Feeder Connector Swivels
These little Feeder Connector Swivels have become an integral part of most of my feeder rigs. Like many of the best ideas, they are incredibly simple, yet very effective, and most importantly, tangle-free.
These are extremely strong mini-swivels, but instead of having two eyes, one of the wires has been formed into a parallel hook-shape. A small piece of hard-wearing rubber tube fits over the hook effectively closing the loop when in use.
So what you have is a very simple method of changing your hooklenghs instantly. Couple this with the anti-twist properties of the swivel, and the tangle-resistant design and you have a brilliant connector that is ideal for a multitude of feeder rigs.
A little tip shown to me by England International Will Freeman was to use two stots instead of beads between the Feeder Connector Swivels and the feeder link. This creates a tiny boom that holds the hooklength away from the boom, massively cutting down on tangles. Give it a go, combined with these connector swivels it is a great little edge.
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Bob Nudd with a fantastic catch or Tidal River Yare roach.
Tim Bruce with a cracking early spring carp.
Andy Blay with a proper feeder caught bream.
Sphere Feeder Ultra Lite Hooks
For silverfish feeder fishing, with the chance of a big bonus fish, the Sphere Feeder Ultra Lite Hooks are my choice.
A lot of my feeder fishing on natural venues revolves around catching numbers of silverfish averaging a few ounces each, but of course the chance of a rogue lump or two as well. Hooks and hooklengths need to be relatively refined for this style of fishing, but not so light that the ever-present chance of hooking a decent bream, eel or tench is ignored or worse still wasted when light gear loses the battle. Whilst they cannot be relied upon, those bonus fish can mean the difference between winning and losing, so I need to capitalise on every opportunity.
Light hooks are great for presentation, and ensure my hookbait looks as natural as the particles it’s surrounded by, but of course everything on a feeder tends to require stepping up a bit. My choice for this style of fishing is the Sphere Feeder Ultra Lite Hooks, which despite being exceedingly light weight, packs an amazing amount of strength – don’t be fooled by the larger sizes, these area great for bit baits and aggressive retrieves when you need to ensure fish stay on all the way back. This must be down to the Japanese wire and tempering process used, but also the shape too. Whatever the ‘secret alchemy’ used, they have proven to be extremely reliable for this style of fishing.
Another point (sic) worth mentioning are the points! These really are razor sharp, but last really well too, meaning I bump less fish and need to change my hooklength less often.
Hook shapes are a very personal thing, but I do like the slightly ‘wedge-shaped’ bend on these hooks that see the point facing very slightly towards the shank. This shape, combined with the straight point, goes in and stays in, meaning less lost fish when I am fishing at range.
Bait wise, this is an allrounder, but really is a great maggot hook, especially when fishing with two or three grubs. It also lends itself really well to fishing worm heads and bunches of caster too. The Sphere Feeder Ultra Lite Hooks are a great feeder hook that I use a lot.
Available in sizes 8 to 18
Kye Jerrom
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Find out more about our team of anglers here.
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This is a light, but very strong hook, that is ideal for silvers, but with enough strength to land bonus fish.
On venues like the Ely Ouse, where there are a lot of silver fish on the far bank, this is the ideal hook. It will even land the odd bonus bream or tench.
The slightly inturned shape helps keep small fish on the hook when winding them in on the feeder.
"My choice for lighter feeder fishing."
Big Pit Mini Feeder
One of my favourite feeders in the Browning range is the Big Pit Mini. This diminutive version of the standard Big Pit Feeder is my go-to on venues where I need to recast regularly, often catching fish on the drop, or when I want to limit the amount of bait that I am introducing. This is particularly important when fishing for silvers, where overfeeding can be a problem with many larger feeder designs. If I’m fishing drains, big wide canals and short chuck on a lake, these are my go to feeder!
The reduced size of the Big Pit Mini allows me to feed a pinch of free-offerings compressed between two plugs of groundbait. Enough to keep the fish interested and no more. Although the feeder has a really open configuration, with much larger holes than many similar designs, the internal ridge hold groundbait really well. This ensures that you can punch these feeders out on the cast, when faced with a stiff cross wind, for example, without losing the contents – this is even the case with really dry mixes.
A lot of the venues that I fish are between 30 and 60 metres wide, so the 15 gram to 30 gram loading on these small feeders is perfect. Coupled with Cenex Feeder Braid and my Sphere Braid Special feeder rod they really fly accurately.
The moulded plastic construction have proven to be very reliable and doesn’t not suffer from the brittleness sometimes seen in other feeders. The short stem and moulded in swivel produces a strong and tangle-free design.
If you regularly target silverfish on slow-flowing rivers, drains or stillwaters, or perhaps want to introduce a snack-sized helping of sticky pellets for carp, then I can thoroughly recommend you give these feeders a go.
Dimensions 24mm long by 25mm in diameter.
Size 15 grams, 20 grams, 25 grams, 30 grams.
Kye Jerrom
The Big Pit Mini is just right for feeding small amounts of bait.
The moulded design is strong, but light and grips the bait well.
The range of weights is just right for medium range work on both rivers and stillwaters.
"The small size means there is no fear of overfeeding."
The weights are securely held in place.
Swivels are moulded into the stem, reducing tangles significantly.
The Big Pit Mini feeder is one of my favourites, especially when I want the bait to release quickly, thanks to the large holes.