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Catch Sharks - A New Era
My name is Eric Ozolins. For many in the fishing community across this great county, you may know me simply as 'Oz'. I have always said I would never start up a tackle business - I have several good friends who run their own that I respect very much. With that being said, I had the opportunity and was able to purchase the incredible Catch Sharks company from the previous owner and creator, Mr. Kennedy recently. The well respected Mr. Kennedy was trying to 'simplify' his life to take advantage of a bright future with his wife and a very young child. On that note, I made the move and obtained Catchsharks.com and the company.
 
For myself, it was a no-brainer. When it came to shark gear and leaders, these were the only leaders I have used for the past several years. I am very meticulous and picky in my gear when it comes to functionality. The quality and craftsmanship presented was nothing short of superior. Steven's ED powder coating process has been active and a standard on shark leaders for nearly 10 years, longer than any other retailer. Catch Sharks pioneered several aspects of the modern day shark leader and innovation has what made this company successful in the past despite very little advertising.
 
This online company has been serving anglers nationwide, with to my surprise a large volume of sales on the east coast. Here in Texas, Catch Sharks leaders are responsible for landing the last two 13'+ sharks from the surf (tiger and hammer). Countless sharks over 10' have been landed and put to the test on the leaders and equipment. For over a decade, these have been some of the most productive, efficient, and high quality leaders available - with various tournament wins by anglers using Catch Sharks gear.
 
Skip ahead to present day, I am happily giving the company a timely facelift and expanding it in directions which were previously impossible. While I have been working modifying the website itself, much more work will be done. As far as products, we will continue on the tradition with superior leader quality and innovation. I will carry on with Mr. Kennedy's fine craftsmanship and incorporate that into many new products (some which are available and can be viewed on the catchsharks.com website). New creative products will be added on a weekly or even daily basis.
 
If I didn't love shark fishing or the success and compatibility of the fine gear and products offered, I would have never taken over the company. Myself and others look forward to the future and many great catches by shark anglers from around the world using Catch Sharks gear. A side note, we will be giving away gear each month for monthly catch/photo contest with fish caught on Catch Sharks gear. Join us on social media on both Facebook and Instagram!
 
How I Work With Heavy Wire

The larger class of single strand wire #22 (460lb) up to the #27 (850lb) are certainly a level above what most anglers would require. Most everyone will agree making a haywire twist by hand is ideal, but working with heavy single strand wire can be challenging, there's no shame in using tools.

Pictured here is a 13/0 4480-DT Mustad connected to #25 (750lb) test Malin Single Strand with a Haywire Twist. I think about Haywire Twists in Three Parts.

#1 is the loop. I use wire pliers to establish the loop in heavy single strand. It's a crucial bend and wire pliers create a uniform bend eliminating the chance of a kink. Personally, I think it is important for the hook to move freely in the wire loop to minimize the influence of the wire rigidity.

#2 are the wraps. Uniform and symmetrical is my goal. The more symmetrical the wraps are the stronger the hold will be.

#3 is the finish. I try to make tight and clean barrel wraps. The barrel wraps are a finish to the wraps, the strength is in the wraps not really the barrel wraps, 4 to 6 barrel wraps is plenty.  I prefer to finish with a crank.

Just as you would crank on a reel, you push the crank around in a circular motion. If your not familiar with this technique, I suggest you try to perfect it with the smaller wire first.

A quality set of wire pliers and a cheap set of lineman pliers are my tools of choice. I like the 6mm and 8.5mm anvil but there are several sizes and styles on the market to choose from.

When using pliers to help hold heavy wire, I choose the cheap lineman pliers over high quality ones because they are typically built with soft steel. They do wear quickly but because its metal is softer than the wire, the pliers are damaged instead of the wire. I prefer the diamond cut grip over the parallel cut.

These are 12/0 Owner Big Game Hooks on #22 (460lb) Malin Single Strand Wire. This is my standard of quality in detail. I think everyone can agree that these are all quality Haywire Twists and you can expect similar consistency with my premade leaders.

 
Longline Clips with Multiple Drops

This is an explanation of the risks and solutions of using multiple drops and longline clips. In late 2006, I designed and built leaders with longline clips. Pictured below is one of our early Alternative Deployment Leaders, virtually the same as our original leaders from 2006. I discontinued this all monofilament Longline Clip leader shortly after the IRD (increased radius design) leaders were developed.

In 2009, our IRD (increased radius design) Leaders simply added a length of cable between the weight and the bait. This concept increases the courtship time between the shark and bait before it feels the weight. It also saves material by allowing the use of shorter drops. its a very common design today.

I discontinued the use of Longline Clips on our leaders in 2011 because they have an inherent problem when using multiple drops...

The clips are failing because the drops are being pulled from different directions. Perhaps two sharks on different drops pulling against each other or maybe a dangling drop could get caught on structure. However it happens, it certainly happens. I stopped using longline clips on leaders and began to design them with shackles instead. Today I prefer the shackles, but with the recent increase of Longline Clip Leaders in the community I want to introduce this explanation and a solution to the problem. Longline Clip leaders with multiple drops should always be rigged with a shackle, the rigging is pictured below...

This system prevents the Longline Clip from being pulled from different directions, eliminating the problem. It has the benefits of a Longline Clip with the security of a Shackle. It also makes changing a deployed bait quick and efficient by eliminating the need to address each of the multiple drops individually.

If you prefer longline clips and use multiple drops, this rigging is a good way to go.