Happy New Year again to everyone that takes the time to visit and support this blog. It's officially 2023 and I am very excited to see what the year and the fishing season brings. One of the efforts since the close of the 2022 season was to take all of the comments and feedback on the products and evaluate possible changes.
One of the unexpected positive impacts of being able to communicate directly with customers through the website and social media is to get direct feedback. One the rigs that received a lot of input was the tandem squid rig. The idea of a pre-tied high low squid rig was really well received. Anglers can take the rig out of the packaging, add a sinker, and use the rig right away. That was a huge plus and continues a major point of Monomoy Tackle, which is to try to minimize the number of additional purchases with additional assembly and focus more on fishing.
Also, part of the evaluation were a number of comments:
Selected colors - Many customers stated that a green color was essential and a color in a brown or orange tone was also one they felt would work well.
Find a way to be able to use the rig and change jigs.
Squid have better eyesight than one may think and on certain days they are really picky. Lighter leader was an option.
Updated Colors - 2023
The Monomoy Tackle Squid Tandem Rig has evolved in 2023 to include some critical, customer influenced updates. There are new colors. The Pink stays. The Blue jig is retired and replaced by a green. Also added is an amber toned, off orange jig. The 3D eyes have not changed. The reflective internal flash pane has not changed. The Jigs still glow.
Shorter Branches and Clips
The tandem rig is still tied with the T-knots, which are a staple detail of many of the rigs offered. The branch line length has been reduced from 6" to approximately 2".
Many customers wanted the ability to use the rig and swap out jigs. Many customers wished to use a different jig they had on hand but to put it on the Monomoy Tackle rig or to simply swap Monomoy Tackle squid jigs. In response to this, 20lb VMC clips have been added. These clips are less than a 1/4" in size. With a small pair of pliers, you can open these, swap out your jig and reclip one or both of the jigs.
Leader Line
Perhaps the most difficult comment to reconcile in my own mind was about the leader. The previous version of the rig used a 25lb leader from High Seas. It's a common default of mine that I upsize leader in most conditions due to the sticky bottom or abrasive conditions and fish that one may encounter.
In the case of the squid rig, it seems that visibility is critical with squid and its more desirable to go as light as possible on the leader. I have seen rigs as thin as 12lb test marketed. It's with this in mind that the 2023 version of the rig is updated to reduce the leader to 15lb Seaguar flourocarbon. As you can see from the image, the visibility of the leader is greatly reduced.
Summary
Fishing for squid for table fare or bait is one of the early opportunities in every season. The Squid Tandem Rig, with its 2023 updates, will hopefully bring to anglers the same simple, out of the packaging fishing characteristics as well as the flexibility desired with being to swap out and change jigs depending on the day and conditions.
Stay tuned for more updates to rigs. Thanks for reading and supporting Monomoy Tackle.