Thoughts on three lures

I've tried three lures for the first time this autumn and caught on all three, which is an encouraging start. They're different variations on the time-honoured plastic shad, which I'm currently using most of the time.

Big Hammer

I really like these lures now I'm starting to get the hang of them. The big, square tail really kicks on the retrieve and pike seem quite partial to the 4.5ins version.

It took me a few trips to get my head round how to use them. I know, it's a swim bait - you chuck it out, and reel it in. The crucial thing with these is use the right jig-head, as in one of the wedge-shaped shad ones AGM sell.

They seem to work best with around 15g of weight . On anything lighter, or a ball head, the tail's frantic action makes the lure roll from side to side, rather than swim naturally. 

Mounting the head flush to the back of the lure also seems to help get them to swim right. You also get the odd one which seems to have an even better action than the others in the same packet. They're hand-poured, so I guess there's probably some slight variation from lure to lure.

AGM sell them in around a dozen different colours at £3.99 for four. Creeping Death and Atomic Punk - as opposed to red, orange and black - both produced on their first outings, as did the silver, sparkly one with the yellow tail, whatever that one's called.

They have one flaw, as I soon discovered when I started catching a few on them. They're made of incredibly soft plastic, so you sometimes only get a couple of fish on one. Worse still, a missed hit sometimes results in a tail-less lure. 

Kopyto

I like these too, especially the 4.5L version. It's a slim-profiled shad which has a lovely wiggly kick on a 10 or 12g jig-head. 

The 5ins version has a deeper-bellied profile. Stick a 15g head on its nose and it gets a nice wiggle on, even on a slow-ish retrieve.

They come in more patterns than you can shake a stick at, don't ask me why but the pearl or yellow ones seem to be banker colours.

Like the Big Hammers, their main drawback is you'll be lucky to get more than a few fish out of one, while the odd thump on the end you fail to connect with will sometimes mean another tail-less lure on its way to the bin.

These are around £1 each from Lure World.

Mikado Fishunter

These are a bit of an acquired taste - imagine a shad made from jelly, as in the mainstay of a decent fruit trifle, and you're not far wrong when it comes to this lure's durability.

But while the first fish that hits one of these usually shreds it, Fishunters are cheap and cheerful - I got them at £2.99 for a packet of five from Lure World and have one or two other things going for them.

The makers claim the head of the lure "sucks in" jig-heads. A 10 or 12g head sits nicely in the moulded recess. Beware if you use a drop or two or super glue to mount your shads, as some types don't agree with the plastic these are made from.

++They've now one back to £4.25 for a pack of five...

Spider Wire EZ braid review

I've used braids of one kind or another for nearly 15 years as my reel line for pike fishing. After trying various brands, I settled on Powerpro and have fished with it ever since without any problems.

I wanted something thinner for sea fishing with lures and plumped for 20lbs Spider Wire EZ braid to load up a new reel. First impressions after its maiden trip is the stuff's brilliant. The coating's very slick and it just flies through the rings.

I'm not sure how long the coating will actually last, but by the time it goes the line should be well bedded-in on the reel. This probably sounds daft, but I've noticed the dreaded tangles you get with braid almost invariably happen with new braid. Once you've used it a few times, it's usually fine.

Pike fishing with the stuff's taught me to spool it on tightly, slightly under-fill my reels and exercise a bit of care after casting, ie shut the bail arm manually and check the line's going on tight.

It's that slacker coil or two that gets onto the spool if you close the bail arm by winding the handle and don't make sure the line's tight that can get you into trouble in a cast or two's time.

After a few chucks, I was seriously spanking the Spider Wire last night, casting those little 35g Storm spoons as far as I could throw them with a whoosh of the rod. No tangles, no problems right from the word go.

This is one of the cheapest braids you can find at the moment - it's £19.99 for 300 yards. I'm going to get some of the stronger stuff for using bigger lures when I get round to it. I'll probably end up using the 30 or 50lbs for pike fishing, when I get round to that again.

Berkley Trilene Fluorocarbon

I've also invested in some fluorocarbon. You can get 50yds of 20lbs Berkley Trilene for a fiver from Veals - along with some far more expensive fluorocarbons.

