If like me, you haven't already set yourself up for the coming season, now's the time to make sure all your favourite lures are ready to go, the moment the fish are in. For hard bodied lures (plugs) that usually means checking all the hardware for signs of corrosion, bluntness or weakness. While I normally replace any iffy trebles with the excellent Daiichi Bleeding Bait treble hooks, at the end of last summer I started to play around with single hooks on some of my lures. After reading conflicting views on various fishing forums and blogs, I wanted to make my own opinion.

At this point in time, I can't conclusively say they increase hook-ups and catch rates, however I didn't feel disadvantaged in any way. I can't remember a single fish being foul hooked using single hooks and as I'm not a commercial fisherman, that doesn't bother me - in fact I'm pleased - I'm always a bit disappointed when an amazing run turns out to be a foul-hooked fish.

It's not my place to bleat on about fish welfare to you either - you'll have your own view I'm sure. In my case, seeing that I've injured a fish I plan to return is a negative experience. You know the situation - you hook a bass in the mouth with the belly hook and the tail hook swings around in the fight, leading to injury. If luck's on the fishes side but not yours, it's equally possible that on landing the fish that spare treble will find its way into you - it happens!

I'm not a hippy (not that there is anything wrong with that). But in this day and age I find myself almost ashamed to say, I like to fish a barbed hook. I understand the reasoning behind removing barbs and as I've already said I am genuinely downhearted if I inadvertently injure a fish - but having a barb, a small barb, gives me confidence - and having confidence catches me more fish. In some ways, fishing single hooks (with barbs) on my plugs is about making a healthy balance between catch-rate and conscience. So far, results are good on both counts.

Okay, confession over. This is supposed to be a tackle site after all - on to the hooks in question.

I am using the excellent Decoy Pluggin Single hooks in size 1. I don't use excessively large lures these days. I have found these work admirably as replacements for trebles sized around 4 and 6. These hooks feature a big gape which I like. It feels to me that on the belly positioned hook, the wide gape positions the hook point away from the lure body, when the lure is moving forward. When suspending, the vertical hanging hooks will reach a similar position to a standard treble. With the belly hook point facing forward and the tail facing backward, I don't feel disadvantaged at all.

Another key feature is the over-sized eye formed at a right-angle compared to a traditional eye on a fishing hook. The oversize hoop allows for fitting to the essential split-ring. The peculiar position of the eye is necessary to align the hook correctly once attached to the split-ring. Even if you could fit a standard hook over a split-ring, you would need to add an additional ring to correct the alignment.

The big question about replacing original hardware with hooks like these Decoy Pluggin Singles is over lure balance and action. I spent a lot of time reading and researching the matter when I first got into plugging in Australia and in summary, I don't think many people want to make it a science - leave that to the lure manufacturers and get on with your fishing. Treat every lure case-by-case. Test each lure. It will help if it is a lure you've used extensively before. If the lure still feels right then it will most probably still catch - it may even work better. If a lure feels wrong, don't risk killing the action of a favourite lure. If you've come around to how deadly a suspending lure is, then test this too - you may have affected the overall buoyancy - positively or negatively. Don't use the bath if you normally fish in saltwater!

If you do want to get all technical over balance, you can buy adhesive, weighted strips or pads to  re-balance your lures.

In summary, my results aren't yet conclusive. In terms of catch-rate I haven't identified any tangible increases, however I don't feel disadvantaged and am willing to start this season with them among my 'regulars'. After all, more and more of my fishing is moving over to soft plastics and I only ever fish a single, single hook!

More on the Decoy Pluggin Single 27 Hooks:

Decoy Pluggin Singles are available in sizes 8 to 2/0 (the smaller sizes are perfect for small jigs too!). You get 8 per pack and it is clearly stated they are suitable for saltwater applications. I acquired mine from MonsterTackle.co.uk where they are currently priced at £5.99 per pack. I've only ever seen them in a silver finish. Decoy is a brand I really trust having used a number of their products before. Amazing quality.

