Fishing Accessories
The trend with rig accessories has changed over recent years. Most anglers have seen underwater footage of carp either ignoring or picking up hook baits. This has pushed tackle companies to study how to end tackle more closely and baited hooks behave in the water, considering this when designing their carp and coarse fishing terminal gear.
The massive amount of underwater fishing videos on TV and the Internet show anglers fine-tuning their terminal tackle setups to catch more fish. In addition, they visualise what happens when various species pick up fishing bait underwater, in combination with different rig setups.
This new way of thinking has led tackle companies to look more closely at design and colour, considering whether fish can see terminal tackle items. As a result, packaging used by tackle companies has advanced greatly, with a much better level of instructions concerning how the contents work.
You can break the sport into several areas in freshwater fishing. These include carp, coarse, specialist and predator. Anglers in all these categories meticulously study the terminal tackle they buy and how it performs in water, be it float, feeder or leger gear.
Sharpening techniques and surface finish in the production of fishing hooks have evolved considerably. Teflon coating has been revolutionary in stopping barbless or barbed patterns from blunting prematurely or rusting up after coming into contact with water. Another massive shift has seen many anglers prefer eyed hook designs over spade end models, particularly when using hair rigs.
Sponsored anglers on social media often explain the best hook patterns based on the presented bait and targeted species. For example, some baits require a wide gape hook and others a narrower crystal bend shape for the best presentation.
Hooks
When pursuing carp, most anglers in the UK use hooks in the region of size 6s to 8s. However, because the fish tend to be bigger in Europe, size 2 to 4 carp hooks are the norm. Therefore, you need to match hook sizes to the size of fish you hope to catch, along with bait size. Again, baits used in Europe are different and tend to be larger, significantly affecting hook sizes.
Lines
The fishing lines available to anglers vary dramatically based on the species and size of fish they are needed for. If you are coarse fishing for small fish, you will require monofilament reel lines between 4lb and 6lb, which in many cases, are still strong enough to land anything big. For carp, you will need stronger reel lines between 8lb and 15lb, based on the water you are fishing and the fish you expect to catch. If you are a specialist in fishing, the best barbel lines we can suggest are Korda Kontour 12lb or Nash Bullet 12lb. For catfish, we recommend Black Cat S-Line with a breaking strain of 154lb and a diameter of 0.55mm because traditional monofilament lines are not suited for this species.
The team at Carp.com have researched all the best items to help you save time when buying the latest fishing rig accessories. We have over 1,500 items from all the leading brands, such as Korda, Nash and Guru…to name just a few of the top terminal tackle brands we stock in our ranges. Our product guide on accessories aims to help you find the perfect tackle to help you land more fish. It also promotes fish safety. The ethos at Carp.com is to protect fish, so anglers can enjoy catching them for many years to come.
Rig Tubing
Rig tubing has been used for over 30 years to protect the leading end of the main line from damage. Due to changing trends in many fisheries, anglers are not allowed to use shock leaders due to fish safety issues, so rig tubing has become even more popular.
Rig Tubing has evolved over the last few years, being available in numerous colours to help it blend in with the terrain it's being fished over. In addition, there has been a shift in anglers using tungsten tubing, which lies flat on the bottom. Nash and Korda market these popular products, now available in silt, gravel or a weed finish. Brown colours for rig tubing are similar because they blend in with the bottom on most venues. There is a wide range of choices in this important area. All can be found if you study the Carp.com website.
Baiting Needles and Baiting Needle Sets
Baiting needles come in various designs, from closed gates to simple threader types. After hard offerings like boilies and pellets are drilled, they pull baits onto hair rigs. A bait stop holds everything in place. Baiting needles are now a must-have item in your tackle box, whether carp, coarse or predator fishing.
Heat Shrink Tubing
Heat Shrink Tubing is used in constructing many fishing rigs, helping hooks to be positioned at better angles, increasing your chances of them holding and keeping good contact when fish take bait. The hook angle is critical in fishing because if it's wrong, it will fall out of the fish's mouth at a crucial stage.
Presentation of your rig underwater is extremely important. Shrink tubing allows you to construct or buy superior rig setups. You can also change your rig presentation by heating up shrink tubing with steam from a kettle. Once it cools, the exact position you create is retained. In addition, shrink tubing allows you to have hooks at aggressive angles if required.
Most Shrink tubing can be bought in brown, green, black or clear, choosing 1.6mm or 2.4mm diameters. 2.4mm is ideal for Ronnie Rigs, allowing you to include a swivel.
Swivels
Swivels are good for connecting two lines, providing better strength than normal knots and helping prevent rigs from twisting up while in use. This reduces the chances of line twist and tangling or main lines from wrapping back around the rod tip.
There are many sizes of fishing swivels available. In carp, coarse and predator fishing, most-used sizes are fairly small 6s and 8s. Many swivels used in the fishing state their strength factor so as not to overload them by using too strong lines. Excluding catfish rigs, most swivels are perfect for general fishing. Many coarse anglers use micro swivels to attach their hook lengths, which stops them from spinning up and pig-tailing