This is the stuff which is meant to be invisible to fish because it has the same refractive index as water, whatever that means. I'm struck by the fish that turned away from the lure the other day and wonder if the leader spooked it.

It's around the same thickness as the 15lbs clear Amnesia I've been using, but I've read mixed reviews when it comes to knot strength.

Most bass bloggers seem to swear by it all the same, so I thought I'd give it a pop. It knots up nicely, forming a neat grinner first pull. Unless I encounter large numbers of suicidal bass this summer, I'll be surprised if I get through 50yds of it.

I've also invested in some smaller swivels to attach my leader to the main line. Genie Snood Swivels look like size 10s but they've got a BS of 45lbs, which should be more than adequate.

Once I've used it and - hopefully - caught a few on it, I'll let you know whether it's up to the job.

ABU Cardinal 504i reel review

 

VERDICT: What a lovely bit of kit. By the time I start pike fishing again, these will be on most of my lure rods...

Years ago, I used ABU Cardinals for a while - as in the green ones with a stern drag knob. Today's Cardinal has the same name, but it's a very different beast, which I'm hoping will double up as a reel for lure fishing for pike once I get bored with bass.

First impressions out of the box are it's a nice little reel, smooth but with that chunky ABU build that seduced plenty of pike anglers away from Mitchells before Shimano took the specimen world by storm with its first incarnations of the Baitrunner.

It comes with two machined brass spools, one deep, one shallow. I've loaded the latter with 20lbs Spiderwire Easy Braid, which I got 300yds of for £19.99 from Veals. The shallow spool takes around 100 yards of it after backing it with some 15lbs Amnesia I had lying around.

I can't see me losing that many lures by sacrificing strength for much finer diameter that should enable me to chuck them out a bit further than the 50lbs Powerpro I've been using.

I was quite looking forward to fishing with the ABU after resuming my bass fishing career with a pair of 12-year-old Baitrunners borrowed off my drain rods. You get a lot of reel for £70 these days. 

Its makers claim the Cardinal is "all water-protected". I don't bother with the wash your stuff every time you use it in the sea business, so this should help ensure its survival.

The bail arm snaps shut with a positive clack and the roller, um, rolls like it's meant to. The clutch on these is meant to be nice and smooth, but mine will be screwed up solid as I prefer back-winding when I need to give a fish some line.

The handle's robust and has a pair of generous-sized grips which feel like duplon. These grips are my one gripe, as they clack against the body of the handle as you retrieve, although it's the reassuring clack of metal on metal.

It might be built like the proverbial Volvo, but the makers are Chinese, not Swedish. And ABU is now a division of Pure Fishing, which in turn is a US-based subsidiary of something called the Jarden Corporation. The fact most of our kit now originates in the Far East is part and parcel of fishing these days.

+++Wow, wow, wow - what a great reel to fish with... I gave it a try off the beach tonight, loaded up with new braid, and it's a delight to use. After a few gentle chucks to check the line wasn't going to pull any nasties on me, I started giving it a bit more welly.

No tangles, despite fishing into a stiff-ish head wind. The line lay looks spot-on, the roller runs nicely as you retrieve and the reel feels as smooth as a Swiss watch. The grips sit comfortably between your thumb and forefinger. Chunky and easy to grip, even with wet hands.

++++This has lovely reel written all over it, after a few brief sea fishing sessions. I've given it no TLC whatsoever when I've returned from a trip, yet the roller's still going nicely and the braid's lying perfectly despite chucking different lures into a head wind.

I like the metal spools as well - not the usual one decent spool, one plastic spare which now seems to be par for the course when you actually get a spare spool with a reel these days.

What a lovely bit of kit. By the time I start pike fishing again, these will be on most of my lure rods.

Drennan Esox Spinflex lure rod review

My first impression was I liked the rod a lot, action-wise. It's light, crisp and tippy. What I don't like are the single-legged rings, which are a little on the flimsy side. I seem to end up bending at least one of them back to where it needs to be every other time I go fishing.

I understand why single-legged rings are fitted to rods - it makes them cheaper to produce. But when you're paying around £50 for a rod should that not mean the rings are at least up to the job..?

Beyond that gripe, I like the rod a lot. Regardless how the sea fishing goes this summer, it's going to be the rod I kick off my pike fishing with come the autumn. I like the slim blank, the well-built reel seat and the hybrid cork/duplon handle.

