months acquiring couple of Cardinal 66's for Leviathan fishing. They're old but do what I want without frippery.

KingPin Review (March 2009)

I originally wrote this for another website.

I decided that I wanted to try fishing with a centre pin, in part due to Waterlog et al. I dug out an old 'pin, given to me when I was 18, got quickly used to the unfree running nature and banked several carp up to 11lb next to lily beds, which as 'BB' reminds us, spells doom if carp can get amongst them. I rather enjoyed being able to retrieve line when exerting pressure. So that's OK then. I practised Wallis's in the back garden for a bit. Seemed straightforward enough in theory.

I researched in depth the contemporary centre-pin market. Well OK, for a couple of hours, but that's 'Google' for you. I wanted a quality item but wasn't prepared to part with the inflated price of some newer pins due in part to the name of the endorsee, especially in this age of CNC tools. It didn't matter whether it was an older or contemporary model. Function was the thing, as I was still a neophyte 'pin angler.

By chance, I found a reference to 'Arnold KingPins' being manufactured in Poole. As it happens, that's local and I'd also rather buy British. With a call and a visit I found out that I could have a Series 2 Kingpin in a variety of colours, except green which is apparently a bu88er to get right and easily spoiled. Pity. Once I had one in my hand, I was sold however.

I was invited to pay on collection when the reel was ready, which I did. The first time out I got memorably stuffed by a big carp ("Good Omens") but used it almost exclusively for the next 12 months for everything from margin carping, tench fishing and trotting the Frome for grayling and the Stour for chub, with lines from 3lb to 10lb b/s. A decent trot, as it were. Arf, arf.

So, first things first. What does it look like? It looks like quality. The anodising is top rate and overall appearance pleasing. Two colours shown here, black and platinum (mea culpa, I bought another; I tend to fish when I can and I wanted to have two line strengths to hand). It's possible I didn't clean the reels before the photos.

Does it spin? By golly, yes. When new, the first reel would spin freely for over a minute but now it has bedded well in, it actually spins for over 2 minutes. Which is nuts. Even limited experience tells you that any 'pin that spins freely for a minute is good enough for fishing.

The reel itself is made in two main parts. The spool and the back-plate. The spool bolts to the back-plate with a nice brass nut, which is just knurled enough to hurt when your really cold fingers slip on it.

The spool contains the sealed bearing unit, so it's not a 'traditional centre-pin', so some purists are no doubt offended, but if using nylon line, it is hard to reject ball bearings as a modern solution. I understand metal has been in use for several thousand years though, so we should be OK there. The drum of the spool is continuous, so no fold marks however long or tightly the line has been on the reel.

The back of the spool is closed so no detritus can get into the sealed works but the gap between spool and back-plate is so small that any bit of grit will cause nasty noises. Always dismantle the reel on a clean surface is my advice, and unhooking mats are not in this category.

The drum is wide, 7/8 inches with a depth that accommodates 200 yards of 12lb line on it, and a bit more besides if you feel the need. Hook a margin carp and need 200 yards of line? You wish!

The ratchet lever is in a handy place and the ratchet is positive and not too loud, but I quietened mine with a mix of moly and silicon grease, but I'm a slave to silence.

Both parts are very solidly made (useful for the aforementioned margin carp) and it's heavier than some reels. Despite the resulting inertia, the extremely free running nature compensates to the point where even a 2BB float in a light Stour flow pulls line off at a steady rate. Casting 'off the reel' needs some care initially as you need to brake the drum almost from the off to avoid overruns. Otherwise, it's good for "giving it some Wallis".

The knurled finish on the drum edge provides very satisfying feedback for the thumb when trotting, as well as a sight fizzing noise, the note of which varies with the speed the line is pulled off. I've got very used to that, even if your thumb can get warm when you hook a screamer, although funnily enough that's easier to bear. It's nice also for 'batting the rim' if you like to retrieve this way. The handles are also nicely made, but are easy to remove if you prefer and the round holes in the spool are very handy for the 'one finger retrieve' (I sense a 'Samantha the Scorer' anecdote coming on, what with 'batting the rim' and the 'one finger retrieve').

I find the reel body a little close to the rod when mounted, which can make it awkward to hold, as I like to get my index finger ahead of the reel mount for a stronger grip and I have small hands. For most fishing this is not a problem, but I find a three fingered grip aching at the end of a days' trotting and also if into a large carp (steady Samantha).

I'd personally like a larger diameter drum, for a faster retrieve and a lighter reel would be nicer for the river but I see that the range has recently expanded to cover these things plus user serviceable bearings.

In summary, I find it a joy to use, pretty much in any situation. Try one, you might be amazed. They perform perfectly for me and I have to say it's good to buy British. I was edging towards my third Kingpin when I wrote this and have since indulged in a Royalty 478, which is even better. If you can imagine that.

K Ward Engineering

http://www.kingpinreels.com/

Some thoughts on Line

I've already discussed why I tend to use braid for hook-lengths (traces), due to it being softer and limper than mono.

