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I have to be honest and say I've not really used that much braid in my fishing over the last few years. Not that I've had anything against it, just that I've found my coated and fluorocarbon links much easier to use when static bottom bait fishing. When I'm stalking however, braid is all I use, and so when the guys at Pallatrax sent me some of their new Terminal Contact Hooklink Braid to have a look at, I was keen to get to grips with it as soon as possible. During 2011 I've only fished two low stocked syndicate waters where the fish are so well fed, that they really don't need to take a chance on a hookbait, and so it's been challenging to say the least with the limited hours I've had at my disposal. I was kind of getting to the point where I was in need of some inspiration on the rig front just to freshen things up a little... Enter the Terminal Contact Braid!
I spent a bit of time prebaiting one of the lakes during July and started wading out my hookbaits onto a few choice lumps and bumps. Results on the braid were immediate and on my first session I had three fish on it - quite a result for the lake in question! All the fish in this lake put up a real scrap as they don't often see the bank, and these three were no exception giving me the right run around, which only gave me more confidence in the strength of the hooklink. That session was the start of a nice little run of fish which continued for a couple of months, and all the fish banked came on the new braid.
Since then I've been incorporating it into various approaches and it's performed admirably throughout in both stalking and static situations. The braid has a nice feel to it and is not too thin. I do like my braided hooklinks to have something about them in terms of density, in order that they don't want to tangle as soon as you show them an underhand lob. A more robust constitution means it's also better equipped to deal with snags and abrasions and as such, the Terminal Contact braid is right up my street. I do like to rub a bit of putty up a length of braid to ensure it drops nicely, or add a few blobs here and there depending on the way I'm presenting the rig, though to be honest, the Pallatrax braid is quite fast sinking anyway, so I've not really had to mess around with it too much, which is always a bonus.
I'll be working on a few new PVA bag approaches this year on one of the waters I'm targeting, and I'm hoping that this braid will form a large part of that approach. The more I'm getting to use items from the Pallatrax stable, the more I'm liking them, as I've also been getting along very nicely with their Terminal Contact Fluorocarbon too, but I'll cover that one in a separate review!
If you're looking to freshen up your tackle box this spring, then I can recommend the Terminal Contact braid very highly. It comes on 20m spools with case and cutter, and is available in 12lb and 15lb breaking strains, priced at around £7.99 per spool.
Julian Grattidge
Northwestcarp.co.uk
January 2012
I spent a bit of time prebaiting one of the lakes during July and started wading out my hookbaits onto a few choice lumps and bumps. Results on the braid were immediate and on my first session I had three fish on it - quite a result for the lake in question! All the fish in this lake put up a real scrap as they don't often see the bank, and these three were no exception giving me the right run around, which only gave me more confidence in the strength of the hooklink. That session was the start of a nice little run of fish which continued for a couple of months, and all the fish banked came on the new braid.
Since then I've been incorporating it into various approaches and it's performed admirably throughout in both stalking and static situations. The braid has a nice feel to it and is not too thin. I do like my braided hooklinks to have something about them in terms of density, in order that they don't want to tangle as soon as you show them an underhand lob. A more robust constitution means it's also better equipped to deal with snags and abrasions and as such, the Terminal Contact braid is right up my street. I do like to rub a bit of putty up a length of braid to ensure it drops nicely, or add a few blobs here and there depending on the way I'm presenting the rig, though to be honest, the Pallatrax braid is quite fast sinking anyway, so I've not really had to mess around with it too much, which is always a bonus.
I'll be working on a few new PVA bag approaches this year on one of the waters I'm targeting, and I'm hoping that this braid will form a large part of that approach. The more I'm getting to use items from the Pallatrax stable, the more I'm liking them, as I've also been getting along very nicely with their Terminal Contact Fluorocarbon too, but I'll cover that one in a separate review!
If you're looking to freshen up your tackle box this spring, then I can recommend the Terminal Contact braid very highly. It comes on 20m spools with case and cutter, and is available in 12lb and 15lb breaking strains, priced at around £7.99 per spool.
Julian Grattidge
Northwestcarp.co.uk
January 2012
