Nash Terminal Tackle [Diffusion Camo]

by Darren Wilson, UKMatchAngler.

When Ray asked me for my views and opinions on the new range of terminal tackle from Nash, I was more than happy to oblige with his request. Those that know me will be aware that I am a huge advocate of Nash Tackle products and have paid for each and every piece of tackle from the company out of my own pocket. I have yet to find a piece of tackle from Nash that I have not been happy to use in my angling, and people that know me will be aware that I tell things exactly as I find them – warts & all!!!

The new range of terminal tackle from the Nash stable is the 2008 TT Range, which is available in two colourations – Weed Green and the new Diffusion Camo. I personally feel that Nash could do away completely with the Weed Green versions as the Diffusion Camo variant is perfect for use on ALL substrates – from silt to weed and from gravel to leaf litter – as the translucent colouration of the materials used, blend in almost to the point of invisibility. The materials used by Nash in this range is as close to perfection in my totally honest opinion, and can only save the angler money in the long term should they fish a variety of venues, in not needing to buy many items multiple times in different colours to try to accurately gauge the colouration of the substrate where they are fishing (if you can see out 100 yards from the bank in deep water and match the rig components perfectly to the substrate that you are fishing over, then your eyesight is going to be in the record books!!!). Since the launch of the Diffusion Camo range, I have basically scrapped anything else I had in my tackle pouches that is available in the Nash TT range has been put into a box in my workshop.

Helicopter Safe Rig – Diffusion Camo Stealth Version

Designed to operate in the same way as the original helicopter rig that is probably the ultimate anti-tangle long range setup, Nash have put together the rigs ready assembled in the packet so that anglers that want to try them out or are all fingers & thumbs, can do so in relative safety with regards to the rig jettisoning due to a breakage. Based around the Diffusion Camo Stealth leader that is available as a standalone item (as are all the components used in the ready made setups), a lot of thought has gone into the actual components used. The beads used are a snug fit on the leader which allow adjustability along the whole length, but they move under pressure meaning that the hooklink can come off the leader should a breakage occur and the lead get snagged. This leaves the fish only with a hooklink to get rid of compared to everything other than a lead with other systems. At one end of the leader, a quick change link has been fitted to the fused loop for attaching the lead to.

When using Helicopter rigs like this, it is best to use a lead that has no swivel attached to a loop. This allows better casting distance with less lead wobble in flight. Above the quick change clip is a sleeve bead made from the Diffusion Camo material that Nash are using. This slides down snugly over the clip and the lead loop, streamlining the whole lead arrangement and also lessening the chance of hooklinks snagging around the top of the lead. Directly above the sleeve bead, is a 5mm Diffusion Camo soft bead. This can be moved along the leader and is perfect for adjusting the height that the hooklink sits above the lead on the cast and also if you are fishing over soft substrate such as silt or weed, allows the lead to sink into it without the hooklink touching the bottom until you lower the line angle. Next is a ring swivel that allows the hooklink to rotate in flight like a helicopter rotor blades. The ring swivel also allows Chod rigs to sit properly on top of the bottom debris, without restricting hooklink movement (which is vital with short stiff hooklinks). Finally, one of the Nash Helicopter Safety Beads is fitted to stop the hooklink from flying off the leader in flight. This is slightly less of a snug fit as the 5mm round bead, but as the bead has a collar, this allows the angler to tie a piece of PVA string or tape around the bead to stop it moving on the cast. Once the PVA has dissolved, the bead will then slide off the leader under pressure if required.

These kits do exactly as they say on the packet and what they are designed for. My own personal opinion is that they are fine for general helicopter rig use with any hooklink material, but my own thoughts are that the leader is too short for use with a Chod rig, as I much prefer a longer length of heavier leadcore to hold the short popped up hooklink down, and also to have a longer gap between the 2 beads of up to 5 or 6 feet (longer than the actual complete leader Nash have used here).

Nash Fluorocarbon Stealth Hooklink Material

Fluorocarbon’s are one of those materials that people either love or hate. I am in the camp of that they have their part in all modern carp fishing and I do use them a fair bit. I have been using the Nash Stealth fluorocarbon since it was made part of the range and I have yet to find another fluorocarbon that I have been happy with. Nash produce two fluorocarbon hooklink materials – Stealth & Stiff, with the Stiff being used for hinged stiff rig booms or Chod hooklinks, and I personally use the Stealth instead of a standard mono hooklink.

