Why you need to be a tackle box tart
‘It’s the little things you do that make the big things happen’ – and here’s Mat Woods’s little edges which help keep him catching
The tackle box was designed to keep you organised. So leaving yours to get in a mess is not really getting the most from something that is supposed to improve your fishing. I made a habit, a few years ago, of always putting things back where they came from when I’d finished using them. The Korum Maxi Rig Manager I use was designed to keep all your rig tools together and offer more compartmented space. This means if I need to move swims quickly or react to a situation, it takes no time. Close the lid and off I go.
Multiples of the same
Most rig boards I see are filled with a multitude of rigs you know the angler has probably never caught a carp on. Why tie 10 different rigs when you can tie a load of similar ones? The end part of my favoured rigs tends to be made of the same components, only the hooklink material really changes to suit how soft the lakebed is. If you look at my rig board – I carry two of these in my tackle box – you’ll notice how one is made-up of essentially the same rig. Why? It’s the one I tie on the end the most, so why have a rig board full of experimental rubbish? Stick to what you know.
I opt for 'quick change'
The Korum rig boards I use are two-sided, with curved ends, meaning my rigs can be whatever length I like. I tend to tie one side at around five-inches and the other more like 12-inches. There’s an argument that you shouldn’t tie anything in the end, as then you can have the rig tied to the length the swim dictates, but I like using a quick-change swivel on all my leaders and love the confidence the anti-tangle sleeve brings. I very rarely, if ever, put a PVA mesh bag on my rigs, trusting the sleeve to do its job. I can’t remember the last time I had a tangle, either.
A spares bag for the car
Only carry the hooklinks you really need. I keep the ones I like using the most in my tackle box. Any more specialised materials are kept in a little pouch that rarely, if ever, sees the light of day. Having a spares bag in the car is a really good idea and stops you carrying around all the stuff you might need ‘just in case’. I usually have the real ‘riot gear’ like shockleader materials and heavier versions of my favourite hooklinks in there, along with lots of the lead varieties I like and things like marker floats, etc. You don’t need that in your main carryall. You just don’t.