Recently, I attended the ‘Go Fishing’ show at Cudmore Fishery in Staffordshire and met Nigel Harris and the staff of Rig Marole tackle. I always try to keep a keen eye out for products to review or which will enhance my own angling, and ‘Hydrolink’ certainly fits the bill in both cases.
As a keen carp angler, I’m well aware of the range of coated braided hook links currently on the market, and I’m also well aware of the limitations that some products have. A supple inner braid and stiff outer coating only lends itself to so many permutations before I start scratching my head looking for something new; I think I’ve found it!
Rig Marole have come up with ‘Hydrolink’, which has a stiff fluorocarbon inner and a flexible outer dyneema braid; the reverse of most modern materials used as hook links in present day carp angling. The material is supplied on a 20 metre spool and is available in a range of breaking strains and colours to suit any conditions or situation the angler may be presented with. I chose to look at the Black Camo rated at 25lbs.
The packaging for Rig Marole products consists of a striking ‘3 Carp’ logo (similar to England’s 3 Lions design) which makes their items instantly recognisable on the shelf. Each spool has the length, colour and breaking strain clearly identified so it is simple to select the correct ‘Hydrolink’ for your fishing. The Black Camo I got hold of is rated at 15lbs or 25lbs, whilst the standard finishes of grey, green or sand can be found in 10lbs, 15lbs, 20lbs and 25lbs breaking strains, so it’s obvious that it can be used in just about any context!
What makes it different to all the rest? Firstly, the cross section of the coated fluorocarbon is low enough to be able to tie rigs on smaller hooks which have a reduced diameter eye to allow subtle presentations when chasing rig shy carp. After spending some time with Nigel and his team who took time to demonstrate the options that ‘Hydrolink’ allows, it was easy to understand how combi, hinge, stiff and 360 rigs could be constructed with ease. The only limit seemed to be my imagination as the lads showed me how pushing the stiff inner through the flexible outer coating which meant that a shot could be pinched onto it off the line of a popped up bait to shift the weight transferred to the hook during to a pick up to make it much more effective. The inner can be doubled up then snipped to create a dinky stiff hinge rig, the fluorocarbon can be unsheathed then cut to leave the supple outer as a combi rig and all kinds of other tricks;- it really is only limited by what you can think of!
The other great thing about this stuff is it can be straightened, shaped or bent into shape just by finger pressure to construct ‘withy pool’ rigs or other sneaky arrangements and ensure the hook point catches properly to take fish. Smoothing the hook link under finger pressure means it’s almost guaranteed to lay completely flat on the lake bed and will not spook and wary carp; brilliant!
Overall, I’m impressed. It’s extremely competitively priced, well presented and does what it is supposed to. I’ve used it on my last few sessions, it has definitely given me a new starting point for my rig tying and successfully caught fish on days when no-one else has. It’s an innovative idea which I hadn’t seen before, (probably because like many carpers I’m blinkered when it comes to trying something new) and will form the mainstay of my attack over the coming months as I seek to find an edge in my fishing.
For more information, check out www.rigmarole.co.uk or contact Nigel Harris on 01473 742251. Please mention that you saw Rig marole on Anglers’ Net.
Clint Walker, 2010
HyrdroLink – is it your missing link?