Yesterday, our HRF campaign started - not targeting Wrasse, the mainstay of this discipline, but Plaice!

While I very much doubt we can lay claim to inventing 'lure fishing for Plaice', it's not something I've heard about before - consequently I find it exciting. And while I can equally not claim to be an expert on the matter, I have given the subject a fair amount of thought over the past 12 months - since last Plaice season.

So where were our heads at, prior to yesterday? a) Clearly a Plaice is a predator, much like other flatfish found in UK waters including; the Turbot, Brill and even the humble Flounder. b) Plaice are inquisitive. I recall a story a friend told me of seeing a small Plaice swimming up the anchor rope of his boat in 10 meters of water. And c) If you find them at the right time, you can find them competing for food, in large shoals. Seems simple, but these facts have laid heavy on my mind for the past year with the ultimate conclusion being that Plaice ARE an ideal target for lure fishing.

With one false start already under our belts this year, our Plaice fishing from the boat finally started yesterday. We fish mixed ground, essentially dotted with mussel beds. The mark we fished yesterday was between 13 and 17 meters deep. It would be unfishable, with any kind of finesse in anything other than a neap tide. I don't think the tide inhibits the fish, but success comes from imparting a good action on the lure and having the ability to feel when the fish has the lure in its mouth. We're lucky having our boat located near some lucrative Plaice fishing grounds, but in reality I can't see why what follows can't be replicated in numerous places around the country. In fact, a shallower venue could actually prove to be better/easier/more productive.

There lies the biggest hurdle. Fishing in 17m of water with a 14g jighead is tough. It's amazing just how much tide there is at traditional 'slack tide' when you've scaled down this light! In addition, 17 metres of braid really grips the water column. I've actually noted the rate of the descent slows, the deeper the lure gets. I've put this down to the 'grip' or friction of the line against the water surrounding it. Indeed, maybe more to do with buoyancy, but regardless, you need to deal with the effects.

Initially I tackled the problem by fishing dropshot. Thought being that I could fish a heavier weight to get down and stay in contact with the sea-bed, while using slack to impart action on the lure - rather than fighting the sinker. Problem was that in this depth (usually use this tactic successfully in shallower water) the water's friction/buoyancy combined with the bow of line caused by even a hint of tide meant the rig was always under tension and therefore almost impossible to impart any real action.

Jigheads were going to be the order of the day.

Note - jigheads over 14g with smaller hooks are hard to come by. We inherit a lot of jig heads meant for Bass and clearly even a small bass can inhale a 4/0. Now although I realise Plaice can expand their mouths considerably, I'd still have more confidence with a hook size between 2 and 1/0. Despite now having a wide choice of jigheads in the UK, I don't believe many fit those requirements - certainly at the heavier end of the scale.

Far from the ideal, we started with these two set-ups:

1. a 14g Sakura Labrax articulated jighead attached to a 1/0 offset Gamakatsu EWG Worm Hook in red (I had in mind to fish a worm imitation). While I still grimace a little bit at the look of the end result, it didn't look too bad in the water. The bait I had in mind was the 6-inch Berkley Gulp Sandworm - I opted for the Bloody red colour.
2. an Ecogear Iwashi Head - one of the few jigheads to fit the criteria at 14g with a 1/0 hook. On this we fished the excellent Ecogear Aqua Milfle 3-inch curl tail grub

Neither looked particularly well balanced out of the water, but worked well within.

We were able to reach bottom vertically below us if we flicked the lures slightly up tide. We could just about feel the bottom if we used our senses and watched the line as well as the feel of the rod.

