EXCALIBUR TACKLE END
TACKLE - Surf
Tackle - Swivels - Crimps- Leader Material (Wire and
Mono) Big Game/Tigerfish
LINES -
Leader Line
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EXCALIBUR TACKLE |
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END
TACKLE - Surf
Tackle - Swivels - Crimps- Leader Material (Wire and
Mono) Big Game/Tigerfish |
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LINES -
Leader Line |
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A few words of introduction are warranted to explain perhaps our thoughts on end tackle, which reflect the choice of products we offer. The rod, reel and main line enable the angler to fight the fish, while it is the end tackle that first attracts the target species to the lure or bait, and then induces then to eat it! The end tackle then keeps this contact through the fight, right up to the side of the boat, and should not fail.
A fine degree of balance is needed between presenting a desirable lure, and one that is so overwhelmingly strong, as to be undesirable. This finesse of balance is a feature that we recognise, and has led us to many fine catches during our fishing lives, we are often criticised for fishing ‘too light’, but we catch when others fail. This is again a question of balance, using lighter main line, with less weight of leader, hooks and swivels, all allow a chosen lure to behave exactly as the manufacturer designed it to perform. Overloaded lures just get dragged through the water, and while they will on occasions catch fish, they fail to work when things get a bit difficult.
It is all a question of balance – we would rather sell balanced tackle to a customer, than just more costly larger sizes. We have a vested interest in you catching fish, and have chosen our range accordingly – and apart from that we use all the tackle that we offer.
All products are sold individually, unless otherwise stated in pack sizes.
KATANA HOOKS This one small item - is the singularly most important element of fishing tackle that you ever buy! It does all the work, and if it fails; then you just have another ‘fishy tale’! The hook has to penetrate the fish and hold on until such time as you decide to unhook it – no small task when challenging some of the biggest and most powerful predators in the seas. We apologise for the cost of our Katana Hooks, but the best does not come cheap; and it is not worth losing a fish for the small cost savings on inferior hooks. Over the years we have used a very wide selection of hooks and eventually came to the conclusion that we could only really get exactly what we wanted by getting our own hooks made, and it is these that we stock. Our Katana Hooks are made specifically to our design, at probably one of the world’s finest hook manufacturers. We favour stainless steel hooks wherever possible, but at times cannot avoid the strength to wire size attained by use of high carbon steel hooks. Stainless steel hooks are ideal for trolling lure situations, where there rust resistance allows skirts and lures not to be stained or weakened. All our hooks are individually sharpened before packaging, though all hook points need ‘re-dressing’ with use, especially after a large fish - even just to ensure your confidence in this singularly important item. With our few carbon steel hooks we have opted for ‘black nickel’ plating as potentially the least harmful to the environment, especially should a hook have to be left in a fish after capture. For strength we have opted for ‘carbon 110’, rather than the cheaper ‘carbon 80’ steels. Some of the hooks that we use have been engineered from the commercial fishing sector, where ‘hook performance’ is critical to profit or loss, and to this end our designs have taken the hard won economic lessons seriously. This is best seen in the circle and double hooks that we stock. Double hooks are favoured over trebles, for they offer less metalwork for large strong fish to lever against during a long tough fight, but offer improved hook-ups on high speed striking fish.
Number 1 Hook Tip: Sharpen your hook every time you put it in the water! You have spent a considerable amount of time and money on getting into the position of the fish being at the end of your hook – it would all be wasted if the hook failed and didn’t penetrate. Katana Big Bait Hooks are now available in R.S.A. through our sole distributor Pro Bait - Click on logo for access to web site.
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Click below to find the tool
Hand Crimpers - Hook Files - Safety Lines - Mono Cutters - Small Crimpers - Anglers Pliers
These are the right tool for the job of installing our double crimps onto mono or wire. Sure pliers, hammers, teeth and other methods can be used, but they never do the job properly, and usually end up crushing the materials being joined. We stock both stainless steel and painted steel crimpers that will install all the crimps that we sell
We also stock a useful waterproof fabric pouch to store and protect your hand crimping tool.
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These are probably the most essential piece of small angling kit that we pack on every fishing trip. Just the right size to dress the point of your hooks, and reform the points after a big fish or hitting a snag. We once fished with a skipper who would not let any hook enter the water without 2 or 3 quick strokes with a hook file, said that it was not worth loosing the fish of a lifetime to a blunt hook! Makes sense!
