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PB Products
Hooks & Gadgets
First Impressions
PB Products may not yet be a "household name" when it comes to angling products, but with a new range of products that were displayed at the Five Lakes Carp Show earlier in the year, anglers have already been talking about them and the online forums have been alive with questions about the company and the range. UKMA recently received a box from PB Products containing the new products for this year as well as some of the existing products. Over the next few weeks, we will be reviewing the products that have been received.
Next up out of the box are the new range of PB Products Hooks and some clever little gadgets to increase the pickup to hooking ratio of many common rigs.
Most Wanted Super Strong Hook
 The Super Strong 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 or Most Wanted Aligner gizmo to exagerate the angle that the hook sits at in the water.
The wire used in the Super Strong is, as the name suggests, strong for the gauge of wire used and has been forged for additional strength without increasing the weight of the hook.
Available in sizes 2, 4, 6 & 8. The Super Strong is available as a barbed pattern only.
10 hooks per packet with a RRP of £ 3.80.
Most Wanted Anti Eject Hook
 The Anti Eject pattern has a slightly longer shank than the Super Strong and also has an in-turned eye and slightly more curved bend. 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). The wire guage is slightly finer than the Super Strong, 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 4, 6 & 8. The Anti Eject is available as a barbed pattern only.
10 hooks per packet with a RRP of £ 3.80.
Most Wanted Jungle Hook
 The Jungle Hook is the all-rounder pattern of the 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 Jungle Hook the strongest pattern in the range.
Barbed Jungle hooks are available in sizes 2, 4, &, 6
10 hooks per packet with a RRP of £ 3.80.
Most Wanted No Escape Longshank Hook
 This pattern is an "out & out" big fish hook. Based on the long curved shank patterns that garnered popularity with the 360 rig, the No Escape Longshank is the perfect pattern for very technical rig presentations. The extra long sweeping curved shank allows the hook to turn instantly in the mouth and with the narrow gape, also allows for secure hook holds.
The wire gauge used is suitable for all but the snaggiest of swims and even with the longer than normal shank, should not open out when needed the most.
One thing that UKMA feel is needed to be pointed out, is that a lot of venues ban patterns of this type due to the potential for misuse and double hooking when smaller fish could pick up the bait. With this in mind, please do not use this pattern unless there is a very small chance of a fish less than 20lb picking the bait up and that you do have a pair of sidecutters handy to cut the hook on unhooking should double hooking occur. To minimise the the risk, please use a hooklink length no longer than 6".
The No Escape Long Shank Hook is available in sizes 2, 4 & 6.
10 hooks per packet with a RRP of £ 3.80.
Most Wanted Aligner Long Shank
With the hours of daylight getting shorter and anglers working all hours God sends to put bread on the table as well as to afford to go fishing, time is of the essence and the last thing that the short session angler wants is to be messing around with shrink tube when creating technical anti-eject rigs when the rods could be in the water. PB Products have thought about this and come up with a fantastic "gadget" that makes creating tried & tested anti-eject rigs as easy and as fast as possible. The Aligner Long Shank gizmos are constructed from a soft rubber compound that has a high memory to return to the same form after being placed under tension as they were when first removed from the packet. The Aligner Long Shank has been designed to create the same anti-eject principle as the original Line Aligner setup that Jim Gibbinson came up with over 20 years ago. The Aligner Long Shank fits snugly over the eye of the hook and the hooklink exits through a small hole just before the end of the Aligner which under basic physics laws allows the hook to turn instantly and quickly.
To use the Aligner Long Shank gizmos, simply create your usual rig without shrink tube or silicone kicker over the eye, and before you tie the swivel or other hooklink attachment on, simply place a leadcore splicing needle through the exit hole and following the internal bore, out of the larger hole and pull the hooklink material through it. Slide the larger end over the eye of the hook and knot, and manipulate the Aligner so that the hook and hooklink are in a straight line. It is as simple as that!
The Aligner Long Shank gizmos are available in packets of 8 pieces, and available in three translucent colours to suit the substrate being fished over (Gravel, Silt & Weed Green). RRP of the Aligner Long Shank gizmos is £4.49 and offer great value for money as they are reusable and very convienient.
Most Wanted Bait Stops
 We have all suffered at times, problems with baits falling away down the hair which shortens the length of the hair between the bait and the hook, and therefore makes the rig less effective. PB Products have thought about this as well, and come up with a clear bait stop which allows multiple baits to be used together in Snowman rigs, without the risk of one of the baits sliding away from the other. In the past anglers have used rubber float stops to do a similar job, but the compound of the rubber used in the float stops can be too soft and split during a wound up cast. The other drawback of using a float stop is that they are generally a different colour to the bait or substrate, and stick out like a sore thumb. With the PB Bait Stops, the clear material allows them to be used with any colour bait over any colour substrate without sticking out.
The "Mushroom" shape of the bait stops also allow them to be used either way round. When used with baits that have been drilled out with a nut drill, if placed on the hair with the smaller end towards the bait, the larger hole that the drill makes can be plugged with the small section stopping water from ingressing into hard air dried popups or tiger nuts.
The Bait Stops are supplied in packets of 10 pieces with two stops on each wire loop.
For more information on the PB Products range, please visit their website by clicking the image below.
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