End Tackle According To... Neil Spooner

The game-changing rig moment which altered everything for me was when I changed to the Spinner Rig (Fig. A). I was on Berners and it was the first winter I was allowed to fish four rods. I was a huge advocate of a small, Naked Chod Rig, but I was playing around with the new set-up, fishing an area with two rods on each. Wherever I placed the rigs, without exception, it was always the Spinner that went off first. Very quickly, I switched all four to Spinner Rigs.

The last rig-related items I acquired and loved were bait screws. I was fishing with Dovey in Hungary and he gave me some to try. It’s a bit of a joke, but even though Korda make them, I couldn’t believe how good they were, and how securely they held the hookbait on.

On my wish list for a future end-tackle item is something I remember being spoken about a good while ago. I use shrink tube on a couple of my favoured rigs, but it’s a real pain having to boil a kettle to shrink the tubing. If someone could come up with something that precisely and efficiently shrinks tubing that doesn’t involve boiling a kettle, I’d go for it.  

The best rig tweak or trick I saw was something lead system-related. A running lead clip (where the swivel is semi-held in place) was convenient, and it produced more bites than the original fixed lead clip. Since I first saw it, it has become my preferred lead set-up—unquestionably. 

When it comes to rigs, I’m obviously influenced by Dovey!

I have an excessive collection of baiting needles. Just as Tom Dove loses scissors, I lose baiting needles. They often reappear, though—mostly when I’ve used them on my bedchair! I also have a ridiculously large number of mugs. I’m quite a sociable angler, and if anyone comes into my swim wanting a cup of tea, I’ll have a mug for them… and I’ll probably have one with their name on!  

Where are we regarding rig innovation at the moment? It’s very rare that I’ll consider a situation and not want to put a Spinner Rig out. I believe that the rig will bring bites quicker than other set-ups (Fig. B), but it’s like many innovations that came before, perhaps, inasmuch as no one saw the Hair Rig coming along, or the Chod Rig, perhaps. Something might well come along down the line, but I can’t imagine what it might be, or think of anything that’ll make the Spinner Rig more efficient.

One small tweak I made to my rigs which had a massive outcome was something I did a while ago when I was at Star Lane. I was fishing Chod Rigs and was using a Chod hook. Dovey’d had a cranked version made. The hook became the Krank Chod. It was the same as the original pattern in principle, but it had an out-turned eye. When I used the hook for the first time, not only did I catch the fish I’d been targeting for three years, I had five on an overnighter, and on each fish, the hook-hold was much more secure. When using the traditional hooks, my hook-holds, usually in the bottom lip, were okay. After switching, however, they were much further back, and I definitely hooked the fish quicker (Fig. C).  

Regarding hand-sharpened hooks, whilst I use them, I don’t actually sharpen them myself. I use Kamakuras, but only in a couple of situations, such as when I’m fishing a Zig Rig, or nine times out of ten when I’m fishing a pop-up. I don’t tend to use them when I’m fishing on the deck, because I’m paranoid that they’d burr too easily. Also, when we fished at Les Graviers and were trying to catch on Zigs, there were so many rudd about that after just 15 minutes, the tip of the hook had gone, and that was another situation where I wouldn’t use them. 

My preferred hooklink length is seven inches.

When it comes to hooklink materials I favour Boom in 20lb, most of the time, or Chod Filament in 25lb, which again, is quite stiff.

When it comes to mounting my hookbait, I use a few different methods. I usually floss baits on my Spinner Rigs, but I’ve also just started to use hookbait swivels. I’ll also use a standard Hair Rig, as I do for solid PVA bags.