Atomic Tackle T.A.G Hooks

Atomic Tackle have had hooks in their range for several years now, and those that have used them, have created a cult following and rarely use any other patterns. All of the hooks (other than the Chodda hooks) have been given a strapline which Atomic Tackle call T.A.G or "Turn And Grab". Atomic Tackle have designed all the hooks in the range to give superb turning potential whilst in the mouth of the fish, which turns the pick up to hooking ratio into the anglers favour. We are all fishing for fish that are becoming more and more cautious when feeding over anglers baits, and anything that can improve the hook up ratio is something that we all should be looking at.

All of the T.A.G hooks are suitable for use with braid, coated braid and mono or soft flourocarbon hook links.

UPDATE: All of the T.A.G hook pattern are now available in the Gunsmoke finish which offers the angler a low-reflective coating to the hooks. The Gunsmoke finish is unlike other hook coatings in that it is not Teflon, but a specialised electro-plating process which coats the hook with a matt finish. This process requires less plating operations than the industry standard black nickel finish, which enables a sharper point to be produced.

Atomic Grabba

The Grabba pattern has a medium length shank that starts with a straight eye and flows into a bend which terminates with the point turning in to point almost inline with the end of the eye. When used with mono or flourocarbon hooklinks, a claw effect is given that causes the hook to turn every single time on a plam or finger test. The long straight point ensures that maximum pricking potential is given when used with bottom baits. The micro barb is the perfect size to not impede penetration at long range and to ensure that the hook stays in.

When used with soft braided hooklinks, the pattern is perfect for use with a shrink tube kicker to exagerate the angle that the hook sits at in the water.

The wire used in the Grabba is very strong and has been forged for additional strength without increasing the weight of the hook.

Available in sizes 2, 4, 6 & 8 with sizes 6 & 8 available in the new Gunsmoke finish. The Grabba is available as a barbed pattern only.

10 hooks per packet with a RRP of £ 3.60.

Atomic Haula

The Haula pattern has a slightly longer shank than the Grabba and also has an in-turned eye. The in-turned eye allows for quicker turning of the hook when used with braided hooklinks without the need for shrink tube (although if you like to use shrink tube on your rigs, you can do without problems with the Haula). The wire guage is slightly finer than the Grabba, but the strength is still present thanks to the forged nature. The bend is more of a traditional bend with the straight point turned in very slightly.

The length of the shank allows for more technical rigs that use rig rings or pieces of silicone to alter the exit point of the hair with no problems, and for blowback rigs or 'D' rigs, the pattern is perfect.

Available in sizes 2, 4, 6 & 8 with sizes 6 & 8 available in the new Gunsmoke finish. The Haula is available as a barbed pattern only.

10 hooks per packet with a RRP of £ 3.60.

Atomic Stinga

The Stinga pattern is very similar to the Grabba, but has an in-turned eye to create an aggressive hooking arrangement without the need for shrink tube. The heavy wire guage allows this hook to be used where line cannot be afforded to be given to a fish without fear of the hook opening up. The point of the Stinga is very slightly shorter than the Grabba which leads to the hook suffering less chance of blunting when fished around snaggy areas. We have all cast close to snags and ended up hooking a branch or lilly stem and upon releasing the rig from the obstruction found that long fine points have either folded over slightly or bluntened. With the Stinga, the chance of this happening is lowered with sacrificing initial penetration. The micro barb, again, is not going to impede penetration and is the perfect size.

Available in sizes 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8 available in the new Gunsmoke finish. The Stinga is available as a barbed pattern only.

10 hooks per packet with a RRP of £ 3.60.

Atomic Claw

The Claw is the all-rounder pattern of the T.A.G range of hooks. The medium-short shank allows the hook for use with most of the popular rigs used by anglers today including pop-up rigs. The slightly in-turned eye allows the hook to turn quickly without the need for shrink tube on both braided and mono/soft flourocarbon hooklink materials. The in-turned point allows for less chance of point damage when fished over gravel or flint and offers perfect hooking potential for pop-up or zig rigs.

The wide gape also makes this pattern perfect for surface fishing with side hooked baits and in the smaller sizes is perfect for all specialist angling work.

The super strong wire guage means that along with the rest of the design makes the Claw the strongest pattern in the range.

If you want a hook that can be used for carp or catfish on stillwaters or roach, bream, barbel and chub on the rivers with a variety of baits, there is a size in the Atomic Claw range that is more than suitable.

Barbed Claw hooks are available in sizes 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12 & 14 with sizes 2 - 10 available in the new Gunsmoke finish.

Barbless Claw hooks are available in sizes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 & 14 with sizes 6 & 8 available in the new Gunsmoke finish.

10 hooks per packet with a RRP of £ 3.60.

Final Thoughts

The Atomic Tackle hook range has a pattern in it that is suitable for any task that the angler today may be looking for. All of the points on the hooks that we were supplied were razor sharp and needed no sharpening straight out of the packet (which tends to be a trend today with some anglers to touch up all their hooks with a file before casting out).

The new Gunsmoke finish (shown next to an uncoated version of the Claw in the image on the right - the Gunsmoke version is with the eye at the top) to certain sizes within the range, allows the angler to be totally confident with their rigs in clear or shallow water where they may be worried about reflections off of the metal. The coating is smooth and offers next to no increase in wire diameter. The points on the Gunsmoke versions are also razor sharp.

All the eyes on the patterns were closed perfectly with no sharp edges or ridges that could damage the hooklink material, and even the thickest hooklinks that we would use with the size of hooks went through the eyes at least twice with no problems.

For more information on the Atomic Tackle range, please visit the Atomic Tackle website by clicking the image below.