Korda rigs
Component parts and attention to detail in every Korda pre-tied rig are of the very highest quality. The mechanics of each rig meet exacting standards, and the rigs are used by Danny Fairbrass and the Korda team themselves.
Under the guiding influence of Danny Fairbrass and Damien Clarke, Korda has a deserved reputation for innovative carp fishing products.
The Essex firm’s Underwater DVDs enabled anglers to see exactly what their mainlines and rigs looked like under the surface. Feeding habits, bites and aborted takes from big carp could all be witnessed in anglers’ living rooms.
To the list you can also add the championing of PVA tactics, unique leads, bespoke hooks, and a raft of ‘must-have’ carpy accessories. Even in such exalted company, Korda’s latest ready-tied rigs are quite exceptional.
Every aspect of the mechanics is perfectly executed. I’ve viewed all the variations under a magnifying camera lens, and the closer I looked, the better they became.
With superbly compressed knotless knots, millimetre-perfect loops around swivels, ideal length hairs, correctly placed kickers, and seamless, identical stripping lengths of coated braids, they render home-tied rigs pretty much obsolete.
KORDA MULTI RIG
This, the most versatile big-carp rig there is, allows the hook to be changed in a jiffy. It is most often used with pop-up and wafter hookbaits. The rig is constructed from Korda Kamo coated braid, the colours of which blend in over most lakebeds. The Krank Choddy hook boasts a wide gape and sweeping shank. Available in sizes 4, 6 and 8, barbed or barbless.
Price: £1.99
DF CARP RIG
Carp god Danny Fairbrass’s favourite all-time rig. With quality Korda Soft N-Trap 15lb coated braid and a super-sharp Wide Gape hook, the rig’s aggressively curved inward-facing shrink tube turns the hook into the fish’s mouth. Ideal for bottom baits, snowman set-ups and popped-up plastics, the moveable rig ring allows for natural movement and stops the bait being blown back over the hookpoint. In barbed or barbless, in sizes 10, 8 and 6.
Price: £1.99
CARP RIG
THIS ‘take it anywhere’ rig can be used for fish of all sizes from most venues. The Wide Gape hook’s efficiency is enhanced by a short length of shrink tube, and a small piece of silicon tubing on the hook shank ensures the hair exits at the optimum point. The rig is tied using Korda’s latest Dark Matter sinking braid in 15lb and 20lb versions, and finished with a size 8 swivel attached loop style, so it can be used with any quick change swivel. In barbed and barbless versions, sizes 10, 8, 4 and 6 hooks.
Price: £1.99
HINGE RIG
There’s no better big-fish rig out there. It’s all but impossible to tangle, even at extreme range, as the stiff element of the rig kicks the hookbait away from the lead on the cast to give perfect presentation. Constructed using 20lb IQ2 fluorocarbon and 20lb or 25lb Mouth Trap line tied to Korda Choddy hooks, the hook section is beautifully curved to allow the hook to spin into prime hooking position every time a fish mouths the bait. In sizes 4, 6 and 6.
Price: £2.49
IQ D-RIG
This superb clear-water rig took a prized fish from the Linear complex during filming of Korda’s Underwater Part 7 DVD. The 12lb IQ Extra Soft Fluorocarbon gives near-invisible bait presentation, and natural movement is achieved via a long D-style loop and tiny bait swivel. Ideal for balanced bottom baits such as wafters, and slow-sinking plastics that hover just above the hook, the rig is well suited to small PVA bag work. You get free Korda Extenda stops too. Sizes 8, 6 and 4.
Price: £1.99
Fox Royale Tri sleeve
PAY AROUND
£64.99
The new Fox Royale holdalls are available in two lengths – 12ft or 13ft – and will each hold three rigged-up carp rods. Their specially sculpted design enables them to be used with rods fitted with 50mm butt guides, and Big Pit reels. Features include stiffened EVA grab handles and an external storage pocket with enough capacity to house a landing net plus several banksticks. They also have reversible, padded shoulder straps, and are made from a robust hard wearing, wipe clean, treated denier polyester material.
Avid Outline Fluorocarbon Leader
PAY AROUND
£9.99
Fluorocarbon can be quite conspicuous when it’s off the lakebed, but the algae-tinted two-tone construction of these leaders makes them very hard for fish to spot at all levels in the water column.
New Avid Outline Fluorocarbon is indeed a very special leader or hooklink material. It combines supreme sinking qualities with new levels of invisibility, with great knot strength and abrasion-resistance.
On 50m spools in 18lb (0.35mm), 20lb (0.38mm) and 25lb (0.41mm).
Avid Carp Outline reel line
PAY AROUND
£19.99
Due for release this week, Outline reel line from Avid Carp is sure to prove a big hit with bivvy-dwellers.
The outline of the two-tone reel line breaks up underwater, making it harder for the carp to detect than standard mono.
Its clear finish is combined with an algae-coloured tint to offer new levels of invisibility. The material itself has excellent knot strength but remains smooth for casting.
Its abrasion-resistant qualities marry beautifully with its slightly absorbent nature, making it fast sinking and ideal for all modern carp fishing tactics.
