Choice is the blessing and the curse of modern life. Once upon a time going into a supermarket was a relatively easy task, but these days the choice is bewildering. It's the same with utility providers, white goods, computers- you name it and we're bombarded with more models and information than we know what to do with. Abundance of choice, it seems, is a fundamental human right in a capitalist economy. And even Walton's "gentle art" isn't exempt.
Take the spin-fisher's trace, for instance. In the days when I first started hurling lures (more in hope than expectation) into lakes, rivers and canals aged thirteen, there was no choice: it was simple, bulk standard tackle shop bought wire traces, with a choice that very occasionally extended to black, metallic silver or green. Buy half a dozen, and off you go.
These days there are specialist traces for heavy jerkbaiting and a whole plethora of lengths, breaking strains and sizes. There are wire traces that can be tied using conventional knots, many anglers make their own traces, and there's also the rise of fluorocarbon.
I've recently experimented with fluorocarbon, a material I've used before for "stiff rigs" for carping. I've had no problems, but must confess to not being entirely sanguine about its use. My interest was first piqued when trying to use a tiny snap bean style ultra light plug with a conventional wire trace. Basically it killed the plug's action, which kind of defeated the object. I made up a few fluorocarbon traces and on my next trip the lure (on which I've yet to catch a fish) behaved far better and exhibited the shimmies and wiggles its manufacturer had intended. I've also used the fluorocarbon with conventional Ondex and Mepps spinners. So far, so good, but I can't quite shake the fear that if a really toothy pike comes along fluorocarbon, for all its stiffness, might not quite be "man enough" for the job, and as the whole point of using traces is for the protection of pike I'm leaning back towards a return to always using conventional wire traces. Part of me wants to think "well, if Savage Gear make them then they MUST be safe", and their lack of visibility is certainly a "plus", but a nagging fear remains.
Internet research has, however, turned up a few more possibilities. I'm very interested in trying out a knottable trace material marketed under the name of "Knot 2 Kinky" (ha ha, see what they did there, "oh, how we chuckled"!), which comes in a variety of breaking strains which should, across its range, be able to cope with everything from ultra-lighting to more standard lure fishing. I'll definitely be getting hold of some, and I'll let you know how I get on.
It's all progress, I guess, but there is still a part of me that longs for a simpler era when you went into the tackle shop asked for a few traces, got the "one size fits all" items neatly rolled up in a little see through bag and went home without spending hours worrying about whether another brand or material would be better suited. Too much choice breeds uncertainty, uncertainty breeds lack of confidence, and lack of confidence is every angler's biggest enemy.
Which trace will I use next time? ............ that's a decision which might go to the wire!
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