Occasionally though you have big name rigs that let you
down. The Fladen 2 up 1 down ‘International’ edition rigs spring to mind. I'd
love to have a look in the tackle boxes of the high status anglers on the
packaging of these rigs and see if they have any in their armoury on a pleasure
match let alone an international competition. We bought 100+ of these rigs, to
buy us a little time when running low on our own boat stock, they came at the
right price with a trusted pedigree, so what could possibly go wrong.
Well, the hooks snapped easily, the rigs tangled the worst
I’ve ever seen both from the packet and also when retrieved from the sea, the
line kinked at every opportunity. In the end I gave 75 away for free, the
recipients still complained!
On the other hand, Fladen have come up trumps with the
Fladen Maxximus International big hook range for the likes of conger, ling and
huss, although I think a conger in excess of 20lb would easily break free from
this rigs clutches.
The rig comes in a variety of colours; one we use regular
on the boat is built on a length of 75lb mono. The rig consists of 1 large
attractor spoon, a large yellow coloured muppet and ending in a 6/0 O’Shaunessey
style hook. Baited with a variety of offerings such as whiting, mackerel or
squid it has proved successful for a variety of species including huss, spurdog,
ling and small strap congers from the depths of Holyhead Deeps.