On 1,000m spools in 12lb (0.32mm), 15lb (0.35mm), 18lb (0.37mm) and 20lb (0.40mm).
Drennan Margin Crystal floats
PAY AROUND
£1.85
These new Drennan Margin Crystal floats look nailed on to become the best-selling patterns of the year.
They are the product of Drennan’s unique precision blow-moulding technology, and are built to the same exacting specifications as the award-winning Drennan Crystal Dibbers and In-Line Crystal Dibbers.
The 2.5mm diameter hollow Glow Tips make the antennae extremely visible, and they work exceptionally well for fishing in the margins, along the far bank of snake lakes and islands, or shallow up in the water.
Their transparent polymer bodies ensure the float is inconspicuous to wary fish. Incidentally, these bodies are produced on machines specially designed and modified to blow-mould on this miniature scale.
A thick 1mm glass stem offers strength and stability, while a double-wound spring side eye protects the line and cannot be ripped out from the body like a traditionally fitted side eye.
The floats come in four sizes from 0.2g up to 0.5g, allowing them to cover depths up to 6ft.
The highly visible Glow Tip is available in red or yellow, and is of sufficient diameter to support heavier hookbaits such as sweetcorn, pellets and worms.
VERDICT
Having used the 0.3g size last weekend on a snake lake, I can vouch for the toughness of these floats. Fished tight up against the far bank, my Drennan Margin Crystal got dragged backwards through weeds and reed stems by upwards of 40lb of hard-fighting fish. Then it was propelled forwards at ‘elastic-powered pace’ through water, grass stems and a hand- towel, before finally coming to rest nicely tangled around my pole-tip when I got a little too close into the far bank and found myself hooked up to it.
However, not a scratch or blemish could be seen when I wrapped the rig around the winder, and this was after five hours of abuse. Any reservations I may have originally had about the float flipping back over the line while shipping out proved completely unfounded too.
Nash Webcast Ultra Weave
PAY AROUND
Webcast Ultra Weave £8.49 (4m)
Other items from £2.49
Choosing the right type, size and breakdown rate of PVA mesh or solid bags can be crucial to success. Now Nash has made such choices very easy with its comprehensive new selection of PVA products.
The new Webcast range features Ultra Weave, ideal for maggots, and its slow meltdown rate allows it to be used in deeper water, or to be pulled back into the perfect position after the cast.
Preston Innovations bait bowls
PAY AROUND
Small £6.99
Medium £7.99
Large £8.99
Mixing groundbait has never been easier with these three new bait bowls from Preston Innovations. The hard-wearing vessels feature a stiff top ring to remain rigid in use, while collapsible sides make for easy storage and transportation.
They are made from a wipe-clean waterproof material for easy cleaning, and capacities are five, 10 and 20 litre.
Sunnycam Carpcam sunglasses
PAY AROUND
£129.99
Ever wanted to film yourself catching a fish, but didn’t want to lug a camera and tripod around? Then these new Carpcam sunglasses from Sunnycam should solve the problem. Ideal for Facebook or YouTube clips, the polarised glasses – with enough battery life for an hour of uninterrupted filming – are fitted with a good quality wide-angle video camera between the lenses. Basically it looks everywhere that you do.
Image stabilisation ensures that good quality images are just a click away. The glasses come with a Micro USB charging cable, dark polarised and clear lenses, carry case, retaining cord and cleaning cloth. Visit www.carpcam.co.uk
Preston Innovations Leger Weights
Preston has released several new additions to its leger weight range. The Flat Pear is ideal for fishing marginal slopes, as well as rivers, while the Distance Bomb has the classic streamlined ‘Arlesey’ shape to optimise casting distance. Finally, the Match Cube is great for casting tight to islands.
Sizes 15g, 20g, 30g and 45g.
Price: £1.99 per pack
Preston Innovations Monster 3+3 rod holdall
This latest Monster rod holdall is ideal for carrying longer rods up to 12ft. There are two models available - 170cm and 190cm (shown) - both of which feature a generous additional side pocket for storing and transporting extra kit such as feeder arms, landing net handles and even an umbrella. There is also a tip tube pocket, internal rod locators and padded reel separators.
Price: £109.99 (190cm) & £99.99 (170cm)
Preston Innovations Pro Flat Rollers
This winter’s relentless high winds have been responsible for an abnormally high number of broken pole sections, many of which came as result of collapsing pole rollers.
If you’re unsure about the sturdiness of your roller, take a look at these three latest patterns from Preston Innovations. In single and double-shipping designs, The Pro Flat Rollers feature super stable telescopic legs, indented fixed uprights, double spirit levels, and a robust carabiner hook to add stabilising weights. The rollers also have a special lay-flat design that enables them to be placed ‘rock steady’ on the ground with their legs folded away – ideal when shipping up high banks.
Price: From £64.99
Wychwood Tactical Stove
All carp anglers love a bargain, and this new Tactical stove from Wychwood looks like being one of the steals of the season. Weighing in at just 231g, the gas burning stove features a very neat space-saving design, which not only provides a stable footprint with a low centre of gravity, it also folds down to less than 9cm in diameter, making it possible to carry inside a Wychwood Carpers kettle.
