PB Products

PB Products [www.pbproducts.nl] may be a new name on the specimen scene for some anglers, but they are a well known company on the continent with some very impressive products within their range. Based in the Netherlands and fronted by Frank Warwick, Koen Koops, Ronny De Groote and Piet Vogel, these top carp anglers minds have got together and developed products that are not simply gimmicks, but will catch you more fish if used correctly.

UKMatchAngler.com approached PB Products at the recent Carpin’ On Show in Essex, and PB Products allowed us to take samples of some of their “Most Wanted” range to put through their paces. The “Most Wanted” range is a complete system that starts at the hook, and goes all the way through the rig setup to the reel spool. The complete range includes hooks, hooklink materials, swivels, leaders, main lines, PVA and baiting tools. UKMatchAngler.com did not take a large amount of the products available, but chose a small selection of products that we thought all anglers would find permanent placement in their rig boxes.

Jelly Wire

Some people would have seen this product before and those that have used it have found it to be a superb product that will not let the angler down. Jelly Wire is a supple coated braided hooklink material, which has a perfectly round braided core, that does not go fluffy once the outer coating is stripped back. The inner braided core is also fast sinking but also very supple, to allow maximum hook movement. The outer coating is stiff enough to prevent tangles on the cast, as well as to kick the hooklink away from the main rig. The outer coating is also translucent in colour which allows for greater camouflage compared to a solid colour coating. Jelly Wire is available in 3 different colours (Weed, Gravel and Silt) as well as 3 breaking strains (15lb, 25lb and 35lb), and supplied on large diameter 20m spools. The larger diameter of the spool allows the material to be straightened much easier than if it was packaged on a small spool (as well as making the material less springy when constructing rigs).

Overall, it is a very impressive product that we will be putting through its paces in the coming weeks.

Skin-Less

Skin-Less is another coated braided hooklink material, but it differs from Jelly Wire in that the outer coating is incredibly stiff. The mega-stiff outer coating allows for completely tangle-free use on the cast, and will kick away from the rig like it was constructed out of steel! When the outer coating is stripped back (use of a commercially available coating stripper is highly advised!), the inner braid is super supple, and the combination of stiff and supple in the rig will confuse even the most wary of fish. Skin-Less is perfect for use with all types of hook pattern, but comes into its own when used with straight pointed hooks. Upon tying up a few rigs with the Skin-Less material, we found that when tying knots in the stiff coated section, if was best to fully tighten the knot over steam or immersed in hot water. This allows the coating to soften slightly, and the knot to fully compress down on itself. As with other mega-stiff coated hooklink materials, we discovered that if the knot was not steamed or heated up in water first, the breaking strain of the coated knot was lower than expected. This is not a criticism of Skin-Less, but something that ALL stiff coated materials suffer from. Steaming the hooklink will also allow the material to be pulled completely straight making the rig work much more effectively in the water. After straightening, the hooklinks can then be stored on a rig board to keep them straight.

Skin-Less is available in 3 colours (Weed, Gravel & Silt) and in 2 breaking strains or 15lb & 25lb. On making a few rigs up with Skin-Less, we found it to be more user friendly than some of the more popular ultra-stiff coated braids, which is great testament to PB Products and the team.

Cutter Pliers

Anyone that uses braided hooklink materials or reel lines on a regular basis will know that there is nothing more annoying than having your scissors fray the end of the braid or fail to cut through the material on a single cut. The combined minds at PB Products have come up with a set of cutters that will give a clean cut to braided materials as well as remaining sharp for a very long time. To test these, the cutters were put through a test of cutting a very abrasion resistant braided leader material many times, as well as then cutting a very supple braid that does tend to fray when cut with all but the sharpest of blades. The PB Cutter Pliers handled this procedure with ease and were comparable to the set of mega-expensive braid specific scissors that one of the UKMatchAngler.com team uses! To say that every angler should have a set of these in their box or rig wallet is an understatement, and unless the angler loses them, they will not need to buy another set for a very long time (if at all!).

An extremely impressive product indeed.

Ready Made Heli-Chod Leaders

Most leadcore helicopter rig leaders that are available are all a much of a muchness in that they are on a length of leadcore, with a clip at one end, a rubber sleeve to cover the link, 2 beads and a swivel. Nothing fancy but then again the safest leaders are not going to contain anything fancy in the hooklink attachment region.

PB Products have put a lot of thought into the Heli-Chod leaders and although the leaders do make use of the same basic components as the rest, PB have changed the way that the beads to secure the hooklink on the leader are held in place on the leader material, without making the rig unsafe in even the hands of the inexperienced angler to leadcore.

The beads are held in place on a double tapered silicone sleeve, that allows the beads to have a firm grip on the widest part, but allow the large diameter beads to part company with the sleeve and exit off the leader should they need to. This gives a superb safety element to the rig should the angler crack off or suffer a mainline breakage, in allowing the large diameter bead to exit freely over the connecting knot at the end of the leader.

The tapered silicone sleeve can be moved along the leadcore leader to allow the hooklink to be kept in place when fishing over soft silt where the lead can bury itself into the bottom, keeping the hooklink on top of the substrate. The Heli-Chod leaders also incorporate a large eye swivel to allow maximum rotation on the cast, as well as to allow easy exit of the hooklink off the leader should a breakage occur. The silicone sleeve also offers superb protection to the leader itself in that the pressure of a hooked fish is absorbed into the soft material, lessening the chance of the inner lead core being broken by the hooklink swivel, and potentially causing the inner to poke through the outer braided material. Top marks here PB Products, and we look forward to putting them through their paces on the bank.

The leaders are ready constructed and can be used straight from the packet. The leaders are supplied with 2 leaders per packet, constructed on 45lb leadcore (which has neat spliced loops), and in two lengths of 60cm and 90cm.

Our first impressions of the PB Products goods, are very high, and we will update this article once we have put the items through their paces. Keep an eye out in your local shops for these products and we are sure that you will not be disappointed with them.