BigTooth Tackle Rigs Release as Part of New Clam Pro Tackle
OutdoorHub 08.08.13
Big fish with nasty teeth live to chomp down on meat. That’s why ice anglers have forever tinkered with rigs that harness live or dead bait.
From the first such contraptions, there have been significant problems with performance. It took too way many bites to play the odds and finally get the hooks into a good fish, and keep them there, until the fish was flopping topside.
Frustrated by the role luck played with even the best existing quick-strike rigs, big-fish chasers Jeff Andersen and Josh Kragthorpe studied the science of rigging from every angle and came up with the ultimate set of traps. Collectively they’re called BigTooth rigs, and they’re key components in the new Clam Pro Tackle lineup.
About Clam Pro Tackle
Until now, Clam Outdoors has focused on matters above the ice.
This winter, with the introduction of Clam Pro Tackle, the company is plunging into the icy waters with a full range of brand new jigs, rigs, spoons, soft plastics, hard baits, and more.
It’s a bold, but natural, move. Products of the restless, demanding minds of Clam pros, a collection of the best ice anglers in the world.
More about BigTooth Tackle
Annoyed by quick-strike rigs that were the wrong size for minnows they were using, that didn’t get the hooks home after a good bite, that snagged on the bottom of the hole just as a big fish’s head started up, Clam pro’s Andersen and Kragthorpe experimented with out-of-the-box concepts. They came up with the ultimate answers to these age-old challenges.
Through their personal and passionate pursuit of rigging perfection, they were able to take most of the luck out of the equation.
Here is a brief tour of Clam’s BigTooth rigs.
Zero Rig
Zero Rig is the ultimate live or dead bait harness, the one that answers every nagging question.
Study its closed-loop design and imagine how the twin treble hooks can slide freely to any position. This does several important things, starting with allowing you to tether any size minnow in perfect swimming position with its belly nicely resting on the loop.
Then, when a fish hits and you pull back to set the hook, both trebles close on the fish’s mouth like a snare snapping shut. Everything lines up, so the connection is rock solid. Nothing dangles. Because both hooks naturally gravitate inline, they most often end up near each other, so it’s common for the second hook to find the fish’s mouth as well.
Because of how this rig functions, it’s exceedingly rare – almost impossible – for one of the hooks to catch on the bottom of the hole.
Available in 130 lb clear fluorocarbon for walleyes and pressured pike in clear, shallow water. And in stainless, nylon-coated black wire for the ultimate in anti-tooth insurance.
Blades and beads near the trebles. Bead on the swivel. This is the pinnacle of quick-strike design.
Baby BigTooth Rig
A breakthrough finesse rig, for fish and situations where smaller baits excel. Crappie minnows, fatheads, shiners, small suckers. This little beauty has weight included, placed inline above the hook – no messing with split-shot. Your life is simple as you set the traps, be they bobbers, rattle reels or tip-ups. Nothing but top quality components you can rely on.
Who says set lines can’t be mobile?
BigTooth Y-yoke Rig
This is the signature rig that launched the company. BigTooth’s Y-yoke design makes it easy to rig even large suckers (or other minnows) in a perfect horizontal swimming position, so they can move freely and react to approaching monsters.
You know what comes next. Look away if you have to.
The bottom line is this: quick-strike rigs have been around for years, but they all had flaws. The challenge is to pin baits, regardless of size, so they are tethered but otherwise free to react. This is what triggers strikes.
After the fish hits, the potential for heartbreak has always been there. That is, until the BigTooth, Baby BigTooth, and Zero Rig put the odds back on your side.
Don’t feed the fish. Catch it. That’s what we like to say.
For the full story behind new Clam Pro Tackle, check out the full-color catalog at www.clamoutdoors.com. The catalog is loaded with QR codes that lead directly to videos showing these new baits in action.
We don’t want to just sell you tackle. We want you to catch fish with it.
