Job done! The December ‘bulldozer’
Not everyone might be aware of Dan Kilgour – he is a fulltime fire fighter and as such has fairly limited fishing time. And when he does go he targets tricky, low stocked pits in the Colne Valley. Many of Dan’s captures he keeps close to his chest but its safe to say he has had a very good last year or so, culminating in the capture of a big pit monster just before Christmas. Dan was having a hook crisis about this time last year so we sent him some of the prototype Cryogen Stiff Riggers to try. Here is a brief resume of Dan’s experiences with them:
‘Anyone that has seen my tackle will confirm that it is anything but tarty,it is generally a mess, but for me it is all about being functional and suitable for the job in hand. However – there are some things that in my eyes should never be compromised on whatsoever. Bait, of course, but tackle wise its all about the last 15ft of the end tackle i.e. the hook, hook link, and of course the mainline. These have to be up to the job, and by that I mean being able to land the biggest fish that swims in your venue of choice.
An old common from a large low stock pit
For over 10 years now I have used the mk-1 ESP stiff rigger hooks, they were without doubt the best hooks I’d ever used and I have total and utter confidence in them, having landed big fish from proper , snaggy, weedy waters time and time again on them. I tried the Mk-2’s but for some reason never had the same confidence in them. This time last year I was beginning to have a major panic attack – my stock of size 5 stiff riggers was running very low – down to the last 15 or so. I had tried some other patterns but had the odd fish fall off here and there, which to me is just not acceptable as on the waters I fish sometimes 3 or 4 bites a season may be good going so you need to be converting every one of them.
I fish pop ups most of the time when I am casting out into the lake , either on a chod set up or on a stiff hinge using the 20lb stiff bristle filament and i find using these rigs i just don’t lose fish. Well Dave at ESP sent me some prototype mk-3 stiff riggers in March/April last year and since then I haven’t looked back.
‘Total confidence’
They are thinner in the gauge than most other “chod” hooks, so therefore very light which is of course important if you’re using a pop up. A lot of the patterns that I’ve seen look very strong and I’m sure they are but that will be because the wire is super thick,(i.e. heavy) which to me isn’t great because over time it will be working on pulling that pop up down. Not only that, but the thicker the wire then usually the less needle-like the point.
As always the hooks come out the packet needle sharp , so much so that shock, horror, I don’t even bother sharpening mine. I don’t see the need to. The points are so sharp and seem to stay sharp, that I will often inspect the point after a fish and not bother changing it.
The last 12 months have been my most successful ever, landing over 40 carp , all from proper venues (a few very ‘hush hush’) and nearly all of them have been on the new Cryogen Stiff Riggers.
Another Stiff Rigger conquest from a super weedy venue
I rate them that much I even have used them as bottom /balanced bait hooks and the result has been the same – a carp in the net. I wouldn’t say these are that good unless I really have tested them, and I have, several fights spring to mind that have me wincing even now looking back , I can’t believe I landed them.
One in particular was the battle royale that I had with the boilie eating monster from the big pit that I have been targeting on and off for the last 18 months or so. This fish is well know for being a total bulldozer and he didn’t let that reputation down for me back in December when he finally made the mistake , picking up the big dog hinge that I had put on the spot specially for him. I have had some epic fights over the last 15 years on my battered old 2.75’s, some fish that have maybe ripped more line off the clutch or taken longer to bring in, but never has the rod been compressed in that way.
I hooked him 20 yards off a fairly meaty set of snags, and once he set his mind on going there, he was going there! I was in the water up to my chest with the rod compressed into the butt, the clutch screwed up , but it was never in my mind that the thin metal would fail me and it didn’t. The tackle held out solid and he made my Christmas at 45lb! Job done.
Back she goes
It feels so good to have that total confidence in your gear, that it isn’t going to fail you when you really need it , especially if you’ve done a lot of rod hours to wait for that all important bite .
If anyone is slightly unsure about what hooks to be using for their pop up presentations, I can’t recommend the Cryogen Stiff Rigger in size 4s and 5s highly enough. Super sharp , super strong – proper hooks for proper carp!’