Lineaeffa Braid Scissors
A good set of cutters, scissors, or snips are always a handy thing to have about your person for dealing with rig making, modifications, and tangles. Snippers that will cut braid as well as mono are especially useful but unfortunately the best ones are often quite expensive, and get ruined by corrosion, while the cheap ones either won’t cut or fall apart.The Lineaeffa Braid Scissors represent a good option as they are cheap enough to be deemed disposable and yet also cut braid brilliantly. In fact, they are stainless steel so should definitely last long enough to get your money back. They are quite traditionally-styled scissors with an overall length of 11cm so easily fit in your pocket or tackle box. The cutting blades themselves are serrated to make sure they grab slippery braid but also feature a notch in one blade to trap heavy nylon.
They are sold by a number of online outlets and expect to pay between £2.40 and £3.00 a pair.
Korda Carp Hooks
Anglers who like to experiment with different hooks could do worse than look at the carp world. A lot of thought has gone into the design of this genre of hook and they are all very strong for their size. The three hooks shown on the left are Korda “Kurv Shank” hooks. These are very popular with carp anglers as they are designed to flip and turn into the mouth but, as was seen in a feature two issues ago they, also work well for bream and bass when mounted on a loop.
Despite being designed for freshwater use they resist corrosion well owing to their PTFE coating. The point is extremely sharp with a micro-barb. For anyone who wants to try and more traditional looking hooks, those shown on the right are Korda “Wide Gape” hooks. These have a straight shank but have a beaked point. They too feature the needle-sharp point, micro-barb and PTFE coating.
Price is £4.25 for a packet of ten. Go to https://www.anglingdirect.co.ukfor more information.
Fiiish Minnows
These awesome soft plastic lures exploded on to the scene recently and with great effect transforming the lure scene. They come rigged and ready to fish and has proven deadly for all predatory game but most of all the Fiiish Minnow is an ultimate bass lure worked on a retrieve or with any sinking and drawing method.
Fiiish Minnows lures were used exclusively by the anglers fishing in the recent Barracuda World Tour Challenge (age 14). The innovative, weedless, system is the perfect combination of jig head, lure body, and hook. The head and the body of the lure are articulated which increases hook-ups and greatly enhances the action.
The hook system is designed specifically for the Black Minnow, these wide-gaped, extra strong hooks provide the perfect weedless presentation and balance.The extra-soft body of the Black Minnow gives the lure a uniquely lifelike and natural swimming action with lots of vibration. A range of highly realistic colours add to the lure’s proven attraction to all types of fish.
There are six types of Jig Head; Shallow, Shore, Off Shore (the type we used in France during the Challenge), Deep, Search (which sits flat on the bottom) and XDeep (an ultra-fast sinker offering stability at depth). They are not cheap, at £8.99 each but are certainly worth the outlay as they are one of most deadly soft plastics available. Also worth a try are the Fiiish Crazy Eels
Trabucco XTR Finger Guard
The use of fixed spool reels for general downtide and uptide fishing has been gaining popularity for a while. Those gains, partly fuelled by the increase in quality and strength of some of the reels available, has led to fixed spools being used in heavier angling situations than ever before.
When those situations also involve casting a fair chunk of lead away from the boat, many anglers have found out the hard way how damaging this can be to your casting finger. If its winter and you have gloves on perhaps you can get away without injury, but the real solution is a purpose made finger guard. The Trabucco XTR Finger Guard featured here is well and truly fit for purpose. Constructed from bright coloured neoprene, so it’s easy to find if you put it down, it also features an adjustable Velcro wrist strap to hold it in place. Finally, the face of the guard is constructed of a suede-like material to protect your finger.
One-size-fits-all and expect to pay around £5.99; this one came from Christchurch Angling Centre christchurchanglingcentre.co.uk/products/accessories/trabucco-xtr-finger-guard/
Berkley Portable Digital Fish Scales 50lb/23kg
Clever digital scales that can store up to 10 weights in memory. These scales are perfect for weighing fish up to 50lb/23kg.
They have an auto-off to extend battery life and a fully water-resistant construction. The digital display is exceptionally accurate in both kg and lb. A tare feature allows scales to be zeroed when loaded and the scales come with two CR2032 batteries included.
£22.99 from Rokmax.com
Daiwa Saltist Travel Spin Rod
As the travel season is well under way we’ve noticed a new Saltist travel rod is on the market from Daiwa includes a range of four suitcase-friendly spinning rods capable of casting a range of weights from 14g to 140g.
These are spinning rods and available in several sizes
- HVF (High Volume Fibre) carbon blank
- X45
- 3DX
- V-Joint
- Fuji ‘O’ Ring Guides
- Multi Section assembly for compact pack down
- Rubber Gimbal
- Complete with cover
Starts at £170 from www.Rokmax.com