There are a couple of reasons why I prefer the Stealth fluorocarbon over a normal mono. The first is the light refraction index of the material – as close to the refraction of water as possible which makes it virtually invisible in the water from certain angles, but the main reason for using it is that it sinks like the proverbial brick without needing to add pieces of putty along the hooklink. This stops the fishes fins from accidentally catching the material, which can happen with normal mono’s looping up off the bottom.

Unlike a lot of other “fluorocarbons” on the market place, Nash Stealth material is a true fluorocarbon, which means that it is more brittle than others and needs careful thought before use. Due to the brittle nature of the material, I do not use the knotless knot with it, and only use hooks with straight eyes. This allows maximum breaking strain from the hooklink – which is something that you hear anglers talking about on the bank with regards to fluorocarbons being weak and breaking for no reason.

To attach the hook to the hooklink, I use a 4 turn half blood knot (which actually works better than other knots with fluorocarbon materials yet is a lesser knot with braids or mono's!), and then tuck the tag end back through the eye to create the hair (I don’t like to use shrink tube with fluorocarbons as the heat from the steam can weaken it but I do use a piece of silicone tubing to hold the knot straight). Another little trick I do with fluorocarbons is not to tie a loop in the end of the hair to hold a bait stop, but I fold the tag end back on itself and dab a dot of glue on the material to form a “fused” style loop. This allows the hair to be pulled through soft or small baits easily without splitting them (which a bulky knot can do).

The breaking strains of the Stealth fluorocarbon are very accurate indeed as long as the correct knots are used. A correctly tied Palomar or half blood knot will give the stated breaking strain at the knot, but a Grinner or Figure of 8 loop knot, will break at slightly less than what is stated on the spool. For loop knots, the “non-slip loop knot” or Rapala knot will give the best results. Although slightly more fiddly to tie than the Figure of 8, the knot is well worth learning, and the knot sits straight instead of kicking out at a slight angle. I cannot see myself changing to any other fluorocarbon hooklink material at this moment in time as the Stealth material does exactly what it says it does, and does it very well indeed.

Nash Shock Beads – Diffusion Camo

There is not much I can really say about the Shock Beads from the Nash stable, except they do exactly the job that they have been designed to do. The Shock Beads are a tapered bead that sits over the hooklink swivel and allow a run ring to butt up against the larger end nicely without jamming or sliding over the top of the swivel. I use these beads on all running rigs where I am not using tubing and they perform admirably. The bore of the bead is a little too small for use with tubing, but is fine for use with the Nash leaders. The inclusion for 2008 of the Diffusion Camo colouration has made these the only bead of this type in my rig wallet now.

Nash Shock-Loc Beads – Diffusion Camo

Now these are innovation at its best! Any angler that uses tubing in their rigs will know that it is a pain in the posterior when the tubing comes out of the bead and runs freely along the line, meaning that you have to virtually reconstruct the rig before casting back out again, as well as potentially causing risk of lifting scales off the fish during the fight. Nash have put a stop to all this now with these beads. The Shock-Loc bead is designed to be used with running rigs and tubing with the Bead being secured to the swivel by one of the small plastic pins that Nash include in the packet (also available separately). This ensures that the bead cannot come off the swivel unless the pin breaks (and this takes a lot of pressure to do this as well and certainly well above 25lb!!). The secret to using these successfully is to use them in conjunction with the Nash No-Spook Anti-Tangle tubing which has been developed to match perfectly. Although the fit of the tubing in the bead is very snug indeed and takes a lot more pressure to pull out of the bead than other tubing available, the secret to making these beads work fully is to heat the end of the tubing up over a lighter and then “mushroom” the end of the tubing slightly before sliding the bead over it. This creates a “collar” on the tubing which then locks it into place inside the bead and will not pull out in normal fishing situations. These are my first choice now for use with tubing and where a running rig or sliding inline lead is required.