I stick with mono for main line for the majority of my fishing. I prefer to use an un-stretched mono, because I like the stretch for shock absorption and I seldom fish miles away from where I am sitting. I did use Bayer Perlon mostly as it was a good reliable line. I still have some oddments of it, but have used and liked Maxmima of late. I came across Stren Original as well and this is my first choice

Perlon is harder to get these days so I recently bought some Fox Soft Steel, which although it has some iffy reviews, I initially found it to be quite good. It has the right balance between limpness and stretch and a good colour.

I've already discussed why I tend to use braid for hook-lengths (traces), due to it being softer and limper than mono.

I stick with mono for main line for the majority of my fishing. I prefer to use an un-stretched mono, because I like the stretch for shock absorption and I seldom fish miles away from where I am sitting. I did use Bayer Perlon mostly as it was a good reliable line. I still have some oddments of it, but have used and liked Maxmima of late (up to 2005).

Perlon is harder to get these days so In 2005 I bought some Fox Soft Steel, which although it has some iffy reviews, I found to be quite good. It had the right balance between limpness and stretch and a good colour. This was my 8/10/12lb lines and I had put the 10lb in Camo version to allow me to tell the difference between spools. For larger b/s lines the bulk spools do represent good value for money. If the line goes all pants on me, I'll write about it here!

2008 Update. I found 'Soft Steel' after use it gets 'springy" sitting on the water like a floating slinky. I switched to Stren original which doesn't do that (and it sinks when wet). I use the "'Soft Steel' for backing, at least it's not wasted. I'll not buy more though.

As an aside it worth pointing out that 10lb Perlon and 10lb Soft steel have the same diameter despite being 15 years apart.

I also had some Stren 6lb Original clear blue. This was an experiment and I have to say I like the line. It's limp, but with stretch and fluoresces blue in daylight but is invisible in water. It's easy to see where the line is, which is useful and also easy to spot any left behind, which is also good.

Having said that, I bought some 'clear' as the blue was jolly bright and after a 6 month trial (2005-6) have taken on 8lb and 10lb Stren Original which I use on my Kingpin. I'm pretty convinced it's the best line I've ever used at this point.

Half-blood knots need care and they seem to slip more than nylon on tightening, so I give it a good pull and leave the tag end a bit longer than usual. As I seldom tie directly to the hook (using braid at this point) this is not an issue with me. I've caught a lot of fish on this line and a couple of very feisty carp 9 & 10lb, which took 15 minutes to land and put a lot of strain on the knot and line with no problems. I inspect knots after a tussle. You've time to retie if this happens before the swim settles down. Better safe....

I plan to test the 'Uni' knot on mono some day soon…(2005)

2008 update: I tested Uni knots with Stren original (and I mean tested, spring balance and everything) and the uni works as well as a good half blood but with the advantage of no possible slip if you tie it wrong and also the tag end points up the line, away from. Despite experiments I found that two turns through the hook eye in mono made no difference but did make a slight difference with braid. When I get time I'll post the results.

I have a spool loaded with 15lb Power Pro as well. This is a 'super-braid' and I use it for longer-range pike fishing and my occasional light sea fishing. I would not be comfortable with using this line in freshwater without a long hook-length of something else - for carp a long hook-length in a regular braid/mono and for pike wire traces are normal anyhow (although there is scope for exploring thick super-braids for pike traces I think). This is because I think the line is so thin, that with its slight irregular surface (caused by the braiding) it would cut fish when under strain and as a hook length could possibly damage fish's mouths as well. But the lack of stretch can be useful and although in lighter monofilaments the stretch is handy, the thickness of the Powerpro in relation to its b/strain means you can fish a little heavier than you might with mono.

Pick line you like (and be prepared to look for one), as confidence in it is essential. And check how knots perform in it - lines do vary and a knot with 5 turns will work fine on a line of a particular make and thickness but you might need 6 in another to get optimum knot strength…

Lastly - I have no problem with thin line (3lb and down) as such. But if larger fish are present, to fish in the expectation of being 'broken up' is to me simply not acceptable. Leaving fish trailing line and with a hook embedded is the last thing any of us should do. With most commercial waters, carp are omnipresent and very light tackle is at best not smart and at worst irresponsible.

I've seen 10lb carp on 2lb pole rigs and a 13lb on 2lb line/feeder rod this year. The first was not planned, but given the water was more than likely and the second was deliberate "to get a good fight. Well that's nice for the angler, but hardly responsible. On the Dyke in the early 80's there was a minimum 6lb line limit, due to the weed - it didn't stop those of us not put off (as it was 'impossible to get bites' with line that thick) catching good fish often and regularly.

Also - everything I have ever read suggests 200 yards (OK meters then) as being a good amount to have on a spool. Well that might be appropriate if you are casting 100 yards and expect a 100 yard run from the fish, but really? I think not. If you margin fish, or do not cast more than 50 yards, I would suggest 100 yards is probably good enough. Most waters are not that wide. If you use a decent backing line and knot it carefully, you ought to have peace of mind with this (a cheaper Superbriad might make a good backing line).

