These sleeves are the first of their kind on the market, designed to be used in conjunction with the chod rig and serve two main purposes:
- Typically a chod rig hook link is 2 – 3 inches long and by using the sleeve it prevents the hook from coming into contact with the lead.
- The soft, flexible silicone sleeve acts as a buffer-like shock absorber when playing fish on a very short hook link. Under pressure the sleeve will ‘concertina’ absorbing the lunges of the fish and helping to prevent breakages or hook pulls.
The flexible silicone tube is mounted onto a soft sleeve which houses the lead retaining clip and provides a neat, streamlined system. You might wonder why this component is comprised of two parts, rather than being moulded as one piece. Well, the thermoplastic rubber used to mould the clip link retaining sleeve is malleable yet tough and is perfect for sleeving the clip link yet does not have the soft flexibility and inherent ‘spring’ of good old silicone tube so ESP have combined the two materials to create the perfect shock absorber buffer sleeve for chod rig work.
The silicone tube can be shortened if required, as can the clip retaining sleeve if the leader is tied directly to the lead loop. Available in translucent camo brown, weedy green and choddy silt to complement ESP Leadcore.