Korda IQ2 Florocarbon Hook link
Mr Steve Renyard has to take the credit for this addition to the range. Steve has been smashing the living daylights out of his favourite syndicate water for some time now on Fluorocarbon hook links. When he started fishing for Team Korda we naturally sent him some IQ. His response was: “it's a little bit stiff for what I want”.
IQ is meant to be stiff that's why we think it catches more carp than normal mono, but we are always interested in new ideas and ways of fishing so when Steve started to talk we listened.
Steve says: “first and foremost I use fluorocarbon because of its invisibility. I am so concerned about the fishes ability to detect the rig I have taken to using the standard IQ in 25lb as an anti-tangle leader. I use it about 4 feet long coupled with a Square Pear or Tournament swivel lead on a lead clip. Using fluorocarbon as a hook link also helps stop the whole lot from tangling on the cast. In the water the rig is much harder to see than normal, which I think gives me an edge. I am now using Fluorocarbon mainline too in an attempt to hide my presence from the carp even further. At the moment I feel I am fishing 'at the top of my game' and results have been superb taking 11 thirties plus loads of other smaller ones in just 4 weekend sessions.
I like a slightly softer material because of the way it comes to rest after a cast. In contrast to most other people I want there to be some play in the hook link so as the bait is taken the hook link has to tighten slightly. If the hook link is already straight the bait may not move enough to get into their mouth.
I fish beds of boilies a lot and have watched fish feeding on a scattering of boilies. Big fish tend to approach a bait, up end, suck the bait in and the right themselves before moving on to the next bait. Having a longer hookl ink of about 12 inches (30cm) gives the hook bait the movement I think it needs for the fish to get the hook properly in their mouth. It has worked for me on these types of waters for some time and is probably my favourite rig. I call it the 'simple complicated rig' because of the way I set up the hook.
Steve uses stringers a lot of the time because he thinks they actually cause the hookl ink to lay with more of a curve than a single hook bait alone. This is because the weight of the stringer makes it sink far quicker than a single hook bait; this extra weight stops the stringer from falling away from the lead as far as a single. The stringer obviously creates a pile of baits which we know will attract the carp in faster than a single alone and these baits will stay there until a fish eats them, whereas a PVA bag of pellets or groundbait can easily be dispersed by feeding fish. If you don't believe us then check out any of the underwater films.
A stringer or PVA bag of boilies will cause even the stiffer Fluorocarbons to lay in more of a coil than a straight line but if you are not using a bag or stringer only the softer fluorocarbons like IQ Xtra Soft will create the same 'slack' in the hook link, this is why I prefer them. It means I know the hook link is how I want it whether I'm using a stringer or not.
Danny adds: "another added advantage of the softer material is that the bait does act more naturally if that's what you want. This really comes into its own when fishing with the lighter breaking strains like the 10lb and 12lb. Couple either of these with small hooks like a size 10 Wide Gape or Long shank and a small bait like one grain of maize or a bit of a boilie and you have a hook bait which behaves more like a free offering. It also makes these lines perfect for zig rigs being thin, very hard to see and soft enough to work well with small hooks, stiff hook links and small hooks do not go together and you will get hook pulls on them".