Nash TT Anti Tangle Run Beads – Diffusion Camo

 These specifically designed run rings are in my eyes, essential use for all carp anglers where a run rig may be required. There are two versions of the Nash rings – one for mono mainlines and use on tubing and the other designed for use with braided lines and leadcore. The reason behind this decision is that the plastic ringed “Mono” rings will not run freely on the rough surface of braided mainlines and the braid could rub a groove into the plastic ring.

The main version I use are the metal ringed “Braid” versions due to the vast majority of my angling is done with the excellent Nash Bullet Braid. The metal ringed version allows almost friction free movement of the braid through the loop giving ultimate sensitivity at the indicators when coupled with the direct contact that braided mainlines offer. Why are these better than other such run rings? Well both versions of the Nash run rings allow the lead to be changed with speed, efficiency and with less items of tackle needed to construct the setup.

The lead swivel fits into the barrel of the ring, and is secured in place by the same plastic pins as the Nash Safety Bolt Beads and Shock-Loc beads. A lot of anglers think that the plastic pins will not allow for safe casting with large leads. I have safely used these with leads up to 4oz and at ranges of over 100m with no worries about the pin being damaged. Due to the quick nature of the pin, to change the lead size or shape, all you do is to push the pin out with the little plastic gripped metal pusher that is attached to the rack of pins in the packet, take the old lead out, put new lead in & push the pin back into place.

There is no fiddling around with link clips and silicone sleeves this way and in cold or wet weather it is much easier (take it from me!). Some anglers prefer to tie the leads on with mono line rather than use the pin, or on snaggy waters where the lead may get caught up, I have tied the lead to the barrel with PVA string and light mono (2lb breaking strain), which will break should the lead get snagged allowing easier playing of the fish, but does not sacrifice the sensitivity of the running rig. An ingenious little piece of tackle that I will now not be without. Well done Nash Tackle!

Nash Anti Tangle Hooklink Tails

How do these differ from any other hooklink tail available? Well they all do the same job, which is to hold the hooklink away from the swivel on the cast to lower the chance of tangles, especially when used with the very soft braided hooklinks and light baits. The main difference is the material that the tails are constructed from. It has a thicker wall diameter than others that I have used, and will stretch over a slightly larger swivel much easier and without splitting. The soft material also allows a bit more flexibility during the fight, which stops the tails from coming off the swivel during the fight (I have had this with other brands of hooklink tails made out of a hard plastic). In the cold weather the pliability of the material is also not affected and can still be pushed over a size 8 swivel with ease (to perform my test of this, I placed the tails in the freezer for a couple of hours to chill them down to around the temperature of the coldest weather that we might encounter in the UK).The new Diffusion Camo colouration also allows them to be used with confidence regardless of the substrate that you are fishing over due to the way the items “disappear” on the bottom of the venue. The hooklink knot to the swivel is also protected by the tail as well as streamlining the rig for long range casting. Again, these are my first choice where I need to use an anti-tangle rubber.

Nash TT Teardrop Beads – Diffusion Camo

Available in two different sizes for endless uses within the modern day carp anglers rig armoury, the Nash Teardrop Beads are probably the most versatile bead that there is. I use the beads primarily in the 5mm size, although the 3mm size is perfect for the match anglers use in the same lead arrangements or rig construction, with the main use being as stops on Helicopter/Chod rigs on leadcore (or Diffusion Camo Stealth leaders) or as a back stop for Shocka Rigs. The flexible nature of the material allows the beads to be a firm grip on leadcore or thicker fluorocarbon type leaders but they will move under a reasonable amount of pressure should a snag up occur. The Teardrop shape of the beads allows them to streamline the rig for longer casting (although it may not give any real advantage on the cast, but if it increases confidence, then it can only be for the better!). I have only the Diffusion Camo version in my rig wallets as I believe that the colouration is perfect for all areas of my angling, although the same beads are available in a darker Weed Green colouration for those that prefer a solid colour. I have used similar products from other manufacturers, but the Nash TT Teardrops are once again my first choice due to the complete nature of the Diffusion Camo system.

More recently a lot of match anglers are using the 5mm Teardrops as stops on pole elastic setups to stop the elastic pulling into the PTFE bush when retracted, although the soft nature of the material absorbs any shock should the fish be lost and the elastic fly back and hit the pole tip.