You barely notice it's in your hand - I'd probably notice it even less if I teamed it up with a lighter reel than one of the old Baitrunners I've blagged off my drain rods. It casts nicely - even when  you overload it's stated max recommended casting weight of 30g. I've pushed it to nearly 50g and it doesn't seem to care.

Not that I'm expecting to be using many 50g lures when I start pike fishing again. I'm undergoing quite a sea change on that front too, as I look to different tactics come the autumn. I'll need a couple of rods for this, so I've also invested in its sister ship, the Spincast.

This another nice rod to fish with, flimsy rings - again - aside. It's slightly lighter, with a full duplon handle. I've ended up with one of each, in 2lbs and 1.75lbs test curves respectively.

The Esox rods are priced between £45 and £55, depending whether you go for the 1.5, 1.75 or 2lbs test curve, while the Spinflex versions come in around a tenner cheaper. I was going to say reasonably-priced, but see above regarding the rings.

++Found a great reel to use on them - click here for review of ABU Cardinal...

Leeda, Snowbee, Daiwa lure box reviewed

These double-sized boxes are great, compared to some I've used. Lures sit in Y-shaped compartments with a keel slot for the hooks, which have drain holes. The idea is when you get home, you rinse the box under the tap and the water drains off via said holes.

I'm not sure how well this is likely to work in practice, as whichever way up you store it to dry, I can't see how all the water's going to drain off.  But lures in the box seem to dry out without hooks or split rings rusting if I stash it behind a radiator when I get home.

The catches lock nicely and the box has 14 compartments big enough for a single lure up to 14cms or a couple of Tobies, Dexters etc. They also seem immune to the problem of lure melt with soft plastics.

They cost around £8.99, depending which name they come under - my box had Leeda on it, but Snowbee and Daiwa both offer what appear to be identical boxes.

They reckon two of these will fit in the Snowbee Sling Bag - click here for review of that brilliant bit of kit.

Snowbee sling bag review

This is probably one of the best bits of gear I've bought in years. It's not the biggest of bags, but it  swallows up all the lures, end tackle and tools you need for a bass session and stays on your back while you're fishing.

Instead of impeding your arms like a rucksack, or continually slipping like a shoulder bag, the hybrid sling design means you can swing it out of the way until you need to get something out of it; when you just pop a clip and swing it round for easy access.

The main compartment has room for one of those double-sided lure boxes, plus a couple of mesh pockets which will accommodate a few bits and pieces. You could probably squeeze two lure boxes in at a pinch, but one's enough to carry several Rapalas, Thundersticks, Dexters and a few rubber sandeels.

When you open it with the bag slung around to your waist, you can get at the lure box and the interior compartments, meaning you can change lures without needing to take the bag off and put it down.

There's a zipped front compartment, with room for spare traces, scissors, spare hooks, clips etc; and a smaller mesh pocket for your sharpening stone.

It also has a pocket for a drinks bottle and a top compartment with room for a camera and a pastie or a couple of sausage rolls. There's also a slightly awkward flap with a velcro retaining tab you can keep your pliers to hand in.

I wondered if it might be big enough for pike fishing, but you'd struggle to get more unhooking tools, weigh sling, scales etc in. If Snowbee made a slightly larger version it would be a boon to freshwater lure anglers who walk and fish. Then again, I guess you could fit the extras in a bum bag.

Not cheap for £49.99, but I'd expect it to last a few summers. Hat tip Bass Lure Basics, whose review convinced me to buy one.

I'm also getting into the double-sided boxes Snowbee, Leeda and one or other firms now offer, where lures nestle in boat-shaped sections with a keel slot for the hooks.

They make much better use of the space available and also stop the lures tangling, like they do in other boxes when you cram two or three into a square compartment.

There are drying holes, but I'll still get the box out to open it out and let the air get to it after a sea fishing trip, along with rinsing any lures I've used under the tap before drying them out.

I was going to say they're (again...) not quite big enough for pike fishing, but I plan to use smaller lures and lighter gear this season after Ash showed us all the way home last winter, so it's bound to get pressed into service come the autumn.

