Fox Rage Crimping Pliers

Trace making isn’t the glamorous end of predator fishing, is it? Nobody gets excited about a sleeve and a pair of pliers when there’s a cracking pike showing in the margins. But those little connections deserve your attention. The Fox Rage Crimping Pliers are built for that quiet bit of preparation: compressing crimps when assembling traces. If you make your own rather than buying everything ready-tied, a dedicated tool is a sensible addition to the kit. This is about doing a small, important job properly, not adding another gadget for the sake of it.

The key point is what Fox Rage intends the tool to do. These pliers are designed to compress crimps without creating unwanted stress or sharp edges. That’s a different aim from simply giving a sleeve an almighty squeeze with ordinary pliers and hoping for the best. A trace connection needs to hold without damaging the material it’s supposed to secure. The tool helps with that process, but it doesn’t make component choice or careful assembly optional. You still need the right sleeve, suitable trace material and a method that matches the components you’re using.

Construction is straightforward: carbon steel, finished in gunmetal grey, with hard-plastic handles. There’s no need to dress that up as something wildly fancy. Carbon steel is a sensible material for this sort of hand tool, although it brings a familiar bit of housekeeping. Put it away damp after a wet session and you’re inviting corrosion trouble. Dry it properly before storage and follow any care instructions supplied. A tool living in a dry trace-making box has a much easier time than one forgotten beneath a soaked towel in the bottom of your bag.

The handles have an ergonomic shape and come in bright red and black. That’s a useful combination on paper: shaping aimed at making the squeeze comfortable, plus a splash of colour when you’re rummaging through tackle. Hard plastic shouldn’t be confused with a soft, cushioned grip, though. Nor would I take the shape alone as a promise of brilliant grip with wet or slimy hands. For careful trace work, clean hands and a stable place to work are a better starting point than trying to rush everything on your knee beside the water.

Where these pliers fit best is the preparation you do before heading out. Lay out your components, make a few suitable spare traces and check each connection before it goes into storage. That’s much less faff than discovering you’re short of a trace just as a promising bite-time arrives. Follow the wire and crimp maker’s guidance on sleeve selection, positioning and compression, then give the finished connection a controlled pull check while keeping hooks safely secured. Don’t treat an apparently tidy sleeve as proof that the whole assembly is sound. Looks are only part of the story.

For a carp and coarse angler who also enjoys winter piking, this is a specialist crossover purchase rather than an everyday rig tool. It earns its place when crimped predator traces are part of your fishing. It isn’t something you automatically need for tying hooklengths, sorting float tackle or making ordinary hair rigs. Equally, don’t assume that because a material can physically fit inside a sleeve, it’s suitable for this method. Stick with components intended to work together. A dedicated tool is useful, but it can’t turn an unsuitable pairing into a dependable connection.

There is one slightly naff wrinkle in the product information: the length. Fox Rage’s product options list 15cm / 6in, while the overview also mentions 25cm. Those aren’t interchangeable measurements, especially if you’re buying it to fit a particular tackle-box compartment. The product code to check is NTL036. If exact size matters, ask the retailer to confirm it before ordering rather than taking either figure as settled. The construction, handle materials and intended crimping job are much clearer, so that inconsistency needn’t muddy what the tool is actually for.

The buying decision is pretty simple, then. Regularly make crimped traces? These are worth considering as a proper, dedicated part of that setup. Only use ready-made traces and have no plans to change? Keep your money for something you’ll actually use, mate. Their contribution to catching fish is indirect: they support careful trace preparation rather than making a lure more attractive or finding the right spot. Get the compatible components and assembly routine sorted alongside the tool, and that’s a far more useful result than expecting the pliers alone to solve everything.