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Made from 500kg nylon rope, and a stainless steel carabine clip, essential for clipping down rods/reels into rod holders while in transit or during fishing (trolling or drifting). We have suffered in the past from rods going overboard from either fish strikes or just accidents. Safety lines would have prevented those occurrences. Seems a shame to watch your expensive tackle disappear below the surface for the sake of a safety line.
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These stainless steel side cutters are designed to cut smaller sizes of wire, and all monofilament lines, saving wear and tear on your teeth!
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Designed for the smaller crimps used for Tigerfish leaders, not suitable for double barrel crimps
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The all time favourite anglers tool,
compound lever pliers with cushioned grips. Featuring the parallel compound
lever pliers and side cutters capable of cutting wire up to 450lbs. Essential
equipment on any fishing boat.
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Click blow to find your end-tackle
Surf Tackle - Swivels - Crimps - Leader Material - Rigging Ancillaries - Big Game/Tigerfish
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| At Excalibur Tackle we offer a wind rage of beach rigging equipment and have included some of the items on this page
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Swivels are at times used at every available opportunity to make a connection between two different components of tackle, and at times this is an excessive waste of equipment, that is doing little to affect the best performance of your fishing end tackle. Ideally, swivels should be used where there is a risk of line twist that originates from the bait or lure, singularly where lure changing is frequently required (using a link swivel). Many swivels however do not remove line twist when under strain – particularly prone to this problem are barrel swivels. Ball bearing swivels are the only totally reliable solution to this twisting problem. Unfortunately, ball bearing swivels are expensive, but they do work. We offer a range that is rated to the leader size that you will probably be using. This isn’t because the leader is the weakest point, but that the size of the swivel ring or clip needs to be matched to the diameter of the leader material. Under sized swivels will either cut into or be cut by the leader, excessive sizing just overloads the ‘end tackle’ balance. We have elected to stock only dark coloured swivels, rather than bright plated swivels as there are varying counter arguments about the virtues of each. All our ball bearing swivels are made of stainless steel and then have been painted in production. Our belief is that a bright swivel could conceivably be mistaken as a small baitfish; and snapped at by a ‘stray toothsome’ fish. Resulting in the loss of an expensive lure, or if it happened during the fight of a big fish, the loss of a possible fish of a lifetime. This ‘stray toothsome’ fish problem is not unheard of, and we have personally experienced it, not with a swivel, but a lure that jammed up at the top of the leader – we lost a 80kg Tarpon, when a 5kg Barracuda ‘ate’ the lure and cut the mono leader
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We currently stock only double barrel brass crimps that have been plated black. These can be used on either nylon monofilament, nylon covered wire or multi-strand stainless wire; while aluminium crimps should only be used on nylon mono filament. A lot has been written about the virtues of various crimps, and at the end of the day we have found these to perform faultlessly when crimped with the appropriate pair of pliers. Only cup-to-cup crimpers should be used with our crimps Crimps should be sized accurately to the size of the materials being used, and crimped centrally to the crimp, allowing the ends to flare out. Crimping like this avoids offering edges that the leader material might cut against the edge. Folks worried about these flared ends being a hazard during leadering of an active fish, might wish to use a small amount of heat shrink tubing over the crimp as a protective measure, but avoid over heating – use a hot air gun. Better still have the wire man wear gloves.
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WIRE |
MONOFILAMENT
LEADER |
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We have never been happy using single strand wire, and find that its tendency to kink and snap is justification for using multi-strand wires. We stock both 49 strand stainless steel wire & clear nylon coated 7 strand stainless steel wire. This is again one of those compromises of big game tackle selection where you have to weigh the advantages against the disadvantages. 49 strand wire is more supple and flexible, but is near impossible to kink – and thus weaken. Clear nylon coated 7 strand stainless steel wire is slightly less supple, but offers the protection of larger diameter strands. The choice is yours, we use both!
Mostly available in 25m coils, though the 30lb wire is available in 10m spools. |
We only stock hard nylon monofilament leader line. This use of hard nylon monofilament as a leader material is to assist the ‘wireman’ at the end of the fight, to provide something that is resilient rough handling, and will resist the damage possibly inflicted by the fish during the fight. Soft monofilament leaders are prone to taking kinks and twists, which can then effect the action of the lure or bait. Sizes Stocked: 100lb
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BAITING
NEEDLES |
RIGGING
BEADS |
These
are stainless steel Mortician’s Needles, 12” long, ideal
for sewing baits onto hooks. |
We stock 12mm fluorescent beads for use in rigging lures, and use as additional attractants for deep dropped baits, when mounted in front of the hook.