Amazingly, results were instantaneous! The tap-tap signaled the presence of a fish and even at depth the severity hinted at a decent-sized predator. The Ecogear Aqua Milfle was first to land a fish - a beautiful Plaice of around a pound. We were stoked but hardly stopped to celebrate as we knew this wasn't a fluke and that there were more fish to be caught. The articulated Gulp Sandworm wasn't far behind in landing a similarly sized fish. I was pleasantly surprised that even smaller Plaice were able to engulf the wide gape hook on a moving bait.

What followed was a special session, that I doubt we will ever forget. We didn't experiment too much, as what we were using was working well and to be honest, we never really expected the fish to keep coming as long as they did. Bites were plentiful and when we achieved a hook-up, the Plaice fought gallantly on the light tackle. This was as much fun as I've ever had catching Plaice before. In fact, more so.

Incidentally, the Marukyu Power Isome worm was my only distraction from the Sandworm. I had two drops and caught one fish so was in no way a fair test - especially as it was realistically too small to fish on the 1/0 Gamakatsu.

On the day, the Ecogear Milfle proved to be the best performing lure. I assume the smaller profile allowed the fish to find the hook point sooner, while it clearly didn't put the fish off striking. I'm not normally a fan of curl tail grub designs and I have had the thought that the Milfle does look a bit uninteresting in the packet, however it's clear that Ecogear's superb design and bait technology excel when it comes to catching the fish, rather than the angler. The limpness of the tail is impressive; the suppleness of the material used allowing the the tail to extend and quiver at even the slowest pace (and on the drop). Undeniably Ecogear have superb know-how in manufacturing artificial bait that fish find instinctively attractive. The 'magic juice' that these lures come suspended in clearly serves a purpose and may well be a glimpse of wider used baits of the future.

In summary, Plaice are definitely targetable by lure tactics. It feels like they are perfectly suited to the HRF discipline, being found in an average size of 1-2lb with specimens up to around 6lb. We have a long way to go to perfect our tactics and there are currently some shortcomings in the tackle market for suitable jigheads suitable for this style and venue.

Very much looking forward to the next opportunity.

If you've had success catching flatfish on lures, please do let us know in the comments section below.

Ecogear Aqua Milfle 3-inch lures and Marukyu Power Isome (Large) are available from www.BassLures.co.uk - get some and have a play!

Granted, the new Art of Fishing shop in Plymouth is specialist. It only sells tackle to lure fishermen and women. But Ben Field, the owner, has made a tremendous effort in sourcing a fantastic range of lure fishing equipment from around the globe and making it accessible to UK anglers. Exclusive spinning reels from Japan. Lure rods from France. Soft plastics from the US and Australia, to name but a few. Not only that. He's one of a small number of individuals that continue to raise the profile of emerging disciplines including LRF (Light Rock Fish), HRF (Hard Rock Fish) and of course, modern bass fishing.

Ben and his partner Jo made a brave move when they bought a traditional fishing shop (their first shop) in St Merryn, Cornwall and turned their back on the existing revenue streams, choosing to use the wall space to display rows and rows of high-quality hard and soft body lures. In modern lure fishing terms that was a long time ago and the rest, as they say, is history. As someone who also believes in a future of fun and active fishing using light and well-balanced tackle, I'm hugely encouraged that The Art of Fishing concept has not only survived in difficult economic times, but clearly thrived, to the point where they are opening a second, larger store on the south coast.

So it was with great excitement and a sense of belonging that we headed down the A303 early on Saturday morning. We felt even more proud about our sport when angling legend, Keith Arthur mentioned the store opening on his Fisherman's Blues radio show, live on TalkSPORT - a blessing?

The sun was shining as we drove into the Barbican area of Plymouth where the shop is situated - literally 100 yards from the sea and decent fishing.

We entered a busy shop. From a little ear wigging it was clear that there was a healthy mix of visitors (not just tackle anoraks like me!) There were local lure anglers, anglers we recognised from the specialist lure blogs and forums, a couple of distributors and press. It was also clear that there were a number of more traditional anglers present. The ones I overheard seemed to be enjoying the event and discovering a new side to their sport. I should say, that while lure angling does have an elite end with a price tag to match, Ben has made effort to cater for everyone. A good example would be his exclusive LRF Starter Kits that include everything to get you going for around £99.

