Gardner Tackle Covert Wide Gape Talon Tip Hooks
by Andrew Boyne
by Andrew Boyne
Gardner Talon Tips have been around for many years now and have a strong following amongst barbel anglers. This year has seen a new version of this classic pattern bringing several improvements to an already great hook.
The first thing to note is the new finish. While many companies have been applying an anti-glare Teflon finish to their hooks for years Gardner had left theirs shiny black. To address this, a new anti-glare coating has been applied but rather than use the pale grey finish adopted by so many companies they have used a darker tone which tends to blend in with its surroundings far better than the standard Teflon finish.The Covert range includes the original Talon Tip as well as the new Wide Gape version.
Users of the original Talon Tip will notice a couple of differences in the new Wide Gape. The name is a bit of a giveaway in that they have increased the gape between point and shank. Beaked points are popular amongst barbel anglers as they tend not to blunt as easily as straight points, the downside is they reduce the gape which reduces the hooking potential when compared to a similar straight pointed pattern of the same size. Gardner have addressed this with the Wide Gape and also removed the offset ( reversed ) bend of the original meaning the point is in-line with the shank. Both changes are claimed to increase the hooking potential over the original pattern and that certainly seems to be the case in practice. Like most carp hooks these are exceptionally strong and unlikely to fail whilst barbel fishing either through snapping or bending. I can report a clean record for both hook holds and structural integrity so far, and I don’t expect that to change.
My only issue with these hooks is the limited sizes available ( 4,6,8 + 10 ), understandable as they are primarily aimed at the Carp market, but a 12 and 14 would be perfect when smaller baits are being used whilst barbel fishing. Because of this I will give these hooks 8/10 - a couple of smaller sizes would see that jump up a point or two!
They are available through the BFW shop - Barbel Fishing World Online Shop