Carp Tackle Box Pt2

Last time round I started to take a look through the Tackle Box I use for my carp fishing. As I said then, my tackle box is actually a storage container from B&Q and it looks exactly like a medium/large fox tackle box but costs a lot less!. I try to keep the amount of tackle I carry to a minimum but despite this the sheer amount of items I carry means that this simple look through my tackle box has spread to more than one diary entry and in all honesty its likely to go further than that as there’s a lot of bits and pieces.

My Carp Tackle Box and Tackle Bits and Pieces


Kryston Mantis
I’ll continue this look through my tackle box by looking at another hook length material, this time it's Kryston Mantis, a coated braid that comes in very handy for me in certain circumstances. If you’ve read any of my previous blog entries you’ll know Kryston Silkworm is my all time favourite hook length material. Silkworm is a very supple material and its not the best material for avoiding tangles at range. If I have to fish at any kind of range I generally change to Mantis. I leave most of the coating on and just strip back enough to make the hair and maybe an inch or two extra behind the hook to create a hinge. By using Kryston Mantis for my long range fishing rigs I find I can avoid tangles a lot more and you really need to know your rigs are sitting right at range. Mantis does this job really well and I’d recommend you give it a go on your long range setup, as with all Kryston products Mantis is very well made and completely reliable.

Kryston Mantis Coated Braid, my second choice after Silkworm


Kryston Heavy Metal Rig Putty
Whilst we are on the subject of Kryston products, I have to say I’m a big fan. I’ve been using Kryston fishing tackle for as long as I’ve been carp fishing. My next item in the tackle box is one of theirs too and that’s Heavy Metal Plus Putty. I tend to fish a lot with pop-ups and baits that are critically balanced so they sink very slowly and heavy metal putty is excellent for balancing out buoyant baits. Heavy metal grips braided lines like Silkworm and Mantis very well and it’s a pretty dense material compared to most rig putty on the market today so you don’t need to use as much of it, which is a bonus. I use pop-ups so much that I’d never not have a tub of heavy metal in my tackle box, it really is a great product.


Kryston Heavy Metal Plus Popup Rig Putty, excellent!


Carp Rig Tubing
Rig tubing is very much a personal thing and I tend to avoid branded names. As long as it sinks well and it's dark brown or khaki to blend in with the bottom I'm happy, usually I choose rig tubing that's unbranded or not from a very well known carp company as there's usually less carp tax on it.

Lead Weights
You’ll notice my tackle box doesn’t have many lead weights in it. When you’re travelling light ditching lead weights from your tackle box and rucksack is a real saver on weight. You can end up carrying round pounds and pounds of lead if you’re not careful and I’ve fallen into this trap myself in the past. These days I almost exclusively use Inline Leads and rig accessories like Rig Tubing, Carp Rig Swivels and Tail Rubbers. I used to make my own lead weights years ago and still do now and again. I still carry the odd one with me today. Making your own leads is actually quite easy to do but it can be messy and its not without its problems safety wise, if you‘d like to know more about making your own have a look at my Making Leads Blog Entry from a year or two ago.

Square Pear Lead, my favourite lead weight


I’ll have to stop this continuing look through my tackle box for now as this entry is starting to get a bit long, in the next few weeks I’ll continue looking at my tackle in detail as there are some other useful bits and pieces that I carry with me, I haven’t looked at hooks yet either and I’m wondering if that wouldn’t make a whole entry on its own!. Next time I sit down to write in a couple of weeks time I’ll see how things go and if I can keep my comments on hooks to a minimum I’ll include them in my tackle box series, otherwise a look at hooks will come as a separate entry at some point in the future.
Until next time, tight lines.
Mark.

Trakker Bait Bucket / Tackle Box