Made from high-grade aluminium and stainless steel, the stove’s special features include a preheater tube to improve combustion, and reduce spitting. There’s also a flexible 35cm hose, and it boiled a kettle in about two minutes, perfect for a quick brew between runs!
Frenzee 1624 and 1420 hooks
Welsh-based match tackle brand Frenzee has just released these two new hook patterns aimed at commercial fishery anglers.
Both come in eyed and spade-end styles, with the 1420 ideal for use with many types of bait including pellet, meat and maggots. The wide gape, super sharp barbless is an all-rounder constructed using a medium gauge wire and can be used with hooklengths up to 0.20mm diameter.
The heavier 1624 pattern is a much stronger hook, and constructed using a thicker wire gauge, making it ideal for margin fishing when confidence is key. The super wide-gape hook is suitable for a variety of large baits such as paste, bread and small boilies, as well as multiple particle offerings. A true bagging hook that will not let you down.
Price: £1.25 per pack of 10
Avid Day Session Kit
Avid’s super-smart Day Session Kit has everything the short-stay carp angler requires in the luggage department.
The light, compact combination includes a carp ruckbag, a two-rod sling for blanks with up to 50mm butt guides, and a lightweight day chair weighing just 3kg that attaches via clips to the bag.
The ruckbag itself features two large outer pockets that are size-compatible with all the latest Avid Tuned boxes, pouches and bags.
Price: £89.99
RW Floats
RW Floats are handmade patterns tailored to carp, F1s and silverfish on stillwaters. Pictured are five of the most popular patterns.
The Dink is the slim blue float with a 1.5mm hollow tip and a wire stem, designed for fishing pellets for small carp and F1s. A finer F1 Dink has a black body.
The Maggie (white body) has a carbon stem for fishing maggots, and the Muddie is the short float with a thick 2mm tip for fishing in shallow water in the warmer months.
The Shallow Slim is the small float with the carbon stem. Buy them at www.rwfloats.co.uk
Price: £2.20 each
Fox Multi Chod and Zig Bin
Fox’s Multi Chod and Zig Bin comes with six rig discs in three sizes. The smaller ones are ideal for chods, while the largest take zig rigs. You can measure rig length, as two wrap-arounds equal one foot.
The discs sit on a main shaft, and extras are available so you can customise the bin to your needs. A starter kit of 18 rig pins is included.
Price: £9 Spare discs: £2.99
Guru Inline Plummets
Guru’s new Inline Plummets come in 10g, 20g and 30g weights, and with the line passing through the centre, anglers can find the depth to within a millimetre.
The unique shape protects the line from snagging, and the tough body features a soft, orange latex section to stick the hook into. The absence of a full cork or foam cylinder is said to give lots more ‘feel’ over various substrates. In packs of three.
Price: £3.75
Gardner GT-HD mainline
Gardner has a great reputation for producing durable mainlines and this latest offering only enhances it. GT-HD is a low-stretch mono that offers improved feel and connection with fish, while also remaining supple and fast-sinking.
GT-HD casts very well and has that trademark Gardner toughness. The low-visibility colour is just right and it’s exclusively manufactured for Gardner so you won’t see this line anywhere else.
It’s available in 12lb (0.33mm diameter), 15lb (0.35mm) and 18lb breaking strains in 4oz bulk spools.
Nash Indulgence Lumbar Support range
Indulgence Daddy Long Legs LS: £131.99
Indulgence Big Daddy LS: £142.99
Indulgence Recliner LS: £109.99
Indulgence Recliner Big Daddy LS: £126.99
Fresh for 2016, Nash has launched a range luxury chairs with a neat device to keep you sitting comfortably.
A flexible sprung-steel mesh slides into the backrest of these chairs to mould to your back to keep you relaxed and supported.
As Nash’s Alan Blair explained: “If you buy any new office chair or look at any new car, they all feature some sort of adjustable lumbar support for individual comfort. It was natural to build that feature into our top-of-the-range chairs.
“Anglers spend more time than most people sitting down, and sitting with correct posture really makes a difference to how long people can fish comfortably.”
Nash has really perfected its beds and chairs in recent years and the feel and look of these new chairs screams quality. The Indulgence Daddy Long Legs LS and the Indulgence Big Daddy LS both have a raised seating position and armrests to help older and less-mobile anglers ease in and out of the chairs.
The Indulgence Recliner LS and its Big Daddy version are more low slung to sit under brollies and shelters.
Stanley Vacuum Flasks
The famous Stanley brand has just added three new flasks to an impressive product range.
The classic twin-walled vacuum mug features a dishwasher-proof push-button lid that lets you open it one-handed. The 14oz Adventure vacuum food jar looks ideal for soups and stews, and will keep your meal piping hot for up to eight hours, while the Adventure steel canteen holds 1.1 litres of water or squash, has two-stage lid opening for quick filling, and boasts an adjustable nylon carry strap.