Lure fishing 'can' be technical and the choice of lures and techniques a little bewildering at times (for all of us). It's a relatively new sport and everyone is learning. Visiting a store like Art of Fishing gives you access to expert advice and a fast-track to success. New staff member and local lad, Matt Newcombe is no newbie. With countless lure fishing hours under his belt, local knowledge and a massive amount of hands-on experience with much of the tackle in-store, he is an asset to any visitor. He's even had an intercontinental LRF tournament win (you can ask him about that!)

As we already stated, there's a vast array of tackle on offer from various premium lure fishing brands. The Art of Fishing has always heavily promoted the likes of Ecogear, Deps and Daiwa, but the larger premises has allowed them to expand the range to include nearly everything on Ben's wish-list. New products include Major Craft rods, hPa luggage, Illex lures and Vanfook hooks.

Graphiteleader rods were the stars of the show for us. With the excellent light-tackle fishing marks just yards away, we had our LRF heads on. Two Graphiteleader LRF rod ranges were on proud display in both solid and tubular tip variants - the Calzante EX and Corto EX. We both fell for the same rod - one of the Calzantes - and Dan won out, purchasing on impulse.

What was a particularly great experience was just how quickly the new rod was in use. There are literally miles of the finest LRF fishing grounds I have ever seen. That evening we had our best LRF session of the year so far, catching 7 species early in the season - including two firsts. With just one visit under my belt I'm hardly a Plymouth expert, but it feels like Plymouth is arguably the epicentre for LRF fishing in the UK. Ben certainly thinks so and has some ambitious plans for later in the year.

We had a great weekend in Plymouth with The Art of Fishing gang and some great fishing. If you're into LRF or just interested to learn more and give it a try then I'd definitely recommend that you swing by sometime. Awesome place.

The Art of Fishing, Plymouth: 1 Citadel Ope, The Barbican, Plymouth, PL1 2JY

Opening hours: From 9am to 5.30pm, Tuesday to Sunday (10am start on Sundays)

www.artoffishing.co.uk

From the picture acquired from a German website, it is clear that the new Daiwa Infinity Q Custom is built upon the pre-2010 Certate chassis. As such it doesn't feature Mag Seal, but it does feature a load of Daiwa's greatest innovations, including; Real Four, Digigear II, Hardbody-Z, ABS spool, Airbail and Twistbuster II. Despite not being the absolute latest carnation, fear not, this is a top grade spinning reel and one of the Daiwa reels that is made in Japan. I fish with two original Infinity Q reels alongside a Certate and they compete admirably.

There are two visible differences that I can make out. The rotor looks to have had a redesign, with the non-roller arm featuring a unique cut out - neither that of the original Infinity Q or the later Infinity Q Zaion.

The other, obvious addition is a new spool design. It looks roughly similar to the original part, but features attractive cut-outs along the lower edge, red highlights and carbon insert finish - in no way similar to that featured on the Morethan Branzino, by the way. It's a unique look for Daiwa, but I think my preference would still be for an RCS Custom spool. At this point it purely comes down to taste. I believe one downside with this carbon spool is the lack of a line clip.

Internally the Infinity Q Custom features the same 4.8:1 gear ratio. However, the new reel has 6 bearings, in comparison to 9 in previous models. Two of the six are corrosion proof CRBB but I have to question where 3 bearings have been lost. I expect that one, or even two bearings could be in the handle - which can be easily upgrade with an RCS Custom knob or handle - however it is worth further investigation if you're considering buying one.

These new reels are available in limited quantities across 2500 and 3000 sizes priced from around 300 Euro (£250).

