Korda Lead Clip Action Pack

Right then, lead clips. They're not the most exciting bit of kit you'll ever buy, but they might be one of the most important, because a lead clip set up properly is one of the safest ways to fish for carp on weedy or snaggy waters. Korda's Lead Clip Action Pack puts everything you need for the job in one little packet, and it's one of those bits most carp anglers have kicking about in the tackle box.

Korda list the contents as five lead clips, five tail rubbers, five swivels and 2m of rig tubing. That's enough to build five complete lead clip set-ups. It comes in four colours, Clay, Gravel, Silt and Weed, so you can match the lot to the lakebed you're fishing over and keep it as discreet as possible.

So why lead clips at all? Korda explain the basic rule nicely: the lead must eject before the swivel pulls out of the nose of the clip. If the swivel comes out first, the lead never comes off, and instead your line pulls back and forth through the system like a running rig. That can leave the lead snagged, and worse, the fish snagged with it. Set up right, the lead drops off when you want it to.

The big benefit, as Korda put it, is that once the lead comes off, the carp tends to rise towards the surface. That lets you lead it over underwater obstacles like weed beds, snags and bars, rather than dragging it through them. On a weedy pit in summer, that can be the difference between landing a fish and losing it in the salad.

Korda also describe the lead clip as the most versatile system for presenting a bait on any lakebed, and it's easy to see why it's such a popular set-up. You can use it with pretty much any rig, with any shape of lead, and swap leads in seconds without retying anything.

The honest bit: a lead clip is only safe if you set it up properly. The usual mistake is pushing the tail rubber on too far, which means the lead can't come off. Push it on only part-way over the arm of the clip, and test that the lead pulls off with a firm tug before you cast. Too loose, and you'll lose leads on the cast; too tight, and you've defeated the point. It takes a few goes to get a feel for it, but it's worth doing every time.

Who's it for? Anglers fishing weedy or snaggy waters, newer carp anglers who want one pack that covers a safe set-up, and anyone who wants a tidy, tangle-resistant way of fishing a lead. Who's it less suited to? If your venue insists on inline leads or running rigs, go with the rules. And if you want a fully fixed lead that never comes off, a lead clip simply isn't designed for that.

As always, read the fishery rules. Plenty of waters have specific rules on lead set-ups, leadcore, and tubing, and they're there to protect the fish. A good fishery rule beats a good rig every time.

A quick tip: pair the clips with a heavy tubing like Korda's Dark Matter Tungsten Tubing in the same colour, so the last bit of line above the rig is pinned down and camouflaged. In the rest of this review we'll go through what's in the pack, who it suits, how to set it up safely, and the questions anglers ask before buying.