[Miliwolf]

This is the first, of my summer series of slightly informative posts on tackle and which ones to get. This one looks at Flasher Rigs.

They are a rig I do not use often, but they can be extremely effective and if I ever want to catch large numbers of Rig I would put them on. I do not beleive the flash helps when Surfcasting but when bottom bouncing it can aid in attracting same species like Barracouta. There are dozens of brands of Flasher Rigs on the market and even more variations within each brand. I can eliminate most of them because I only use circle hooks. In recent times, mainly thanks to Trademe there has been a influx of Chinese made rigs for very low prices, unfortunately I have not gotten around to using any of them.

So here are my top 5 Flasher Rig

5) Mustad Flasher Rigs. Mustad makes both 2 and 2 hook flasher rigs, their colour selection is a bit limited. Most of their range uses quality mustad octopus or J style hook, they are fine for boat fishing but I am a fan of circle hooks for surfcasting. The exception being their Demon Terakihi Flasher rig, like the name suggests this uses Mustads exellent demon circle ultra point hooks which I find ideal for Moki or Tarakihi. They are fairly common in retail stores.

4) Bite. This brand is quite new to the market, and the products are sourced out of China. They offer a great selection of sizes, colours and variations. The hooks are remarkably good quality despite their Chinese origins. They are wrapped around a piece of storage foam. They are not significantly cheaper then the better known locally made products (although being locally tied is no guarantee of better quality) hence why they only my 4th preference.

3) “Flash series”, these New Zealand made flasher rigs do not have a consistent brand name, but they have one thing in common, they use excellent Gamakastu hooks. They are normally labeled Snappa Flash, Tarakihi Flash and Blue Cod Flash. The Snappa Flash series are tied using Octpus hooks while the Blue Cod and Tarakihi uses circle hooks. The Blue Cod series are tied using the bran swivels because Blue Cod are notorious for twisting and tangling rigs. While still adequate the colour selection is not as vast as same of the competition. Like many of the others they are supplied with a free a free sabiki linewinder.

2) Black Magic: Available almost everywhere and made in New Zealand they offer a good selection of colors and sizes, all wrap around a handy piece of foam for storage. The Japanese made hook they choice to use is extremely sharp when fresh out of the packet but seem to blunt quickly and very prone to rust. They are also the most expensive.

1) MacFlasher. I love these flasher rigs, especially their Snapper size and the Bait fish Sabiki. They are exceptional quality. They are tied in Tauranga by one of the most experienced tiers in the country. They are tied on quality Gamakastu hooks which are arguably the best on the market. They are also the cheapest available (excluding their bait sabiki), Only a very few shops stock them so are best ordered direct. Contact details can be found on the link below.

http://www.fish-paintings.co.nz/fish_tackle.php

One last piece of advice, I have had nothing but bad experiences with Youvella Flasher Rigs, these new Zealand tied rigs seem to be weakly tied, I have had them dismantled within seconds after hooking onto Blue Cod. The Youvella hooks they use are fine, but in my experience their quality control is lacking or they choice to use very weak knots, or maybe I was just unlucky. I still can’t recommend them.

[b:15v9tbb3]Interesting alternative[/b:15v9tbb3]

Silstar Squid Jig Rigs. These have a bit in common with flasher rigs, but rather then using synthetic hair they use a soft plastic squid imitation. Each rig has three hooks of reasonable quality and they are not badly priced. Like all flasher rigs, they fish better with a little bait added.

[b:15v9tbb3]Updated June 2012[/b:15v9tbb3]

[yellowfin]

i got some from fishing for less one time hae not used them yet they have some rubber glow thing on them unsure on what they are like as got them free cause they messed an order up otherwise have used black magic before

[Miliwolf]

I used ones a couple of times with little plastic squid things on them. I think hot shotz made them for cod or something. Were a different design, they might even of had swivels for the droppers. Think Barracouta took them all in the end.

Used a lot of Black Magic ones back when they were 3 for $25, lost a lot to rays in the sounds around the same time.

[St_Paul]

I’ve started tying my own, allows me to change hook size, colours etc on the same backbone. use the braided dropper loop knot and just loop the hooks on. costs less than $5 per rig.

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