Single hooks on lures

I've had a mess about with a few lures and re-rigged them with single hooks. Pluggin' Singles have big eyes, so you can fit them on a split ring. They're quite expensive, as in a Lady for eight hooks, but they're pin-sharp and have a tiny whisker barb.

Assuming I ever manage to actually catch any bass this summer, I plan to return most of them. So instead of a couple of trebles on my lures, I'm going to try singles on some of them, to see how they fare.

You can get them in sizes from #1 to 2/0 from Veals. I bought a pack of each size, but only the 1/0s and 2/0s look big enough to do the business.

Depending how they perform, I may keep them on a few lures when I start pike fishing again - I reckon two singles on a lure the size of a Rapala J13 or a single on a spoon would be a breeze to unhook. That's assuming they go in - and stay in - when you get a hit.

Sundridge Igloo Suit review - updated

The zip on the bib and brace half of the Sundridge suit I bought in autumn 2011 has finally gone for a burton. That means I've had almost two seasons' wear out of it, which I think is pretty good going bearing in mind it just gets slung in the study and left to fester when I get home.

I've had a lot more wear out of the top half, which rapidly became my every day coat and is still going strong. So all I need to replace is the B&B, which for £49.99 strikes me as a pretty good bargain if I get two years' worth out of the next one. Then again, I might go for the full shooting match and have a coat which doesn't smell of fish as well.

Despite its age and zip gone up the Suwannee, the rest of the B&B is still waterproof. The pockets are still attached, the knees and arse-end haven't worn through and it still keeps me warm.

You've got to take your hat off to Sundridge. Quality stuff that keeps you warm and dry whatever the weather throws your way. Click here for original review.

+++Footnote from  wife: 'Your gut split it, dinnit...?'

Grandeslam fleece suit review

I must admit, I never really took to the Grandeslam fleece suit I bought at the start of the season. The first time I clambered into it, the zip puller broke. This made answering the inevitable bankside call of nature a somewhat risky business and on one occasion an extremely painful one.

I couldn't stand still in it the first half a dozen times I wore it, thanks to a couple of itchy tags inside. Finally, as I wrestled with the zip to water the horses, it broke meaning I couldn 't zip it up.

Not the best £29.99 I ever spent. It kept me warm after a fashion, but most cheap onesies - or bunny suits, as northerners call them - do worn under a decent bib and brace.

For £34.99, I got a set of Nash ZT Second Skins today. They not only feel warm and airy, there's no zip to go wrong.

++Reviews on this blog are all compiled from personal opinions, having field tested the item concerned.

Iconic socks live up to their name

Iconic. As in Iconic Socks. If you're Eddie Turner and you bring out a 21st Century version of the Driftmaster pike rod, you can probably get away with calling it iconic. But iconic socks..?

Rewind a few weeks, when I went to a tackle shop to buy socks. When I asked the man behind the counter where he'd hid the Skeetex, he said: "H'int got none. They 'int making 'em any more."

Mourning the demise of your favourite toe rags might sound slightly sad - even for me. But before I got round to surfing the net to buy up any I could find online, I got a pair of these in Tesco. Every little helps. And blast me they're warm. They also don't appear to wear out as fast as Skeetex.

They were £6 in Tesco - but I've seen them cheaper since then in garages and got this pair for £3.50 in one of those discount shops that sell plastic tidy boxes, bulk rolling papers and lighters with pictures of Bob Marley or scantily-clad ladies.

I'm still not sure if they're iconic. But they don't half keep your feet warm.

Greys Prodigy Tip & Butt Protectors

Chef asked me if I'd ever broken a rod the other day. I don't know if this was a comment on my casting, as the tip bounced off a tree in mid-chuck.

It's probably a testament to how well made modern pike rods are that we don't break more of them heaving them in and out of the car or rattling around on the boat.

With a change to a smaller vehicle imminent, I'll have less space to cram everything into, so I'm stepping up the protection afforded to my eye-wateringly expensive collection of carbon fibre. I've seen one or two people using these tip and butt protectors from Greys.

They pass my usual maxim of if my mates can't break it, then it's probably a fairly durable bit of kit with flying colours. I liked them straight out of the packet, especially as they were £5.99 a pair from Harris.

The slimmer one fits snugly over the butt and tip of a rod once you reverse the sections and hold them together with a rod band above the reel to keep them secure and hold the trace clip. The thicker one will hold two rods if you use it to cover the male and female half of the spigot or overfit (if you have posher rods than me...).

