For over ten years, I’ve been using normal clip on backleads if I’ve needed to ensure my line or rig is concealed down on the lake bed as much as possible. I had used flying backleads, many, many, years ago, but could not get on with them to be honest; they caused abrasion to my mainline and had to be kept in situ after use, and so it was a real pain breaking down and setting up gear.
Therefore, I’ve never gone back to them, despite the fact I know they’ve moved on considerably in recent years. However, last year, whilst fishing a very snaggy water, I had to look at new ways to conceal my tackle without losing it!
The water is question was originally built as a stone-lined trout pool. As such, I don’t think they gave much thought to legers at the time and so, twenty-odd years on, there are a few snags around the margins, right where you’d be sliding a back lead down to.
The problem is, the water is gin clear and the carp spook really easily if they see lines cutting through the water, so you really need to get them down on the deck. As a result, I decided to revisit flying backleads to see if I could get around the problem.
My requirements were that I had to be able to get them on and off easily, and that they should cause no abrasion whatsoever to the mainline. I scoured the web for options and after checking out all those available, decided to go with the Korda Flying Backleads.
I’ve been using them to great effect for about six months now, and I can happily report I’ve not been snagged once. The leads are really easy to use; you just slip the plastic insert on to your line so it sits inside the tube, then do the same with the weight just above it, before twisting the weight and bringing it down over the insert so that it’s can’t come off. Dead simple, and very easy to use.
I’ve not noticed any wear on my mainline, and they cast out really nicely to drop the line just where I need it. I’ve been fishing a few tricky swims during my time on the water (in terms of access) and if I had to keep adding a traditional backlead manually, it would have been a bit of a mare to be honest, so again, the fact that the flying backleads stay on each time I reel in and cast out makes fishing these tight swims much easier.
The flying backleads come in packs of three and are available in three weights; light, medium and heavy.
Available from Korda stockists or CLICK HERE to view them online.
Julian Grattidge
January 2013