While at first this may not appear to be a major revelation, it has the potential to do the sport a great deal of good.  It's clear that Fladen wants to make inroads into the high street - especially large retailers and supermarket chains - and with Matt's endorsement supporting this advance, it feels like there's every chance of success.

The Matt Hayes Adventure range of fishing tackle and accessories looks to make fishing equipment accessible once again, popularising the sport. I'm sure there are countless others that, like me got into angling with a Winfield fishing set bought from good old Woolworths, in the local town. If it hadn't have been so easy and accessible to get into fishing with the minimum of fuss, I really don't know if I would now have this delightful passion for angling. In my mind, it's that accessibility that will give Matt the reach into the non-angler audience, and Fladen the potential to drive some immense volume and margins. For us - we get a much needed injection of fresh blood into the sport, that arguably preserves our past-time for the future and offers us a realistic opportunity to be able to pass this interest onto the next generation.

Smaller retailers and tackle shops may argue that the widespread accessibility of fishing tackle in every town will see the death of the local, independent tackle shop - I disagree. For one, these new anglers will require bait - and I'm guessing live bait will feature at some point in most angling careers, even early on. I have seen it on the continent, but I don't think we'll be seeing live bait in supermarkets any time soon. Once the angler is up and fishing with their starter set and at the point they're thinking about live bait, the tackle specialist can capitalise on these frequent visits. It's plain to see that a number of these newly introduced, informal fishermen/women will go on to get bitten by the angling bug, and be life long customers of fishing tackle stores.

I have some experience in marketing principals and I can immediately see the true advertising value of a presence for fishing, on the high street. We'd be kidding ourselves if we thought we're close to replicating what you see in the U.S with prime-time angling related advertising and feature events like Bassmaster Tournaments. The size of the UK angling market - as successful as it has been - can not support that level of publicity or investment, and without such is not likely to grow an awful lot bigger. It's activity like this between Fladen and Matt Hayes that gives the sport some highly valuable airtime with the wider audience.

I for one am very excited to see how this venture goes. I wish Fladen and Matt the very best of luck.

Matt Hayes Adventure fishing tackle will be in the shops as early as June this year and will feature around 100 items of tackle across freshwater, carp and sea fishing disciplines.

As yet we're unsure which national store groups will promote Matt Hayes Adventure tackle. It has been confirmed that both Fladen and Matt Hayes have exhibited their goods to major UK retailers at this year's Spring Fair International trade event, at the NEC. I would assume it's fairly likely that Argos might feature here, either supplementing or replacing its current ranges. We'll wait and see.

Lynx Fishing have developed a technique called Precision Compression Technology. The process is said to join line while sustaining 100% of its original strength (traditional knots can weaken line by as much as 50%). What's more, the technique is said to achieve this result without the use of heat or glue.

At this early stage we're not sure whether the technology is only viable on a large scale - i.e. manufacture - or whether the technology can be sized to enable the process to be carried out by the angler. One of the limited tit-bits of information that has been released is that Lynx Fishing will initially offer 'a range of rigs', so perhaps it will be limited to a manufacturing process, for now. We could speculate that this either means the device involved is big or expensive (or both).

Regardless, as a light-line angler myself, I'd welcome any technique that would enable me to fish line of thinner diameter without the fear of weakening it with standard knots. In addition, there is huge potential for a device that makes attaching line to terminal tackle, easy for the masses.

Only time will tell I guess. The official launch of Lynx Fishing is planned for the European Fishing Tackle Trade Exhibition, held in Paris this June.

If you'd like to join us in keeping an eye out for more news on Lynx Fishing and their Precision Compression Technology, here's the address of their holding page : www.lynx-fishing.com

The Big One 2012 is being hosted at FIVE Farnborough - across Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th of March. The massive purpose built venue is totally covered from the elements so you need not worry about the weather on the day. It's also easy to park with free parking for 10,000 vehicles.