One minor disappointment is the tip/butt half of the bundled up rod won't fit into the pocket of a Korda quiver with one of the protectors on. No big drama, as I don't always use a quiver.

They fasten securely with the Velcro strap and offer far more protection than using a rod band to keep the tip and butt sections together.

Gamakatsu G-Point trebles

Got some of these on impulse when I ordered a few packets of Owners to top up my rig bins. Got to say they're seriously, seriously sharp straight out of the packet, nice round bend pattern with a whisker barb.

My two slight reservations are that the barb's perhaps a bit too shy and the eyes seem a little bigger than the Owners I've been using for the last couple of seasons.  At £2.99 for five, they're in the same price bracket - I wonder why people who make premium hooks don't at least package them in even numbers, so you get enough to make two or three traces.

I can see me using these on smaller sea deads. When I get round to catching on them, I'll let you know how they fare. 

Your fish were tracked leaving Tamworth

I have a day off fishing to wait for the fish man. I get up early, in case the fish man is early. I'm hoping this is the case, fish being the highly-perishable commodity that they are. I wait in all morning for the fish man - or rather the representative of a large, international courier company that my bait supplier uses to deliver fish.

The doorbell rings just before 11am. I open it to find it's not the fish man. It's two Jehovah's witnesses - without any fish. I dig out the e-mail I received yesterday, with a tracking number I can use to ascertain the whereabouts of my fish.

My fish began their journey in Chelmsford, from where they then journeyed to the Midlands. After spending a couple of hours in Tamworth, my fish then set off for Norwich, from where they eventually set off on the final leg of the haul to chez moi. Shortly before 3.45pm, there is another ring on the doorbell. The fish man arrives at last.

Despite circumnavigating half the country, the fish are still frozen. Unpacking the box, they're well worth the wait. One reason I use Online Baits is they're still seriously cheap compared to their rivals. The stuff they sell is also first class. Click here for a review.

These boots are made for walking

I've worn these Salomons for getting on for a year now. They're a walking boot with an incredibly rugged sole and Goretex uppers. The sole seems to give a grip on all but the steepest banks. Steep banks being something you need to get a good grip on in the Fens.

They're not thermal and they're also not 100 per cent waterproof, meaning they're not for the coldest days when you're standing around not doing much and they're no use for standing in the water. But if you're on the move and just walking through wet grass, your feet won't get cold or wet as long as you marry them up with a decent thermal sock.

They're fiddly to do up when your fingers are cold. But once you lace them up and tie them off, they stay tied off. The lugs don't bend when you tighten the laces.

And the soles show no sign whatsoever of wear after a year's use, and while they feel a bit stiff and clumpy to start with, they're a breeze to walk in. 

The Discovery GTX is the nearest model you can get to the now discontinued model I've been wearing. They cost upwards of £100, but should last and last if the ones I've got are anything to go by.

You can also drive in them, unlike bulkier boots offered under the banner of a certain big name tackle company, which cost half as much but soon developed holes where they'd rubbed on the pedals in the car.

Korum five rod quiver review revisited

I might have been slightly hard on Korum, when I reviewed their five rod quiver. Having walked a long old way with it today, I'm starting to warm to it - despite what I thought were shortcomings when I first got my hands on it.

Bank stick pockets on the same side as the rods is still an issue. But not as big an issue if you're travelling light, without alarms. I didn't like the lack of flaps on the pockets either, to start with. But the shorter pocket, with a zip that travels two-thirds of the way down it, is tailor made for forceps, long-nosed pliers and hook cutters - as long as you don't tip the quiver upside-down, obviously.

When I lamented the lack of safety strap as a fail-safe to keep the rods in, I didn't realise how good the velcro bands at the top were. While I'm still a little wary of entrusting my beloved bean poles to them, I didn't notice the bottom pockets that hold the butt and tip ring - if you carry your rods tackled-up, with sections reversed - are padded.

Another plus point is the comfy and adjustable strap. You can easily move this and the carry handle from one side to another. I only had two rods in it today, plus net and four sticks, but you don't notice the weight when it's over your shoulder.

Click here for another take on the Korum five rod quiver from Dave Lumb.

