Stiff hook links

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Barbelman

New member
Guys, I am really sorry for all my questions, but sometimes, after reading a lot, there is always a question remaining.

There are people that swear by soft short hook links, and others swear by stiff fluorocarbon hook links. Both catches fish, that is a given. But which is really the best;)

What bothers me about stiff fluorocarbon hook links is that when a fish suck in the bait, at a particular angle, will the stiff fluorocarbon not prevent the bait and hook from being properly sucked in?

I would like to use a fluorocarbon hook link on one rod, but do not want to waste my time. Will I?
 
H

HennieB

Sealiner
I rarely use fluoro for hooklinks as they get quite brittle after some use. If I use fluoro it'll only be for the D-rig but something like Korda Hybrid works way better.

As for soft hooklink that depends if you're referring to stripped coated hooklink or plain uncoated hooklink? I don't use uncoated hooklink at all because it tangles especially when casting.

One thing I've learned in my time fishing it's best just to stick to the basics and keep it simple.
 
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EugeneC

Sealiner
Barbelman, don't get too caught up in the many different opinions on rigs. The vast majority of the rigs you'll read about online and in carp magazines were designed for UK waters, where you have extreme angling pressure and the carp wise up to anglers' tactics. In SA we don't have that problem and consequently you'd be best served keeping it simple as HennieB mentioned.

My personal suggestion is get a good quality coated hooklink, like Kryston Mantis for example, strip the last 1cm or 2cm before the hook and off you go. It won't tangle on the cast (provided you always hit the clip), it's abrasion resistant and it's a straightforward way to achieve a basic combi-link.
 
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Barbelman

New member
EugeneC wrote:
Barbelman, don't get too caught up in the many different opinions on rigs. The vast majority of the rigs you'll read about online and in carp magazines were designed for UK waters, where you have extreme angling pressure and the carp wise up to anglers' tactics. In SA we don't have that problem and consequently you'd be best served keeping it simple as HennieB mentioned.

My personal suggestion is get a good quality coated hooklink, like Kryston Mantis for example, strip the last 1cm or 2cm before the hook and off you go. It won't tangle on the cast (provided you always hit the clip), it's abrasion resistant and it's a straightforward way to achieve a basic combi-link.
Click to expand...

I have some Suffix Cameleon. seems like great coated braid. I just thought why use fluorocarbon for mainline, but use something else where the fish is feeding. What is then the point of using fluorocarbon at all?
 
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EugeneC

Sealiner
Never fished with Sufix Kameleon, but Sufix is a good brand, so I would imagine it's a decent hooklink. When it comes to mainlines in general there are probably as many opinions as anglers, so I can only comment on what's worked for me.

I used fluorocarbon for one season in the salt and decided it's not for me. I don't believe it made any difference to my catch rate at all and I think it's over priced. That's my personal opinion on the matter.

In carp fishing, I switched to braid a couple of seasons back, but before that I used Awa-Shima Camo Quattro as mainline for all my carp fishing and had great results with it. I've always used coated braid hooklink materials for all my rigs, except for the rare occasions where I let myself get caught up in all the different rigs that people like to get confused with. Again, it's always worked very well for me.

To me the order of importance in catching big carp is as follows:

location
location
location
feature finding
bait
sharp hooks
good bait presentation
good bite indication (more complicated and a lot more important that most anglers even realise)
terminal tackle
freshly brewed tea :)
nice kit (tackle tart at heart;))

Hooklink doesn't feature for me, because I only use Kryston, so I don't even give it a second thought and likewise my mainline.

But that's just me, the beauty of fishing is there are so many ways to succeed.
 
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Barbelman

New member
EugeneC wrote:
Never fished with Sufix Kameleon, but Sufix is a good brand, so I would imagine it's a decent hooklink. When it comes to mainlines in general there are probably as many opinions as anglers, so I can only comment on what's worked for me.

I used fluorocarbon for one season in the salt and decided it's not for me. I don't believe it made any difference to my catch rate at all and I think it's over priced. That's my personal opinion on the matter.

In carp fishing, I switched to braid a couple of seasons back, but before that I used Awa-Shima Camo Quattro as mainline for all my carp fishing and had great results with it. I've always used coated braid hooklink materials for all my rigs, except for the rare occasions where I let myself get caught up in all the different rigs that people like to get confused with. Again, it's always worked very well for me.

To me the order of importance in catching big carp is as follows:

location
location
location
feature finding
bait
sharp hooks
good bait presentation
good bite indication (more complicated and a lot more important that most anglers even realise)
terminal tackle
freshly brewed tea :)
nice kit (tackle tart at heart;))

Hooklink doesn't feature for me, because I only use Kryston, so I don't even give it a second thought and likewise my mainline.

But that's just me, the beauty of fishing is there are so many ways to succeed.
Click to expand...


The most important part, ie location I can do nothing about. I fish at a private spot so I cannot search for the best spot:)
I am sorry, but when fishing, I prefer something with a bit more oomph than tea_seal1_
 
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TimJan

Sealiner
Just remember like EugeneC said.

The worst rig on earth with pretty bad bait in the perfect spot will catch you a fish.

But the best rig, best bait on the wrong spot wont get you a bite.

And the perfect spot today isn't always the perfect spot tomorrow
 
B

Barbelman

New member
TimJan wrote:
Just remember like EugeneC said.

The worst rig on earth with pretty bad bait in the perfect spot will catch you a fish.

But the best rig, best bait on the wrong spot wont get you a bite.

And the perfect spot today isn't always the perfect spot tomorrow
Click to expand...

I have never caught a fish with bad baits;) My personal experience is that when I cast two rods at the same spot, I get fish with only the rod that had sweetcorn on, but the rod that had say banana mielies on, did not even got a pull. Switch to sweetcorn, and it runs. But that is not a test I do a lot, I always use only my preferred baits. But I totally agree, you can only get bites if there are fish. no matter how good you think your baits are.
 
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TimJan

Sealiner
If you want to do some reading go to
http://www.fishingowl.co.za/Korda%20book/korda1.html

It give you the basics and is guided for UK fishing but you will learn a bit.

Later
 
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EugeneC

Sealiner
Maize has always been one of the top baits for carp, it works pretty much anywhere. Only problem is it's not that easy to make a big bait out of it, so if there's lots of small fish around it can be annoying.
 
B

Barbelman

New member
Well, yesterday I was fortunate enough to get leave and went fishing. Stiff Fluorocarbon hook links did not work for me.
Two good bites, no fish on the shore.
My other rod with braid hook links was the only rod that caught fish.
Not saying its not good, but its not working for me:)
 
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BIKS

New member
Good Day All ,

I got myself some KKarp Hook links on special from solomons.

The material of the hoolinks has a white strand in and stands out , Ive read the latest Carp Angler and they use permanent markers to color in the hooklink material to make it more camouflaged.

Doesn't the smell of the marker deter the fish from picking up the bait?
 
M

mrcricket

Member
BIKS wrote:
Good Day All ,

I got myself some KKarp Hook links on special from solomons.

The material of the hoolinks has a white strand in and stands out , Ive read the latest Carp Angler and they use permanent markers to color in the hooklink material to make it more camouflaged.

Doesn't the smell of the marker deter the fish from picking up the bait?
Click to expand...

The solvents used have long evaporated,but if you're as careful as I am,just stain the exposed hooklinks with some tungsten putty after you've warmed the putty up a bit in your hands.it gets quite sticky.
Some of the tricks I've seen is staining it with food coloring.How long that stays on,I am not sure.Others I've seen using mud of the particular lake you'll be fishing and rub some on the exposed hooklink and wash the excess off.
 
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