Again, this year sees two seminar theatres featuring talks by the UK's top anglers and angling celebrities. These are always highly popular so make sure you find a space ahead of time so not to miss out. Previous years have seen scores of anglers queued up outside the seminars trying to follow the talks. Some of this year's angling personalities attending include; Matt Hayes, Keith Arthur, John Wilson, Mick Brown, Ian Russel, Ian Chillcot and many, many more.

As well as the UK's biggest tackle discounters and mail order companies selling stock at heavily discounted prices, the tackle industry has acknowledged the importance of this now regular event and you can expect to see fishing tackle manufacturers proudly debuting their latest products to attendees - more than any year previous. So whether you're looking to stock up on essentials for the next season whilst saving a few quid, or whether you want to know what the hottest new products will be in 2012, The Big One is the place to be.

As we've found first hand in previous years, there are genuine bargains and savings to be hard - seek and you shall find!

Advance ticket holders are able to access the The Big One show at the following times: Saturday 8.30am and Sunday 9.30am. That's an hour ahead of those that pay on the door. You can buy in advance here: www.fishfacepromotions.co.uk/tickets.html

Postcode for the Sat Nav is GU14 6AZ ('Five' Farnborough)

FishFace Promotions have again held the ticket price at £10 per adult. A two day ticket can be purchased for £15. Concessions are available for under 16s and OAPs, priced £6. Under 12s go free!

Plan was to test three styles of Jacks Own lures:

• Mega Darters
• Sperm Tails
• Baby Minnows

I wanted to fish these 'dropshot' on an ultralight finesse set-up. This included 1.75 kilo fluorocarbon and a size 8 Red Owner Mosquito hook, fished about 6 inches from the weight. Logic with the short length was that the fish would be closer to the bottom after the cold snap and drop in water temperature, and that I'd be mostly fishing up and down and/or keeping the rod high (with a lower rod at range the angle of the line can fish the lure too close to the bottom)

I started with the smallest of the lures - the 1.75 inch Baby Minnow - a nicely sculpted lure with a delicate little split tail. I must say, for such a value for money lure (£3 per pack of ten) I was pleasantly surprised by the quality. Even the fragile little tails were perfectly formed with no excess material to be trimmed - fished perfect straight out the pack. They feature a slightly ribbed finish which adds to the detail. Available in a range of colours, I favoured the Chartreuse Stix for the canal.

The Baby Minnow could easily be fished on a smaller hook than the size 8 Mosquito. I trimmed a little off the front of my lure to make it fill the hook gape and stand proud - not an issue with the lure at all - just me being finicky. I'm glad to say that despite my cold hands and rusty reaction times, a couple of tiny Perch obliged. There should be a photo hereabouts showing the Baby Minnow sticking out the Perch's mouth. You'll notice it's been swallowed head first. That's a hard thing to accomplish with a jighead rigged lure, so really shows a strength in the dropshot technique and also the flexibility of the lure material used - the little Perch really wanted it. To prove this wasn't a fluke, the second tiny Perch was hooked in an identical manner.

Action on the Baby Minnow is as you'd expect on a split tail, very skittish and erratic. I wasn't sure how it would perform slowed down in the cold, but it worked admirably.

Next up was the Mega Darter, another 1.75 inch lure, most accurately described as a tadpole imitation. The only thing I'd add to that is that the tail is triangular in cross-section, with the lower side the widest. Same quality material used. No trimming required for the size 8 this time as the head of the lure is fatter.

After a play below my feet, I was disappointed with the action - or lack of it. With the profile of the tail I could see that it was designed to glide and decided that it wasn't best suited to dropshot. I rigged the same lure with a tiny 0.3g Jazz Jighead and was really pleased with the result. There wasn't a great deal of water fishing the margins of the canal, but the flat underside of the lure and the ultra lightweight jighead gave me a good amount of time in the strike zone. Lots of bites and one more hooked Perch.