Click here for a review of the Korum rucksack.

Korum five rod quiver reviewed

I was well impressed with the quality for under £30 - well up to Korum's usual standards. I also liked the idea of a quiver that can carry five rods - ie the usual four plus a lure rod. Other features look cool - the strap and handle can be fitted to either side, depending how you usually carry your gear on a yomp; the mesh net pocket (just in case I catch something before moving swims...) etc.

But there are one or two bugbears with this piece of kit. Slight niggles rather than sufficient to merit giving it a bum review, although you might bear them in mind as some might find them annoying.

The two pockets for banksticks don't have flaps. They're also on the same side of the body as the pockets/velcro straps that hold your rods. You might find this an issue if you mooch around with bite alarms screwed into your bank sticks, as they form a lump exactly under where you have a fairly limited amount of wriggle room when it comes to strapping in your rods.

I can see this causing me grief at some point. No worries, stick the bank sticks in the main compartment, as I never take a brolly fishing, let alone a shelter (whatever that is...). There's one problem with this , if your alarms have push button on/off switches. When they bang together knocking around loose in the main compartment, they're going to get switched on and start beeping.

One other niggle, albeit one that's easily cured. I don't know how reliable the velcro retaining straps are, but there's no safety strap that goes round the lot, like there is on a lot of quivers.

Apart from extra security, the added strap helps stop the rods twisting and flapping about. Easily cured by using a couple of bungee straps when I get round to finding a couple the right size.

Not a deal breaker, but maybe something Korum might look at when they produce the next model. In the meantime, this one's still better made than a lot of them.

+++Post script - I'm starting to warm to it after using it a couple of times linky...

++++Click here for review of the excellent Korum rucksack...

Korum rig clips could be useful for pike anglers

I rarely splash out on new rig bits, but I have a feeling these Korum clips I found in Hunstanton Tackle today are going to prove incredibly useful. 

They're meant for running rigs for carp and other species, but they have one unique attribute which will be of interest to pike anglers who move around a few waters during the course of a day - or fish waters which are apt to change, like tidal rivers or drains which can be standing one minute and pumping off the next.

The way they're made means that you can easily slip them on and off your line in a couple of seconds, without having to break everything down.

That means you could add a running lead to a rig if - for example - the three or four swan shots you pinched on your trace when you started off no longer hold the bait still when the wind gets up or the drain starts running off.

I can't claim to have discovered them. Hat tip to Dave Lumb for that, see here and here.

Amnesia mono for tying up lead links

Here's another useful bit of kit - as in a spool of Amnesia. This stuff's the dog's for tying lead links, because it's a bit thicker and more robust than normal monos for the same breaking strain.

But its real USP is the fact it's a whole lot stiffer, so it doesn't tangle half as much - meaning those tangles when the trace and lead link spin round each other on the retrieve, which can lead to a mess to sort out, or worse still, a kinked-up trace.

You can help stop these tangles with another simple little dodge - cut the tails off your deads before you mount them on your trace. This stops them spinning on the retrieve and also prevents the tails of things like mackerel tails, herrings etc masking the top hook when you tighten into a fish. Tiny detail, but well-worth trying.

Fox Trace Blades

Some of the best bits of pike fishing kit are the ones which you can just take for granted and forget about, because they never let you down.

I've used Fox Trace Blades since they first came out, because they're the best tool out there when it comes to cutting the trace wires I use for bait fishing.

I didn't realise quite how useful they were until I lost them and it took me a week to get round to buying another pair.

They now cost around a tenner, but when you bear in mind they don't seem to wear out and are just as good at cutting braid as they are at cutting wire, that's not exactly expensive.

Most people I know have a pair of these. As well as making traces and trimming knots, they're handy to keep in a pocket somewhere in case you have to cut a trace when you land a fish with a flying treble, or when the bottom hook is hanging out of the gill arch.

I have a couple of other Fox tools - a pair of their long-nosed pliers and a pair of their cutters. The pliers are sometimes better for unhooking fish, especially wheh you chin them or unhook them in the water over the side of a boat. The cutters come into their own when you need to cut a hook that's snagged in your net mesh; or sometimes when it's easier to cut a hook and remove it piece-meal, like when you get one in a pike's rakers.