We also sell plain circular beads in either orange or yellow. Sold in 50 per pack. |
SHRINK TUBE |
THIMBLES |
Used for making you own rigs, especially stiff rigs for trolling lures. Also useful in the small sizes for use over crimps to protect the wireman. Only available in red, in 1 metre lengths.
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These are an invaluable small element in rigging for large billfish and tunas, as they make an end loop that is resistant to wear during the long fight. We only stock stainless steel thimbles, as the fluorescent plastic variety are at times prone failure. Sold in 10 per pack.
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TUBI BOOMS |
SPLIT
RINGS |
These are the ‘secret
weapon’ for
fishing ‘flying collar’ rigs, especially with lures like
Redgills. The avoid all the problems of presenting a lure on a long flowing
trace into deep water, especially if you are fishing down on the bottom,
or over any sort of structure like a reef or wreck. They keep the main
line from being wrapped with the long trace, while the whole rig is dropped
to the depths.
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For replacement or modification to lures, we supply split rings in 2 sizes, 40lb & 100lb. These are black plated to reduce flash.
Sold in 50 per pack.
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Wind
On Leaders |
Stiff
Rigged Hooks - Singles/Doubles |
These are the answer to the biggest
problem of getting large fish close to the boat, at the end of a fight.
Traditionally, we all used a swivel connected to the double line, and
had a long heavy duty monofilament leader attached to the lure or bait.
This meant that the fish could only be brought as close to the boat,
as the length of the leader. Big game angling has unashamedly borrowed
a fixing technique from fly anglers, and removed the swivel right to
the end of the heavy leader, thus allowing the heavy leader to be wound
onto the reel. Wind-on leaders rely on the principles of the Chinese Finger Lock, to grasp the heavy monofilament leader in a sleeve of woven material. Early wind-ons used fishing Dacron as the sleeve material, but found that the loop-to-loop join between the Dacron and the doubled main line was too large, and occasionally caused heavy twisting during trolling. We make all our wind-ons with premium monofilament nylon, and use a hollow braided spectra to form the sleeve unit. All connections are sealed with whippings and a special adhesive to ensure the strength of our units. The spectra allows a sleeve of up to 150lb strength, but is still smaller than the size of the leader material (max. 400lb), thus ensuring easy passage through rollers and rings to the reel. All the wind-ons end with a double crimped ball bearing swivel with coastlock snap.Stocked in the following sizes:
For those fishing lighter class weights that still wish to use the principle of wind-ons, we also make these in 80lb & 100lb sizes, but they do not have the spectra sleeves, but they are still built to the same exacting standard as our big game wind-ons.
80lb Surf Wind on Leader. We also make Shark Surf Wind-on Leaders.
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Rigging trolling lures for larger game species has become a bit of a ‘black art’, with numerous ‘authorities’ stating that their method increases catch rates, and ensures firmer hook ups. We at Excalibur Tackle have a fairly open mind about all the various method and schemes for rigging lures except that the lure should troll as the designer intended, and that the hooks should engage the fish. To this end we make stiff rigs in a variety of configurations to suit the market and the customer, but ‘keep our peace’ on advising which to use or recommend. All our stiff rigs are built with 400lb 49 strand stainless steel cable, with double crimps throughout. Sealed within red heat shrink tubing to lock down the entire rig. The hooks are from our Sabre Trolling range, and are sized as best we feel is needed. Special or individual rigs can be made to order, sometimes while customers wait. Single hook rigs:
Double hook rigs :
Variations in the double hook arrangements are endless, with combinations of hook size, along with the introduction of variables in offset angle. Other than those listed, variations we elect to build to customer order. |
Tigerfish Leaders |
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30lb black nylon coated 7 strand stainless steel wire, with a crane
swivel on one end, and
a coastlock snap at the other; and all crimped with appropriate sized
sleeves. These come in 2 sizes, namely 12” and 18”; to
suit most anglers needs. The wire has been carefully chosen for flexibility
and strength. We can build variations to special order, and these might include hooks or variations in length, to accord with special customer needs.
Sold in 5 per pack.
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