A plea concerning safe rigs

[grandad carpy]

Last weekend I was fortunate to catch one of our well known mirrors, not because it's a particularly large fish, but because at the time of capture it was trailing 3' of leadcore and a 3 ounce lead to a so-called safety clip.

Leadcore is banned on the water and if I find out who the culprit is, that person will get the sort of talking to normally reserved for noddy schoolkids. The point of this entry, however, is to appeal to all those who use safetyclips to think about the way they are incorporated into their end-rigs.

Despite the many times magazine articles have advocated the need to cut down the lead retaining leg to ease lead ejection, this is too often not done. Such was the case this time. I doubt that it would have made much difference however because the leadcore covering didn't allow any slippage of the tailrubber. Had leadcore not been used, and the lead not ejected, there would have been the possibility of the entire lead fixing system sliding off the line, except that it was locked in place by a spigot.

There is a purpose in the swivel spigot - under the right circumstances, but why are the lead retaining legs made so long when to do the intended job efficiently they need to be cut back?

Please think before you cast out.

[Tom]

It's a sticky! and im glad that other people feel the same way as me about this subject.

I personally cannot stand people that dont grasp the importance of fish-safe rigs, what people often fail to see is that it is in THEIR interests for rigs to be fish-safe as well as that of the fish. If you smash up then so what, you might lose a fiver worth of end tackle but if that saves a fish from becoming tethered by a lead then its money well wasted.