Custom Angling Solutions

Lead Range

From time to time we get some products that arrive at the UKMA office that stand out from the norm. When the parcel arrived with the leads from Custom Angling Solutions, it was instantly apparent that these leads were something different.

The leads that we were sent all had the company's unique "weed" effect coating, which is in my honest opinion something completely different. Yes, it is simply a coating, but unlike a lot of other coatings did not come off in your hand when rubbed with a finger. The coating also felt very even and realtively smooth yet still retains a matt, almost invisible effect when in water over most substrates.

The range of leads consists of several different patterns. Rather than just provide the standard patterns that every company seems to do (they work else they wouldn't be available), there are a couple of others in the mix that are not so well known.

The "Weed" coated leads start from £1.50 each.

The Barrel Lead

3.75oz only

The Barrel lead is available in one size of 3.75oz only and are useful in a variety of angling situations. The Barrel lead can be cast long distances like a tournament or distance lead (obviously not as far in general), but also allow for superb hooking potential due to the distribution of the weight throughout the whole lead rather than at a single point.

Another use for the Barrel lead is that it is perfect for use with PVA bags where the lead and rig is encased within the whole bag itself. Due to the uniform nature of the design, a PVA bag can be cast without wobbling in flight as there is even amount of bait around the lead within the bag. This will almost certainly guarantee extra yardage on the cast when using bags,

Obviously these are not the only uses for the Barrel lead as they can be used for almost every swivel lead situation, and if unsure of what lead to use for a situation, the Barrel lead will cope perfectly.

The Bag Lead
3.25oz only

The Bag Lead has been designed to be used with solid PVA bags without having to use string or tape to prevent the bag coming off on the cast.

The Bag lead is virtually the same as the Barrel but instead of having the flat sides, it is cylindrical with a slight groove at the centre of the lead itself. The groove has been placed so that a rubber O-ring can be placed in it to grip the bag to the lead during the cast.

To use the Bag lead, it is a simple task to roll the O-Ring up onto the swivel of the lead, place the lead into the neck of the bag whilst twisting or folding the opening of the bag around the lead. Slide the O-ring back down onto the lead and locate in the groove to secure. Any excess PVA can then be trimmed off after the bag has been pulled up tight.

I have used this style of lead before and found that leaving approximately 10mm of excess PVA out of the O-ring, will give more than enough security on the cast.

The Flat/Flat Square Lead

The Flat/Flat Square leads are virtually identical each other having two large flat sides with smaller rounded verticals.

These leads are perfect when the maximum amount of weight is required to set the hook. Not the best casting leads in the world, but they are superb for close/medium range work. They are also perfect for fishing over silt or other soft bottoms due to that the weight is distributed over a larger surface area which limits the distance that the lead can sink into the deck.

These leads were originally made for an angler that fished on the back sides of bars and traditional leads had a tendency to roll or move. The large flat sides stop this from happening. They are also superb for use in running water.

The larger sizes are perfect for margin work where you want the lead to be kept in one place if fish are moving around the shallower areas.

The Square Lead

The Square leads are as they are described - square sided. All the sides of the Square leads are flat, so regardless of how they sit on the deck, one of the flat sides will always be in contact with the deck.

The Square offers superb hooking potential on bolt rigs due to that as soon as the swivel is lifted on the take, the full weight of the lead is felt as there is no pivot point other than the bottom edge of the lead.

The Square leads can also be used to fish on sloping bottoms if casting the showing fish away from the baited area where you are not 100% certain of what sbstrate you are casting to.

This style of lead is one that I use a lot of especially for margin work in the smaller sizes so that minimal disturbance is made on entry to the water yet still retaining the optimum bolt effect. Even if you use running rigs, these leads stay put on the take when used in conjunction with a wide bore run ring.

The Distance Lead

There are a lot of leads on the market that claim to be the ultimate in distance casting weights. Some of the designs really do cast well, but some of them wobble in flight meaning that some loss of distance is likely when compared to a similar pattern.

The Distance lead is similar to the "Roger & Kerry" lead that has a cult following on the Southern waters. The main mass of the lead is situated at the bottom of the lead meaning that the bottom of the lead will cast true due to basic physics. These leads will also plug into soft substrates such as silt enhancing the bolt effect of the rig.

I have always been a great advocate of this style of lead, and it is my first choice when casting long distances with single hookbaits.

The swivels on these leads are secured very well to the lead via the loops and even on the biggest whacks, you wil not pull the loop out of the leads (this is the same with all the leads in the Custom Angling Solutions range).

This is as close to the perfect all-round lead style in my totally honest opinion.

Final Thoughts

The "weed" coating on the leads is first class. The finish is as close to perfect as it can be with no raised spots where excess coating has stuck. When fished over gravel, they blend in very well as do they over all the substrates that we have placed them over. As you can see from the images which were taken on a cut down tree stump, they blend in to the "rings" of the stump very well indeed (I had to sharpen the images to make the leads stand out!).

The swivels used are of a very high quality and both eyes on all the leads we were sent spin freely. The loops have also had some of the coating placed on them as well so they are camouflaged superbly.

The pricing is also very competitive for the type of lead and coating and as each lead is individually hand made by Jamie at Custom Angling Solution, each lead is as close to perfect as they can be.

I know that I will be using a lot of these leads once the venues become fishable again. Top marks!!!!