Material Origins, Testing, and Care
Our rigs are proudly built and packaged in the United States by our family team. Our shark rigs and heavy leaders are made on custom benchtop presses while lighter monofilament and fluorocarbon leaders under 100# test are hand-crimped. We batch test for quality routinely and perform break tests to ensure every rig that goes out the door is perfect. No automation, no sweatshops, just experienced fishermen (and women) tying high quality rigs.
As our rigs are made by hand we inspect each component for quality, that means running fingers over cable and fluorocarbon, throwing out anything that is not up to par, and storing materials in temperature and humidity controlled environments. Fluorocarbon and monofilament rigs will hold the shape of the package especially when cold, before use hang them up overnight and repackage or gently stretch with a pair of rubber bands for an hour or so. Cable rigs will not hold shape unless bent.
Tuna rigs may be reused if they are not hit, once the knot is pulled tight by a fish we do not recommend reuse (we use old tuna rigs for stripers and mahi). Remove any bait and slime, wash with plenty of fresh water. Dry thoroughly, and then allow to air dry some more before repackaging. Keep monofilament and fluorocarbon out of the sun except when in use to prevent degradation. If the hooks or swivel have been nicked by fish or pliers they will rust and degrade...throw them out, its not worth losing a fish.
Shark rigs may be reused so long as there is no visible breaks or corrosion. The heatshrink protects the crimps but is not waterproof so you must thoroughly rinse with freshwater if you intend to reuse. Wash thoroughly with mild soap and more freshwater than you think you need. High carbon circle hooks will maintain adequate strength even with a bit of rust and the fish don't mind, black nickel will start to lose strength. If your cable has a nick, fray, or even a hard bend or kink THROW IT OUT it is not safe to use.
The weak point for shark rigs and fluorocarbon tuna rigs from 60# up is the leader material, the crimp-knot combination is stronger than the plain leader. The snap swivel on land based rigs will deform at less than break strength but the leader will hold as it approaches the leader rating. 40# fluorocarbon rigs and economy monofilament chunking rigs will break at the knots just short of rated strength.
The following is a list of material origins, though this changes from time to time, particularly with supply-chain disruptions due to COVID, this is accurate as of October 2020:
- shark hooks high carbon circle Korea (Maryland importer/distributor)
- shark hooks stainless steel Korea (Maryland importer/distributor)
- Mustad black nickel tuna hooks China (New York importer/distributor)
- Mustad tinned hooks Norway (New York importer/distributor)
- Rosco heavy swivels and snap-swivels USA
- Spro swivels Japan (Georgia importer/distributor)
- bright cable Korea (New York importer/distributor)
- brown cable USA
- fluorocarbon Europe (Florida importer/distributor)
- light monofilament Europe (Florida importer/distributor)
- heavy monofilament USA
- hard wire USA
- brass crimps Korea (Maryland/Pennsylvania importer/distributor)
- aluminum crimps Korea (Maryland/Pennsylvania importer/distributor)
- skirts for shark rigs USA
- shark floats USA
- cardstock inserts USA, printed and cut in-house or locally
- cable wrap tubing USA
- heat shrink tubing USA
- poly bags currently Taiwan, sometimes China (Pennsylvania importer/distributor)