Sly Skin is a semi stiff coated hooklink with a strong yet supply sinking Dyneema core.
The extra rigidity of the skin means that this hooklink material can be used to tie up some really effective rigs that can be made to kick the hookbait out away from the lead ensuring the rig reacts quicker when mouthed by a feeding carp. In simple terms if you’re using an effective hooking mechanism with a sharp hook this converts more pick ups into fish hooked…
Some lead arrangements – like a helicopter or lead clip – will allow the stiffer hooklink to settle better on uneven ground, or you can choose to use choose to use a marker float setup to identify the cleaner flatter spots in the swim that will allow you to get the benefit from stiffer hooklink materials like Sly Skin.
Gardner Sly Skin hooklinks feature:
- Fast sinking, ultra-supple Dyneema inner core braid means that stripped sections of the hooklink are supple and flexible. Whether you just want a soft section by the hook or you want to create a hinge point the soft core ensures that the rig will perform just how you want it to.
- Removable, semi-stiff, colour matched outer coating is extremely user friendly, easy to strip and knot, whilst retaining the necessary strength and stiffness to avoid tangles and tie technically advanced rigs.
- Colours available: Silt, Green and Black.
- For best results steam to straighten.
- Available on 20m spools in 15lb and 25lb* (rated by knot strength). *In Green Only
All of the Gardner Skinned hooklink range have been radically overhauled – and the new style improved 15lb hook links now feature a thinner diameter without compromising strength or key attributes such as abrasion resistance or knotting and stripping.
| Breaking Strain | Colour | Meterage |
| 15lb (6.8kg) | Green | 20m |
| 25lb (11.3kg) | Green | 20m |
| 15lb (6.8kg) | Brown | 20m |
| 15lb (6.8kg) | Silt | 20m |
‘KD Rig’ step by step guide:
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- What you need…
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- Step 1 – Strip 10cm of Sly Skin.
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- Step 2 – Start the KD rig with 7 turns up the shank.
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- Step 3 – Fold back the hair and whip a couple more turns round the hook.
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- Step 4 – The finished hook and hair should look like this.
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- Step 5 – Attach the swivel with a reliable figure of eight loop knot.
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- Step 6 – Tighten down using both tags from the knot and cut off excess.
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- Step 7 – Cover the knot with 0.5mm Covert Silicone Tubing to make it neat and tangle free.
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- Step 8 – Mould some Critical Mass Putty onto the hooklink to help pin it down.
‘The Multi Rig’ step by step guide:
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- What you need…
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- Step 1 – Skinned hooklinks are perfect for tying Multi-Rigs. We’ve chosen Sly Skin as it’s the stiffest skinned hooklink in the GT range. Cut off 6 inches lmore than the finished hooklink.
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- Step 2 – Form a Fig.8 loop knot at both ends. Make sure the loop at one end is large enough to fit a hook through (length ways)
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- Step 3 – Make sure that the loops knots at both ends are fully bedded (tightened) down. Here, we are using one of ‘Peel & Pull’ stripper tools.
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- Step 4 – onc eteh knots are securely bedded, trim of the excess from each know.
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- Step 5 – Using the larger loop, strip a small portion of the skin away from the hooklink just below the loop knot.
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- Step 6 – Push the loop through the eye of the hook. We have used a size 6 Covert Chod hook, but Inczors work really well too.
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- Step 7 – slip a large Covert Rig ring onto the portion of hooklink loop you have already passed through the eye of the hook.
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- Step 8 – Secure the hook and rig ring in position by passing the loop over the hook as shown.
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- Step 9 – With the hooklink and ring now in position it should look like this – with the hooklink forming a ‘D’ on the back of the shank, with the rig ring on it.
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- Step 10 – Mould on just enough Critical Mass Tungsten putty to make the hook and pop up hook bait sink when testing it in the edge.
Andy –
Hi.
Im looking for a coated braid to use with a stiff hinge rig. Would you reccomend the sly skin? Also, is this, along with the trip wire, crimpable?
Thanks.
admin –
Hi Andrew,
Sly Skin makes a really nice boom – especially in circumstances where you think the lake bed is relatively clear. It’s our stiffest ‘current’ skin.
Personally, I would recommend 25lb Ultra Skin as a better all round boom material – simply because it is suppler and therefore lets the hooklink lie out nicely even if the lead embeds in soft substrate.
Trip Wire is 100% crimpable – but I don’t think that any skinned hooklink is really safe to crimp (in case they delaminate).
Hope that this helps,
Lewis Read