Hook line and sinker

To tie or to buy your hook links, that is the question.

Well one of the questions for carppuzzle this week. The other being how long should your hook link be, and does a ready tied link put you at a disadvantage – okay that’s two questions.

Various companies offer ready tied rigs – Korda, ESP, Fox, Prologic, Gardner and entering the market most recently [Oct 2016] was Vardis, all using a variety of materials and hook patterns to cater for every carpy scenario.

Or do they?

Looking at what’s on offer, one thing that strikes me why are they all generally 7 to 9 inches long (I am not included Chod and PVA bag links here)? Is that the industry consensus from years of field testing or is it that at that length they conveniently fit into the respective companies rig box?

[Inset your own money making conspiracy theory here.]

I can see the convenience but where do you go to if you are heading for a blank? Different presentation, yes possible, but still the same length? This doesn’t seem like a great alternative.

Reading various articles link lengths vary between 4 to 14 inches. It seems anything goes, so why do manufacturers think 7 – 9 inches are the magic numbers?

As a novice I like to tie my own, from a simple KD to Hinge Stiff rigs and Combi’s – that’s part of the challenge, right? Plus altering the length of the hair and link itself can make or break a session.

Also I think mixing up the manufacturers of the different components is more cost effective, and allows you to cherry pick the best components for your desired presentation.

For example: I use Korda hooks, Gardner braid and BankTackle hardware (swivels etc).

And one last thought; I don’t understand the fashion for having a full rig board for a session. One or two maybe to get started but after that the tweaking should begin if the carp are getting away with it.

So my answer to this weeks carppuzzle is: tie your own as I do; a couple each for maybe three different bait presentations; and the length?

SEVEN inches of course! Just the right size to fit in the rig board!

Tight lines.