Breakaway Rig
When I first started on the road to making lures, I had very little experience of lure angling, and the one thing that alarmed me was the size of the hooks. Being a bait fisherman I was quite happy with a pair of No6 barbless trebles in a 9inch deadbait, but when confronted with some 9inch lures carrying two or even three size 5/0 barbed trebles I struggled to get my head round it. If a pair of No6’s in a deadbait was more than enough then why go as big as 5/0’s on a lure.
To get an answer, when ever I meet an accomplished lure angler I always ask that question, and the general consensus of opinion was that as most lures were made of a hard material, the hook needed to be wider than the width of the lure to obtain a hook hold, also that during the fight a fish could use the lure as a lever when shaking it’s head, in doing so throwing the hooks hence the barbs.
Taking this into account, I devised a rig which allowed me to use the smaller hooks that I was used to; see figs 1 and 2.
As flexi lures are made of a softish material when taken by a pike it should hold on to it for longer, whilst you pull the hooks home. Should the fish thrash its head during the fight then the lure will detach itself from the hooks eliminating the problem of leverage.
This rig also has the added benefits, that if you hand land your fish then the problem of a flying treble is eliminated, as both trebles will come together during the fight as the lure becomes detached from the rig.
Should you be fishing a very snaggy swim, and the lure is rigged up for example with a 28lbs rig and a 50lbs braid line. Then if you catch bottom, you can pull for a break knowing that the weaker trace will brake. Even though you have lost your hooks, you will retain the lure.
fig.1 Front hook attached to pin with the trace passing through front and rear pins to allow free movement of the lure
fig. 2 Hooks detached from lure
This rig was not to every ones liking, so I made the Fish range with a through wire to the first hook and a single strand wire to the rear hook. All flexi fish came with two spare rig pins to allow you to remove the fixed hooks, and then you could set the lure up with a breakaway rig using the hooks and trace of your choice.
The Breakaway in action with one of the very first prototype lures.