Thoughts on Hook Links

[@paulbryan1094]

So sad to hear that Jim Baxter has passed. He left us with some great books. Both excellent reads, particularly for me,The Rising Antenna. I shall raise a glass to him this evening.

[@philiplancaster9682]

I only had the opportunity to meet Jim and his wife recently. He was an absolute gentleman, knowledgeable, enthusiastic and willing to pass on his great experience to others via his books. Like all great anglers he will not be forgotten his books will hold testimony to that. His wife also assisted in compiling information for his books and she told me he had ideas for another book based on his diaries. My condolences go out to her, his friends and family.

[@markandrew1067]

Sorry to hear about Jim...sad. Great book. Good channel. Thnx for sharing your knowledge.

[@brianreed1451]

always good to watch. Old School stuff.

[@MarkWintleFishing]

Thank you.

[@felgate11]

Slightly off topic - I use drilled, .22 Air gun pellets to pre load some of my, more buoyant floats on the stem. The float rubber seats nicely around the waist & still slides up & down the line. That, bit of extra grip, also helps with maintaining the depth.

[@MarkWintleFishing]

As a kid, 60 years ago, my hand-me-down Woolies fishing kit included using split airgun pellets as shot....

[@philiplancaster9682]

Mark, I was “taught” that longer hook lengths were also used for the stretchability when hooking large fish.

[@MarkWintleFishing]

That's right.

[@markandrew1067]

Hi Mark. Do you just tie hooklengths on, loop to loop. Seem to remember some top anglers do their loops quite large(2" to stop spin) or use a diamond eye swivel to reduce line spin ( maggot especially) ps I was trying, on the lake bank to tie some 30cm hooklength in 1.5lb guru , I couldnt tighten the knot without it snapping - tried grinner, tucked half blood were impossible. Even loop tyer tied small fig 8 broke. Odd? Tips? Great channel. Love it.

[@MarkWintleFishing]

I just use loop to loop with fairly small loops and double overhand knots. My most used hook length line is Preston Reflo Power which I find reliable, you just need to understand that the diameters are understated (it's thicker than it says) and breaking strains may be over stated.

[@markandrew1067]

@@MarkWintleFishing Thnx Mark. Appreciated

[@outdooropaholger9998]

I like to tie shorter hooklengths, typically 4 to 12 Inches for float fishing. They store straight in a box instead of wound up and produce less waste if the hook becomes dull. I dont pole fish. But i dont use swivels, and the main lead is seldom set all down to the link. If the lead touches the sometimes very abrasive ground, i feel safer with the thicker mainline there and i sometimes use also intermediate sections to get some sort of tapering like with flyfishing leaders. The total length under the main lead is about 10 to 40 inches. Depends, our rivers behave differently from one day to the other due to the weather and the electricity needed and produced in reservoirs, they may flow faster and may have absolute clear water, so you have to try what works best.

[@pmay222]

i came back to fishing after lockdown.. pleasure fish, but still attack it like my old match fishing days.. i was using loop to loop.. and kept losing the bonus lumps we hook in modern well stocked fisheries... these modern strong low diameter lines i found extremely fragile/finicky... the slightest blemish or shot mark and its lost all its advantages... after watching bob nudd vid on the 3 turn surgeons knot for hooklinks... i switched to that, problem solved.. no more crack offs when carp or big bream hooked.. im not under match pressure anymore so new hook simply tied on and carry on..depth adjusted... also i put a small separate loop through the bottom of float attatchment.. put my bulk shot on that with float stoppers on mainline... and use small no'8 leadshot down the line to avoid line damage... works well i can now give the fish proper abuse wi no worries..

[@MarkWintleFishing]

I've never had problems with loop to loop BUT it's important to use either a double overhand knot for regular lines or the figure of eight knot for fluorocarbon. I reuse locking shot many times and that anneals the tin shot so I rarely suffer from the non toxic shot causing problems.

[@WolfmanWoody]

Just measured the Kamasan ones and they're barely 12 inches. Thirty centimetres at best. Interesting thoughts you have on pole float setups, 6" hooklink and no shot. Must try that. It was always normal practice to put a tell-tale shot 4" from the hook. Old habits die hard, but I will try your method.

[@phve2jh8]

One of the problems with lines is they aren't always marked up accurately. The ever popular Preston Reflo Power and Maxima are notoriously inaccurate. An 0.12mm Maxima mainline to 0.08 Preston Reflo hooklength is in reality going to be closer to an 0.14mm mainline to a 0.09mm bottom. None of this is a problem if you are aware of the differences and adjust accordingly. But I find it a little infuriating that anglers need to have a micrometer in their tackle box!

[@MarkWintleFishing]

As you say you need to adjust to the actual diameters to get the best out of it. 50 years ago I would have just used, say, Bayer Perlon, so combining 1.7lb main line with 1.1lb hook lengths meant the step was relative, and I (and many thousands of others) had confidence it what it was capable of, especially as the breaking strains were understated.

[@stephenridd6834]

My hooklengths for all my float fishing and legering are 4"-6" and are braid of the same BS as the mono (nylon) mainlines. Generally I only use 2 breaking strains ... 6lb for float, 8lb for leger ... although i do drop to 4lb on canals at times.

[@andrewjackson9603]

Interesting. I tend to also use a short hooklink when Grayling fishing in fast water. I use an olivette as standard well down the line and one large dropper. A foot is plenty long enough for the hooklink but I like the idea of a 6 inch hooklink with no shot at all on the hooklink. I will try it. Grayling aren't a fussy fish and there's no Roach or Dace where I fish (sadly,). Good vid. 👍

[@MarkWintleFishing]

There are times, especially in clear water that's not too deep, when a strung out shotting pattern is much better for grayling. They are willing to come up in the water to take a bait.

[@andrewjackson9603]

@@MarkWintleFishing I don't know if my first reply got to you! A condensed version here. Sorry if it's doubled up! Yes. Was thinking of last winters conditions! A boiling cauldron! Catching up after many years behind alarms. I'm also looking forward to some Roach fishing. Still some good ones around on certain venues though all miles away from Weymouth. The tidal Frome is just too tough now. Really I should have done that back in the day. 🙂

[@johnbluett6079]

More you read more confusing it seems a THICKER hook length sinks more slowly

[@MarkWintleFishing]

I've done huge amounts of on the drop fishing and it's long been apparent that you need SOME shot to get the line to sink at the appropriate rate. A thicker hook link will affect bait presentation in a number of ways.

[@Northstar-Media]

The lack of a clear structure and common understanding in your explanation makes it difficult to comprehend. You switch between topics such as lengths, methods, and shots without providing a cohesive framework or shared context.

[@markandrew1067]

You for real? Just because Mark doesn't give you just hard and fast rules, but rather a thoughtful chat on the use of varying hook lengths, doesn't make it structureless. Bet you're a joy on the bank. Gee.

[@Northstar-Media]

​@markandrew1067 Yes, I think therefore I am, but apparently not as dense as you. You're still looking for the bubble for your spirit level when someone sent you for a long stand. Listen to what he says its gobbledegook babble makes absolutely no sense but that's also hard to find these days 🎣✨️

[@markandrew1067]

@@Northstar-Media Oh dear, a stalker on a mission. Embarrassing.

[@Northstar-Media]

@markandrew1067 I'm replying to your comment. It's good for the channel numbers 🤣

[@markandrew1067]

We need more nice guys like Mark. Genuine guy, trying to help poor anglers,old anglers like me. Hat off. Think before you ink.