Hooklength tips

THE hooklength you choose will play a big part in how successful your next session is. Fish too light and you will end up getting broken, but go too heavy and the number of bites you get will suffer.

This week I reveal the four different strength hooklengths I use on commercials during the summer. Follow my advice to help you put more fish in the net. 1 0.13mm (4lb 12oz) – This is my number-one choice when fishing for F1s and the odd bonus carp in open water on the long pole. If there are no snags I have no fears that I am going to get broken. I am also happy to use a fairly soft elastic such as an 11H or 13H with it so that the fish can surge off into open water and tire itself out. I will use this diameter too when fishing the waggler for mainly F1s.

2 0.15mm (5lb 14oz) – When I am expecting mainly carp when fishing in open water on either pole or waggler I like to step it up to this diameter. Most commercials contain fish well into double figures, and with such lumps on offer you can’t risk getting bust by one of them. Carp are less line-shy than F1s so there is no point in taking chances.

3 0.17mm (6lb 12oz) – Strong tackle is needed when fishing the margins, and this is what I almost always use when going down the edge. The fish you hook close in are usually a lot bigger than those in open water and, as you have fewer pole sections in hand, you can’t chase the fish around. They fight hard, so you need a stronger hooklength to deal with the strain when they make those quick surges. I’d be confident of landing literally any size of commercial carp on this kit.

4 0.19mm (7lb 6oz) – I rarely use this as a hooklength on the pole, as it is extremely heavy, but if I am in a very snaggy swim where I really need to pile on the pressure when I hook a fish it will come into play. This is also what I use on the Method feeder. Like most, I only use a 4ins hooklength on the Method so it comes under an awful lot of pressure when you hook a fish and it needs to be tough enough to deal with that.