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Boom!

Stewart Harris

Stewart Harris

Senior Member
Hi chaps, just wondered what everyone is utilizing for their boom sections on combi rigs? I'm fishing over some pretty rocky terrain, almost every capture results in me getting snagged up at some point during the fight, often as soon as you pick up the rod. I've been using .33 Seaguar Ace Hard the last 4 or 5 seasons and have been very impressed with it, the only downside is the cost when having to re-tie damaged rigs regularly. I was toying with uprating to the .37 diameter.
Are there any alternatives that work out as good/better that are a bit more friendly on the wallet? A couple of mates have suggested Amnesia but the difference in stated diameters for equivalent breaking strains look huge compared to what I'm using. 🤷🏼‍♂️
 
Stewart Harris said:
Hi chaps, just wondered what everyone is utilizing for their boom sections on combi rigs? I'm fishing over some pretty rocky terrain, almost every capture results in me getting snagged up at some point during the fight, often as soon as you pick up the rod. I've been using .33 Seaguar Ace Hard the last 4 or 5 seasons and have been very impressed with it, the only downside is the cost when having to re-tie damaged rigs regularly. I was toying with uprating to the .37 diameter.
Are there any alternatives that work out as good/better that are a bit more friendly on the wallet? A couple of mates have suggested Amnesia but the difference in stated diameters for equivalent breaking strains look huge compared to what I'm using. 🤷🏼‍♂️
Click to expand...
Hi Stewart
Just a thought , but maybe you are heading in the wrong direction making your 'boom' section stiffer?
Personally I use 3 different mono/flouro sections depending on the river substrate Asso flouro 14lb, Greys flouro 13lb or Preston Reflo Power .24 (11lb) but in all cases never use a hook length longer than 18-24 inches and often shorter.
Are you using long hook lengths?
If so try something different and go shorter, you may be pleasantly surprised ;)
 
Keith Humphreys said:
Hi Stewart
Just a thought , but maybe you are heading in the wrong direction making your 'boom' section stiffer?
Personally I use 3 different mono/flouro sections depending on the river substrate Asso flouro 14lb, Greys flouro 13lb or Preston Reflo Power .24 (11lb) but in all cases never use a hook length longer than 18-24 inches and often shorter.
Are you using long hook lengths?
If so try something different and go shorter, you may be pleasantly surprised ;)
Click to expand...

Yes Keith, I'm using them longer generally.
It's very much big leads and rod tips up kind of fishing so I try to keep a separation between the heavy mainline and the hookbait wherever possible. I can accept that at times longer hooklengths might mean more fish getting away with it but it hopefully results in more pick ups too.
It's not really 'stiffness' that I'm looking for, rather increased abraision resistance, although I accept that would be a side affect of upping the diameter. I'm fairly certain that the breaking strains you mention above would struggle where I'm fishing, it really is quite heavy fishing for what are usually big fish.
 
Stewart Harris said:
Hi chaps, just wondered what everyone is utilizing for their boom sections on combi rigs? I'm fishing over some pretty rocky terrain, almost every capture results in me getting snagged up at some point during the fight, often as soon as you pick up the rod. I've been using .33 Seaguar Ace Hard the last 4 or 5 seasons and have been very impressed with it, the only downside is the cost when having to re-tie damaged rigs regularly. I was toying with uprating to the .37 diameter.
Are there any alternatives that work out as good/better that are a bit more friendly on the wallet? A couple of mates have suggested Amnesia but the difference in stated diameters for equivalent breaking strains look huge compared to what I'm using. 🤷🏼‍♂️
Click to expand...
0.34 mono for snaggy conditions works OK for me. Hard to find nowadays, for 0.34 Pro-clear breaks at nearly 20lb, I've yet to find a fluoro of the same diameter that can match its abrasion resistance.

Tried Seageur AH - found it didn't knot so well.
 
Stewart Harris said:
Hi chaps, just wondered what everyone is utilizing for their boom sections on combi rigs? I'm fishing over some pretty rocky terrain, almost every capture results in me getting snagged up at some point during the fight, often as soon as you pick up the rod. I've been using .33 Seaguar Ace Hard the last 4 or 5 seasons and have been very impressed with it, the only downside is the cost when having to re-tie damaged rigs regularly. I was toying with uprating to the .37 diameter.
Are there any alternatives that work out as good/better that are a bit more friendly on the wallet? A couple of mates have suggested Amnesia but the difference in stated diameters for equivalent breaking strains look huge compared to what I'm using. 🤷🏼‍♂️
Click to expand...
Go as thick as you dare Stewart
I would pay no attention whatsoever to the stated breaking strains and do exactly what you are doing already and up the diameter of your stiff link to cope with the abrasion.
Stiff coated braid is very good for achieving what you want because the coating on some of them is very tough to strip and the core is very flexible providing you with a very abrasion resistant, and super strong combi rig effect without the added weak point of a knot between the two.
If you want two different materials entirely then a thick fluro would be my suggestion but personally I think your best bet is a coated braid with a tough stiff coating.
Avoid soft they strip with your finger nails.
 
