SINKERS AND LEADS The weight of the lead on your rig will not only bring stability and distance to your cast but also act as an anchor in holding your bait at your preferred position once in the water. Choose the weight of lead by what will give you just the right amount of control for your purpose.

There are many different types of lead weights and many different shapes dependant on your needs. Leads with grip wires are commonplace these days so as to dig into the seabed stopping your bait from drifting far from your original placement. These are often used in uptiding and sit quite firmly in the seabed. There are even those which are designed with a release action in response to the fisherman retrieving the line or the fish biting and these are called breakaway leads. When it is not necessary for the weight to stay put or it is preferable that it rolls gently along the seabed, there is the bomb (egg shaped) lead which is available in a number of different sizes. This is possibly the most common lead used.

For enhanced casting, the DCA Tournament Zoom (bullet shaped lead) or torpedo lead is excellent as a streamlined lead to cut through the air with as little wind resistance as possible. Some of these leads and a variety of others often have a longer tail to enable you to tuck the bait behind the lead whilst casting so that it falls within the dead air zone to streamline the entire rig gaining greater casting distance but also improving the bait presentation when it reaches the water.

Other leads which I find useful are spiral leads for ease of addition and removal without disturbing the rest of the rig and watch leads which are often used when seeking out flatfish on the seabed. The watch lead remains flat on the bottom but as it drifts it stirs up the sand slightly to attract the attention of the passing, inquisitive flatties!

BOOMS I remember the days of tangle after tangle when all that would solve the problem was just to cut it all off and start again. Well ok, tangles still happen but the advent of booms has definitely reduced that problem by providing a solid spacer between elements of the rig and a lot more control between branches of the rig whilst casting.

To give you a quick overview, the well recognised Ashpole boom is used mainly from the boat for spacing the lead weight and main line of the rig so that they do not tangle on their descent whilst spiralling through the water. The sliding booms are best used to replace the swivel attaching the lead to the main line in a running ledger rig. The Avis boom replaces the hook length swivel adjoining the main line providing a more rigid structure at this point and therefore avoiding tangles more readily. This boom still requires a crimp either side of it to trap it's position on the main line. French booms can be used for the same purpose and allow the fisherman to adjust the position of the hook length on the main line very easily. These booms come with either a triangular shaped body or an L shaped one and the latter are probably best applied to spacing the lead away from the main line as with the Ashpole. There are many variations on each of these popular booms so that you can tailor your rig more accurately to your requirements.

SWIVELS are also important in avoiding tangles. They are available as two way or three way swivels and allow each element or branch of line to swivel around freely without gradually winding itself up to look like your telephone cable!

The sizes of swivels are measured similarly to hooks. Swivels typically come in sizes 1 - 10 where 1 offers the greatest strength and 10 offers the least. For a swivel which can take greater weight than the size 1, the next step up is size 1/O, 2/O and so on where O stands for Ocean. Breaking strain ratings can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer so check before you buy but to give you an idea, approximate ratings are: size 10 - 40lb breaking strain, Size 8 - 60lb, Size 6 - 80lb and Size 4 - 110lb. Swivels also come in different formats, the main types are - barrel swivels (oval barrel centres with a coil effect between the barrel and the eyes), crane swivels (the same but with no coils between barrel and eyes), and rolling swivels (a cylindrical shaped centre with no coils either side) They then come with round eyes or diamond shaped eyes. They're all good swivels, it's really just down to your personal preference.

SNAP CLIPS or snap links certainly have their place in modern day fishing tackle allowing a quick change of elements of your rig, for example your weight or lure, without having to fiddle around with tiny split rings or tying and untying knots with cold fingers.

Anything which saves time fiddling with the equipment allowing more time for fishing!! There are a variety of different versions of snap clips but they all fulfill the same purpose and you can also buy some ready attached to a swivel.

Snap clips are yet another junction on your rig so be sure to select the correct size and strength of clip for your purpose. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done - different types of snap clips have different sizing systems and cannot be assumed to have universal breaking strain ratings for the corresponding sizes. Some snap clips rate from 10 upto 1 and then through 1/O, 2/O and so on just like hooks, whereas others start their size rating at 1 and count upwards to 10 where 1 is the smallest and 10 the largest. The best advice I can give you is to check with the retailer before you buy.

BEADS These act as a buffer between elements of your rig when protecting a sliding weight or other sliding items such as a swivel attached to a trace line.

They reduce the wear and tear of your equipment by preventing different pieces of the rig rubbing together and protect knots from being chaffed by other rig components which may otherwise cause them to fail or break. They can also be used to add colour and charm to your rig to improve attraction to the fish.

SPLIT RINGS Split rings provide incredibly subtle, versatile and strong junctions on your rig and some fishermen prefer to use them in place of swivels for added strength. They can also provide you with a quick changeover system by using a split ring at the end of your main line and a split ring at the top of your rigs, the rigs can be attached and interchanged quickly with your main line.

The measurement of split rings can be confusing. Sometimes they are measured in mm diameter, other times in a size rating as per hooks and another time in lbs breaking strain. Then just when you think you've got the hang of it some split rings measure breaking strain gradually increasing from size 1 upto size 10 and then others measure breaking strain gradually increasing from size 10 upto size 1 continuing through 1/O, 2/O and so on.

The best advice I can give you is to assume that the larger the diameter of the split ring, the greater the breaking strain but it is always best to check before you buy (either on the packet or ask the retailer) how the manufacturer has numbered and measured the split rings in relation to their breaking strain values.

Again, there are a few different variations on the split ring but which all fall into this category called things like fastlinks, easy links, special links, diamond links and so on. They work on the same principle but are bigger, elongated and frequently look more like a heavy duty paperclip. Some are specifically designed to be stronger versions of the split ring whereas others such as the Gemini Genie Link Clip are aimed at being a quick release link to your lead.

CRIMPS Used for trapping the beads, swivels or split rings which attach the trace lines to the main body of the rig so that they don't slide up and down and ultimately end in a tangle altogether at one end.

They give you control over the positions and spacing of each trace line along with any other elements of your rig. Crimps should be attached using a proper crimping tool and should only be crimped in the centre so as to just compress the line without flattening it. Don't compress it along the whole length of the crimp either as it will flatten the line over a longer distance than necessary leaving it weakened and likely to break. The exception to this is when using wire when it is actually best to crimp along the entire length of the crimp. Always select a crimp which is suitable for the diameter of line you are using.

BAIT CLIPS These are an effective way of improving streamlining for increased casting distance and at the same time improving the presentation of your bait in the water.

Bait clips hold your baited hook close in to your rig saving it from flapping about in the air as you cast. As the rig and baited hook hit the water, the impact triggers the bait clip to release the baited hook so that it is then free to resume it's normal position on the rig and fall freely in the water. There are a number of different versions of these available on the market, some are quite complex latch and release systems whereas others are just a basic upwards bend in the rig to hook your line over. They all seem pretty effective.

HOOKS

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