Founded by Ben Hamilton and Steve Fantauzzi in 2005, Thinking Anglers is a fishing tackle manufacture with the view to design a range of tackle for the angler who did not want to be burdened with a whole host of kit. The motto ‘just the right kit’ has been banded around its office for the last decade, inspiring the designing and manufacturing of kit that is essential to the modern angler’s collection. Producing predominately for the carp fishing industry, the company also has a range designed with predator angling in mind.

Curve Shank Hooks is one of the most used styles of the hook in the carp fishing world. The unique shape of curved shank hooks is intended to flip and move to catch hold of a mouth of a fish as soon as it sucks in a hair- rigged bait. The Curve Shank hooks are ideal for all manner of big fish rig applications such as braided KD rigs, 360s and the increasingly popular Ronnie rig.

These hooks have a pronounced curve on the normally straight shank and an ultra-sharp, long point that points towards a downturned eye. The curved design allows for aggressive hook positioning and when used with rigs such as the Blow back rig can prove incredibly effective and provide a great hook hold time and time again.

With needle-sharp, durable points and forged from a super-strong, extra-heavy gauge wire, most secure, solid, hook holds that we, as anglers, could want/need. This is also beneficial for the carp, as a secure hook hold is one that is not going to tear, rip. The Curve Shank also features micro-barbed hooks to help keep the fish on the hook as well as being coated in super-slippery PTFE (Teflon) coating allowing a smooth penetration through the flesh of the fish’s mouth.

To get the best out of curved shank hooks they must be tied to a highly flexible link like a soft braid or a stripped portion of the coated braid. A standard ‘knotless knot’ is perfect to attach the hooklink. This soft, flexible link allows the hook to swivel freely achieving the desired ‘flip’ effect.

The hooks come in packs of ten and are available in a range of sizes, choose from 4, 5, 6 and 7.

For those anglers getting pick-ups on a standard hook rig, but failing to hook the fish, try a curved shank set-up, using the Thinking Anglers Curve Shank Hooks.