Thinking Anglers Snag Bar
RRP: £10.99 Each

How many times have you in the past had a screaming take, only to see your rod jump out of the alarm groove? I know that I have had it happen to me a number of times in the past and in the end reverted to pushing a bankstick into the ground alongside the rod to stop it from happening. It is all well and good doing this with a bankstick, but when you are trying to travel as light as possible, a single bankstick will add extra weight, and should you need be fishing near snags or obstructions with more than one rod, you then require to carry more than one additional bankstick. If you are stalking, then the simple pushing in of a separate bankstick could be the difference in keeping the fish feeding or spooking them off.

Enter the Thinking Anglers Snag Bar. Essentially the Snag Bar is a piece of stainless steel that fits under your alarm on the buzzer bar in the same way that an indicator bracket does. Being of a single upright it can be rotated to be either side of the alarm (which is handy if you use single bankstick setups). When packed away, the upright bar can be removed from the bracket by undoing the locking screw at the base. This means that the buzzer bars can go back into any pouches in the same way as if the Snag Bars where not even used. This is something that the twin upright snag ears from other manufacturers lack.

Being of a single upright and on a single mounting point, I was sceptical of the bar moving under sideways pressure, but upon setting the rods up in the garden and not putting the freespool on the reels, I walked sideways with the rod locked up and discovered that the rod would either break or the bankstick pull over before the Snag Bar moved! (No rods or metalware were harmed during this test)

If you fish with 3 rods on a buzzer bar setup, you only require 2 of the Snag Bars as it is going to be extremely rare that you will be fishing the middle rod at an acute angle sideways. This makes the Snag Bars extremely economical, where as to make the setup look “nice” with the twin eared versions, you would require one for each of the alarms, and simply put, the centre one is not needed.

How could Thinking Anglers improve on the Snag Bar? Well the only way that was immediate to mind, would be to put a piece of neoprene or Japanese shrink tube over the stainless upright just to keep that peace of mind that expensive carbons would not be damaged due to the stress placed on them, but UKMatchAngler is sure that this is not needed else Steve Fantauzzi or Ben Hamilton would not have released these to the market. Top marks all round here on this product and they will be permanent fixtures on many anglers buzzer bars.

Thinking Anglers Hook Beads and Hook Swivels

UKMatchAngler are seriously wondering how many more untouched and simple ideas are going to be thought up by Ben Hamilton & Steve Fantauzzi! This combination is pure genius and although other hook beads are available (and have been for numerous years now), these are amongst the best on the racks.

The hook beads have a multitude of applications, and for those anglers that think hard about their rigs, will find new uses for these little beads all the time. They can be used in place of silicone tube (which can split on long chucks with larger baits) to secure hairs at different points along the hook shank, as well as using them in the more traditional way of securing a rig ring from falling off the shank of the hook. Unlike a lot of beads available, these are the perfect size in my honest opinion, and are also very unobtrusive.

The rubber compound used allows for the beads to pass over larger barbs on the hooks without tearing and also grip very well to the shank, but are easily moved. The hook beads are supplied in packs of 20 beads on a rubber sprig, and are available in either green, brown or black for perfect camouflage.

Accompanying the hook beads, are the micro hook swivels. These have been long overdue on the angling scene and are now available to all. The swivel is absolutely tiny, and weighs next to nothing. Affixed to one end of the swivel is a miniature welded ring, that is the perfect size to move freely on a hook shank, and also allow the swivel to be secured by the hook beads. The use of these swivels allows for the bait to have unrivalled movement in the fishes mouth. One little tip that can be passed on, is to have several different plastic baits tied to these swivels in your box, as with a little bit of pressure, the ring of the swivel will push over the hook beads allowing for quick change of baits without messing around tying new rigs. Although the hook swivels are extremely strong for their size, please do not use them for anything other than attaching baits to the hook as they have been designed for.

The hook swivels are supplied in packs of 10, and are finished in a very discrete anti-glare coating so to eliminate glinting when fishing in shallow, clear margins. The pairing of the beads and the swivels are going to make rig advancements much easier now for the thinking angler (no pun intended!).

Thinking Anglers Sticky Pockets

UKMatchAngler doesn’t know about other anglers reading this, but in the warm summer evenings, there is nothing better than to travel as light as possible to maximise catching fish as the sun sets. Anglers hate carrying around numerous boxes of tackle, of which 90% is probably not even going to be needed, and there are not enough pockets in the clothing they are wearing to carry the few packs of hooks, hooklink materials, leads, etc that might be required on the session. Enter the Sticky Pockets.

Such a simple idea, and as such, something that UKMatchAngler can see not wanting to be without now. Essentially the Sticky Pockets are as the name suggests – pockets that stick to buckets or other solid areas. The Sticky Pockets can be stuck to a large bait bucket (which doubles as a seat on short evening sessions).

The Sticky Pockets attach by a Velcro strip to the item you wish to fix them to, allowing the pocket to be removed if not required. The Sticky Pocket  allows for easy storage of hook packets, rig components, forceps, license wallet, hook link materials, spare cigarettes, etc, etc. The use for these is only limited by the anglers mind. Anglers can use additional Sticky Pockets to stick in their bivvy and brolly system, to keep items like  keys and alarm receiver safe and sound on a session. Available in either single or double pocket, and either with solid or mesh pockets, there is a Sticky Pocket in the range to suit all anglers. Another ingenious and simple product from Thinking Anglers.