Tag Archives: rig components

It’s often good practice when predator fishing to keep your mainline up and off the deck, to avoid bottom debris (especially around autumn time when there are lots of fallen leaves & twigs) and ensure a truly low-resistance presentation. Many anglers achieve this through the use of pop-up/buoyant leger stems to attach their leads when deadbaiting. Buoyant run rings and pop-up leger stems might also be useful in carp fishing and other specialist angling. For example, a floating run ring could be the perfect way of attaching a surface controller float when floater fishing for carp; whilst a buoyant leger stem could be used an alternative to a sunk float – to allow a running lead rig to be used over weed (instead of a fixed lead on a chod rig, for example). Buoyant leger attachments have been on the market for years, most notably in the form of Middy’s Buoyant Leger and Fox Leger Stems. Annoyingly, the Middy ones have become difficult to find and the Fox ones tend to just fall apart! They’re way too fragile for me to use with any confidence, so I started modifying them. Then I thought, instead of paying so much for a …

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There are two main, commonly practised methods of making wire traces for pike fishing. The first is a method called “twisting” or “twiddling“. Whilst some anglers swear by this technique, I find it to be unnecessarily fiddly, untidy and unreliable. The other common method is called “crimping“, which is the method I shall describe here. Whilst no hooklength can ever be 100% reliable, I have refined my crimping techniques over the years and nowadays it is very, very rare that one of my home-made pike traces lets me down. Remember, if you’re unsure about tying your own traces, or you don’t have the time or patience, many of the big manufacturers sell ready-tied traces which are good value. The bonus with making your own is that you can customise them to suit your bait size, hook size, rigs, conditions, etc. Plus, if one of your traces becomes unusable through kinking or other damage, you can re-use expensive components such as hooks and swivels. Remember – whether you buy traces or make your own, never fish with a damaged wire trace. A kinked trace will snap under far less pressure than a perfect trace will. Always carry spares ready-tied in a …

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