Atomic Tackle
Report by Darren Wilson,
Surrey based Atomic Tackle have becoming very well known for top quality terminal tackle. We have had reports from many specialist anglers about their quality range of products. So we gave company MD Simon Healy a ring, who was generous enough to send us a selection of products for Review.
 Rock Bottom Rubber Shock Beads
A rubber bead is just a rubber bead right? WRONG! This may be the case with many of the other rubber beads available on the market place, but not one single bead is suitable for virtually every use that a bead can be used for. This has now changed with the Atomic Rock Bottom Rubber Shock Beads. The vast array of uses for these beads is only limited by the anglers imagination at the end of the day. The bore of the bead is much smaller than most available, but due to the soft compound used in the construction of them, a needle can be easily pushed through the bead to thread line, leadcore or tubing through them. The bore of the bead ensures that the bead will grip the material threaded through it, but will also move under pressure (something that is paramount if the beads are to be used on a leader of any type). I have tied leaders to various diameter lines and moved the beads over some quite bulky knots (something that I wouldn’t generally use in my own angling but others might) with moderate pressure (less than it took for some competitor’s beads to go over similar knots).
Primary uses of the beads are for stopping flying backleads sliding over tubing or leaders, used as stop beads on leadcore arrangements such as helicopter or chod rigs, as a bait stop on the hair between the bait & the hook to stop drilled baits from sliding down, etc. The beads will also slide onto tube tools with a little bit of pressure enabling them to be perfect as back stops for Shocka rigs. Available in two colours to match other items in the Rock Bottom range; matt olive green and silt brown, the beads are 5mm in diameter and are supplied with 20 beads in the packet. I would love to see an 8mm version of these beads, but you never know what is to come from the guys at Atomic, so watch this space!!!!
Mega Heavy Tungsten Tubing
 Tungsten rig tubing is nothing new to the world of angling, but the Mega Heavy Tungsten Tubing from Atomic is just about spot on! Unlike some other tubings available, there is no residual chemical smell from the tubing – which if you are fishing heavily pressured waters, this little thing may or may not be the secret to getting that bite or not, but it is not niggling in the back of your mind. The tungsten impregnated rubber compound is exactly as described – MEGA HEAVY! I have not had chance to put this on the scales (due to requiring a new set!) but it certainly feels to me that it is heavier than some of the others on the market. I have had no problems with threading various diameters of lines through the tubing either, which is something that some other tungsten tubings suffer from due to ripples in the inner bore.
This tubing is very supple indeed and you can be virtually guaranteed that it will not be coiled up off the bottom.
I am not a lover of using tubing unless the water I am fishing on has leader bans, but I can see this being a part of my armoury for use with short chod rigs on such waters (ssshhhhhhhh though as I want to keep some things on the down low!!!).
Available in matt silt brown and matt camo green to match the other items in the range, and also in 2 metre lengths.
Marker Link
 A fair bit of thought has gone into the Atomic Marker Link, so it is only fair to put the same amount of thought into the review of the product.
Marker links are nothing new on the market, but the Atomic link is one of the better ones available on the market. Most of the inclusions are very simple and uncomplicated as well as only being included due to necessity rather than gimmick.
In the packaging, the link is included with a hard buoyant 10mm bead. This is vital to the setup as the actual link itself has a 10mm flexi ring swivel fitted to one end for resistance free travel of braided lines through it when plumbing up. Placed on the spliced leadcore braided outer that makes up the actual link (the lead has been removed to add suppleness to the link), is a 20mm buoyant bead which holds the swivel out of any weed that is less than 11” in depth (the length of the link itself). On the other end of the braided link is a clam-lock swivel that allows for quick change of leads but also offering excellent strength to the lead attachment (I have had some other clip attachments open out when used in dense weed). Finishing off a neat attachment is a simple silicone sleeve to streamline the lead end of the link as well as protect against the clam link ring being pushed up off the attachment itself.
As most of the marker links on the market are either stiff (which can break if used with very heavy leads on impact on hard substrate in shallow water) or made out of a non-supple material (such as Amnesia or similar), the use of a supple link allows much easier marker float work in the majority of situations.
All in all, I will be using these links for my predator fishing as well rather than the stiff stems that I was using (that I was not too happy with).
 Choppa Droppa Ready Rigz
Finally, a rotary rig setup that can be used in dense weed safely and also allow fish to be landed easier in such conditions! Coming from a brainwave of James Harrison (former editor of Advanced Carp Fishing magazine), the Choppa Droppa allows the lead to be ejected off the end of leadcore leaders should it get snagged up when used in a rotary style setup.
The leaders themselves are constructed in the normal way for the hooklink arrangement, but it is the lead arrangement that is the clever part. I will be going through a step-by-step procedure of how to use this arrangement in a very near future update to the review of the product. The way Atomic have worked their version of the Choppa Droppa allows the lead to only be ejected under pressure, rather than just for the sake of losing a lead (like some other manufacturers products just to enable them to sell more leads!). I know that I will be using the also available Choppa Droppa kits from Atomic in my own angling in the future in conditions that dictate that the lead require to be ejected.
With the Ready Rigz, the complete rig is constructed already for the anglers that prefer to buy the items ready made.
Available in 3 lengths of leader material; 30”, 40” & 50”, there is a leader available for all anglers.
It is good to see that a company is thinking of rig safety rather than profits first & forth most.
Maggot Rig
 It is no secret the Maggots are one of the best baits to use when fishing for tricky and pressured Carp, but so many anglers struggle to present them properly with loose offerings at range. All is now made easier thanks to Atomic’s complete maggot rig lead setup packs.
They are simplicity themselves to construct using the included items and all you need to do is to tie up your required hooklink, PVA stocking/bag of maggots or other bait & cast it out to your required spot.
To use simply thread your mainline through the lead, tie the line or leader to the 10mm ring swivel, push back into lead (making sure the 8mm bead is tight against the lead), tie your baited hooklink to the middle swivel, add a PVA stocking/bag with maggots or other bait to the large bottom ring swivel, nick the hook into the PVA stocking/bag to eliminate any tangles and you are ready for action!
Available in 2oz, 2.5oz or 3oz sizes and includes 2 free Enterprise Artificial Maggots in the packet!
|