Kinking

Lines kink. That's life. With a fixed spool reel, if you use the clutch to play fish (I do, some backwind and control the running spool with a finger both work well) then you will tend to get kinked line and sometimes even if you don't.

There are 2 good solutions and one not so good. The first good one is to find a fast flowing river and let out a long length of the line into the current (20-40 yards) and let it hang freely for a 10 minute stretch. The kinks will come out. The second involves the "Spin Doctor" which is a worthwhile investment. I can vouch for the dangling in the running water method, the "Spin Doctor" is good as well.

The other way is to put a rod up and thread the line through the rings and tie onto an old line spool. Wind as much line as is kinked onto it and tape the line down with gaffer tape. Let it dangle free until the line is untwisted. Then unspool another rod length, tape the line down and do it again. Seems long winded, but it only takes few minutes and works a treat.

Lines that resist kinking will tend to have higher "memory". So live with some kinks and the removal of them. And do remove them. Kinking causes tangles on the rod tip, worse ones at the reel (that sneak past your attention) and for a given pull on the line, increase the strain on the line and the knots. Worth doing.

Fox Stalker Unhooking Mat

So why review an unhooking mat? Well, it depends what you want out of it I suppose - my old one, an unbranded piece of foam with a nylon backing sheet, disintegrated from the molecular bond breaking effects of UV light, so I needed another. I say 'needed' as so many waters have the use of an unhooking mat written into their rules. A lot of the places I fish have thick water-meadow grass, which is better, but I digress.

So to the mat. It's a sensible colour. It has no flashy bits. It performs perfectly well in its primary role, which is to say it is well padded and big enough for a 30lb carp (I imagine, like I'd know first hand. Hah!). Well hurrah, a bin liner with a blanket in does that. It doubles as a weighing sling. Handy if you catch anything worth weighing. I'm not basing my choice on that criterion alone for very good reasons…or lack of them if you know what I mean.

Secondly and more importantly it really is completely waterproof. This is an essential requirement, as for many of my trips the unhooking mat is my seat. A wet posterior can take the gloss of any day, but a dry unhooking matt under a large brolly keeps you out of the weather and in the summer you just skip taking the brolly. It's long enough to allow me to almost lie down.

Thirdly - it's exactly the right size and shape to use as a holdall and to be fair it is designed that way. I like to put the rods, landing net and any other bits and pieces into the mat and carry them .The old one was good for that. My new mat had to be good for that and I have to say it's almost perfect in that regard. You can get all the normal accoutrements in it and then Velcro up the side to keep things put and then bung in your bait box (or whatever). If I was being hypercritical I'd say the handles are not quite large enough to hook them over one shoulder and that even with my short armed 6ft frame, the mat only just clears the deck when being carried by the handles. Trifles, really.

Lastly, when you've done with it, it rolls up into a small self secured bundle to hide in the back of the car - and also it seems to absorb little or no slime, so it does wipe clean as advertised, which keeps the car fresher as well...

I'm pleased with it - it does what it says on the tin, the price is reasonable and I'd recommend the Fox Stalker Unhooking Mat it even if you don't go stalking...

JAA March 2007.

Shot weight conversion

This drives me mad, so in case it drives you mad here is a rough conversion from traditional shot sizes to weights in grams.

SSG ................. 1.6g
SA ................... 1.2g
AAA ................. 0.8g
AB ................... 0.6g
BB ................... 0.4g
No.1 ................. 0.3g
No.4 ................. 0.2g
No.6 ................. 0.1g
No.8 ................. 0.068g
No.9 ................. 0.051g
No.10 ............... 0.03g
No.11 ............... 0.02g
No.12 ............... 0.012g
No.13 ............... 0.005g

2BB ............... 0.8g
3BB ............... 1.2g
4BB ............... 1.6g
5BB ............... 2.0g
2SSG ............ 3.2g


0.25g .............. 1 x No.4, 1 x No.6
0.5g ................ 1 x BB, 1 x No.6
1g ................... 1 x AAA, 1 x No. 4
1g ................... 2 x BB, 1 x No. 4
1.5g ................ 3 x BB, 1 x No. 1

The Spoon

...said the Bug-angler (aged 9 and 23/24ths) this summer at La Morinais while we were trying for a tench or carp, as I windmilled in some loose bait, "You know Dad, you could flick bait in with a spoon and it would be much easier." Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings...

You can flick a dozen grains of corn about 40 yards with a spoon, the wooden sort they have on ferries are good, but the plastic baby spoons are much better. You can get a bit of kibble 50 yards. An ear of giant maize will go 60 yards. Live and learn. I carry a couple of spoons now...

And you don't get hemp and corn stuck in your ears as it bounces back off the twatapault handles either...

Useless Stuff

This is a list of the stuff I either bought and discovered to be pointless or never bought for the same reason.

Really useful Stuff

This is a list of the stuff which is way more useful than you might think.