Stewart Harris said:
Hi chaps, just wondered what everyone is utilizing for their boom sections on combi rigs? I'm fishing over some pretty rocky terrain, almost every capture results in me getting snagged up at some point during the fight, often as soon as you pick up the rod. I've been using .33 Seaguar Ace Hard the last 4 or 5 seasons and have been very impressed with it, the only downside is the cost when having to re-tie damaged rigs regularly. I was toying with uprating to the .37 diameter.
Are there any alternatives that work out as good/better that are a bit more friendly on the wallet? A couple of mates have suggested Amnesia but the difference in stated diameters for equivalent breaking strains look huge compared to what I'm using. 🤷🏼‍♂️
Click to expand...
have you considered using a helicopter rig? I use them occasionally on super snaggy swims and have about 1m of lead-free leader( leadcore without the lead) to handle the abuse. It must be spliced and attached to the mainline loop-loop, so that if you break the line, the hooklink can move up and slide off the leader and if you use a gripz hook the hooklength should drop out once tension is released.
I never use the leader on a traditional running rig set up as it could mean a fish towing 1m of leader around if the mainline snaps, although I have seen Bob James use this on the Wye for the exact reason you mention 😳
Personally a complete no-no.
I also use much shorter hooklengths (8-10") , usually nicked into a biggish PVA sausage which hangs below the lead off a PVA lead clip or if using a gripper lead, just tie a loop in the PVA and suspend from the hole in the lead
Because you know that you have a good distance ( 1m) of pinned down leader I don't feel a long hooklink is required
Not that I'm an advocate for dropping leads, but.. if it's that snaggy you could use a paper clip as a weak link between a swivel and the lead that will easily open up and lose the lead, which might help get the barbel up in the water and away from the snags.
I don't use feeders when I know it's a snagfest as they just find every snag.
I do use combi rigs but prefer to use them with a feeder and fairly long hooklength in less snaggy areas, and generally have found any 15lb plus fluoro or amnesia has been perfectly OK.
 
Gary Wagstaff said:
amnesia 15lb clear i used on the Ribble plenty of bed rock an boulders
Click to expand...
Hmmm!!

I've had fluro fail me once or twice in recent seasons, first 14lb then a step up to 17lb also parted for no apparent reason so I was going back to plain and simple mono when my barbel fishing resumes in a couple of weeks.

I use amnesia for my sea snoods and never even thought about it for use on the river. 👍
 
Richard Isaacs said:
Go as thick as you dare Stewart
I would pay no attention whatsoever to the stated breaking strains and do exactly what you are doing already and up the diameter of your stiff link to cope with the abrasion.
Stiff coated braid is very good for achieving what you want because the coating on some of them is very tough to strip and the core is very flexible providing you with a very abrasion resistant, and super strong combi rig effect without the added weak point of a knot between the two.
If you want two different materials entirely then a thick fluro would be my suggestion but personally I think your best bet is a coated braid with a tough stiff coating.
Avoid soft they strip with your finger nails.
Click to expand...

A coated braid was my starting point initially but it I found I was writing off 3ft+ of material every time I turned a hookpoint or damaged the coating. The idea with combis was to keep a supply of ready tied boom and hook sections to replace the individual parts as and when required. So far it's worked, I've landed 6 fish this season and lost none due to tackle failure. All those landed have been doubles with 4 of those being 14+. Perhaps you are right and just upping the diameter of the fluoro is all that is required
 
I wish Drennan would make Supplex in thicker diameters. I've used 0.25mm for chub and 0.30 for barbel (snag free swims) and it's really good stuff, imo.

0.34 - 0.38mm diameters would be big sellers with barbel anglers I reckon.
 
Fishing the tidal Trent in rocky, snaggy swims I haven’t had a cut off yet using 18lb Korda Kontour fluoro as the boom section of a combi rig. It’s 0.37 diameter from memory.
 
If you’re using a combi with the flouro as a boom you can go pretty thick and that should avoid the problems as said.
Personally though I’d try the coated braid as it’s convenient and very abrasion resistant.
 
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