And so I began to wonder of there were any bigger Perch around me, so I made the change back to dropshot and the last lure I was testing - the Jacks Own Sperm Tail - slightly bigger at 2.25 inch.

This was the lure I had been thinking about most while I was unable to fish. It seemed to fit my idea of a drop shot Perch lure perfectly - nice size, blunt wide head and fine tail. I wanted to fish this almost static, up and down and transmit tiny vibrations through to that tail (something I saw demonstrated particularly well in one of the lure tanks at the Nantes Tackle Show)

I had a play in the extreme margins and it looked perfect for a slow presentation. I mixed it up with a different colour this time with Purple Rayne, a transparent pink colour with red flecks. It wasn't long before I located a shoal of fish and started catching bigger fish - most likely due to the bigger prey size and stunned action. It worked as perfectly as it had in my head. Really like these. Should become a regular in my lure bag this year.

Just to add. As the light faded I changed lure colour over to the Black Magic. It's really nice to have an almost solid black lure in the range. This one is more like a coffee colour featuring a red and blue metallic fleck. Caught the nicest Perch of the session.

In summary, really impressed by these three lures. Great quality and value on offer with a useful range of colours. Another fine set of lures from Jacks LRF.

Jacks LRF, as the name implies, was set up to offer ultralight lures to a growing following of Light Rock Fish (LRF) anglers in the UK. While pure LRF is actually a saltwater discipline, it shares a lot of techniques with modern day Perch fishing (and continental Trout spinning). What I've always found a little odd is that LRF actually seems to be better serviced with innovative tackle when compared to freshwater lure stockists - despite that being the more established discipline.

If you're into Perch Fishing or LRF, you definitely need to pay Jacks LRF a visit: www.jackslrf.co.uk

A little history. The Alabama Rig was made famous by a US Bass Tournament Pro called Paul Elias. He won a recent Walmart FLW Tour event on Lake Guntersville (Alabama) using the rig and since then everyone wants a piece of the winning formula. Maybe not surprising when it netted Elias a cool $100,000 prize fund!

I probably shouldn't say that like other US commodities (cars, houses, people), the Alabama Rig sure ain't subtle. Effectively it's a hardbody with multiple booms fanning out behind. On each of these positionable booms is fixed a traditional soft plastic bait (lure). The logic is the outfit mimics a shoal of baitfish - and predatory fish, like bass, love shoals of baitfish. It's not a pretty thing. Nor does it have finesse. Which makes its other name rather suitable - the Castable Umbrella Rig (CUR for short).

Okay, granted. But is fishing up to 8 baits at once sporting? And does it have a place in tournament angling?

Unlike our competition angling over here, it would appear that in a number of state tournaments (not all), there aren't restrictions on the number of hooks that can be used simultaneously. Which begs the question, if it's a legitimate practice in winning (big) prize money, why hasn't anyone thought of this before? Dignity perhaps? Maybe the growing prize money or fame on offer in the US has made it easier to put pride to one side.

There is a positive though. An economic one.

Since the advent of Umbrella Rig popularity, a big demand as formed a brand new market for these lures. It would seem 'everyone' needs at least one of these new wonder lures. If that wasn't positive enough news for lure manufacturers and retailers, the real magic for the industry's economy is the very fact that where each angler fished a single lure and jighead before, they now need eight! And presumably they get through them at the same rate as a single set up. Ka-ching!

It's easy to see how this has become the success story it has for the US tackle industry, but I can't help but feel it's not good for the sport - never mind the fish!

Tell us what you think? Friend or foe? Would British anglers consider such a fish catching tool?

This is sooo the future of our sport.

Would love to see tackle manufacturers, resellers and retailers funding similar here in the UK. Hard to measure return-on-investment directly but makes total sense. One or two early movers would gain great PR... but if the industry moved, that would make a real difference to the numbers of kids coming into our sport.

Watch this >>> FTF FISHING SCHOOL from French Touch Fishing on Vimeo.