Best Fishing Crimping Tool (3 Great Options For Easy Rig Tying)
A crimping tool can be a useful addition to your fishing tackle inventory, especially with rig tying. I have been using them a lot recently with my carp fishing and have found that they really help with the speed and efficiency of tying rigs.
In this article, I will take you through what I consider the best fishing crimping tool on the market and how I use it to improve my fishing.
If you are in a hurry and wish to jump straight to my recommended fishing crimping tool, you can do so below.
Why Use A Fishing Crimping Tool?
In modern-day carp fishing, there are many new rigs that have proven to be extremely effective in catching carp. The spinner rig (sometimes called the Ronnie Rig) is one particular example that I have personally caught a lot of carp with. When this rig is fished in conjunction with a helicopter set-up, you can fish confidently, knowing that tangles are virtually eliminated and that your carp bait will sit on top of the lake bed no matter the contours and makeup.
When tying this rig, the tool I use most is the crimping tool. Crimps limit the number of fiddly knots being tied. This in turn limits damage to your reel line that tying knots can cause. They can also strengthen your setup, for example, if you accidentally tie a poor knot, you can create a weak link in your rig that can cause crack-offs. Using crimps eliminates this risk.
I also use a fishing crimping tool to take off unnecessary components on items such as ring swivels to minimise the amount of metal that makes up the rig. A good fishing crimping tool will come with additional features such as plier-type jaws that can achieve this sort of job with ease.
Other rigs I use a fishing crimping tool with include the chod rig, the stiff hinge rig and for tying stiff booms.
Check out this great video from Korda fishing that shows a crimping tool in action to tie a spinner rig.
What Features To Look For In A Crimping Tool For Fishing
The best fishing crimping tools do more than just secure crimps to line or leaders. Quite often, they have bolt-on tools that perform other useful tasks when tying rigs. A decent crimping tool will also be well-designed to suit an angler’s needs. Let’s go through some of the features to look out for.
Size
The majority of carp anglers take everything (including the kitchen sink) with them on a session. The amount of times I’ve seen anglers with sweat pouring from them as they make their way to their swim with the carp barrow creaking with the amount of gear on it is unreal!
So when there’s an opportunity to limit the size and weight of a piece of tackle, it can only be a good thing.
A crimping tool doesn’t have to be big for fishing. It needs to be small, compact and fit into your tackle box easily. As long as it fits in your hand and you can use it effectively then it’s big enough.
Handle
To be able to use a crimping tool effectively for fishing, then you need to be able to grip the tool and use it comfortably. The handle of a good crimping tool for fishing should be made of a comfortable material that is easy to hold (even when wet) and fit the natural contours of your hand perfectly.
The Spring Mechanism
By the spring mechanism, I mean the way by which the tool closes and then opens again. If closing the crimping tool is stiff and hard work then it is no good. Likewise, if it’s too loose and wobbles then you may have to use more pressure than is comfortable to do so for the tool to do its job.
The best crimping tools for fishing allow just a slight amount of pressure with your fingers to be able to apply the required amount of force to secure the crimp onto your fishing line.
Crimp Size
Depending on the rig you are using and indeed the diameter of line you are tying will depend on what crimp size you will need. The most common size crimps that are used for tying carp fishing rigs are 0.6mm, 0.7mm and 0.9mm.
With this in mind, the best crimping tools for carp fishing should have different-sized crimp moulds on them that fit the required sizes. Tools with just one crimp size that is marketed as ‘one size fits all’ should be avoided.
Check out the following table that gives a general guide on what crimp size is suitable for what rig:
| Crimp Size (mm) | Suitable Rig |
|---|---|
| 0.6 | Normal stiff materials such as Amnesia |
| 0.7 | Thick hook lengths such as 25lb stiff bristle filament |
| 0.9 | Perfect for 30lb+ monofilament |
Additional Tools
As mentioned earlier, the better crimping tools for angling have some handy bolt-ons with them. Some examples of these include:
- Plier-like serrated edges
- A cutting tool
- A hole to help hold a carp hook in place
- Reinforced material used for strength
The Best Fishing Crimping Tools
Now I have taken you through what to look for in the best fishing crimping tools, its now time to suggest some suitable options. The below tools have been tried and tested by myself and have served their required purpose of helping me tie many complicated carp rigs, efficiently, in recent times.
My Number 1 Top Pick
Wychwood Crimp Tool
What Makes This The Best Fishing Crimping Tool
This fantastic fishing crimping tool by Wychwood is my favourite for a number of reasons. Firstly, its design. It is a perfect size to fit on most tackle boxes. But not only that, it sits beautifully in your hand. This is down to its well-thought-out handle shape and width.
The material of the handle is rubberised and textured in areas that make it comfortable to hold and grip even when your hands are wet. The mechanism is smooth with just a slight bit of pressure allowing the tool to function effectively. I found that to fully crimp a loop took little to no effort at all.
The crimping tool holds 3 sizes of the most commonly used crimps for fishing which are 0.6mm, 0.7mm and 0.9mm. When purchasing the tool, you get a box of each of the 3 sizes with 10 crimps in them each. Wychwood also allows you to buy the crimps that are designed for the tool separately at a very affordable price.
The business end of the crimping tool is made from carbon steel which adds a high degree of strength and robustness to the product. I believe that the use of this material is also a key reason why the tool is so effortless to use.
There are 3 additional bolt-ons to this fishing crimping tool with which I use all of them in my rig tying. Firstly the serrated pliers at the top of the tool are handy for heavy-duty work on your rigs such as bending or removing rings on swivels. The cutter on the tool is very sharp and cuts through mono with ease. There are also 2 very handy holes at the bottom of the tool that is a well-thought-out feature by Wychwood as it allows you to hold a hook whilst you pull elements of the rig tight.
I love every element of this fantastic crimping tool and it has held firm as a key piece of equipment in my tackle box for a couple of years now. It also shows absolutely no signs that its performance is likely to ever diminish in any way.
Key Features & Specifications
- A very comfortable and easy-to-hold handle
- Carbon steel jaws for added strength
- Useful Side cutter included
- Small and compact in design
- Allows for 3 different sizes of crimp, 0.6mm,0.7mm and 0.9mm
- Easy to use with a smooth feel when in use
- Handy, hook-holding holes
How To Use The Tool
You can crimp and create a loop with this great crimping tool in 5 easy steps:
#1. Pass your line through the crimp and add a hook or swivel if required
#2. Pass the tag end back along the other barrel of the crimp and create a loop.
#3. Blob the tag end with a lighter to prevent any slippage. Take care not to burn your fingers or the mainline.
#4. Adjust accordingly for the required length of loop size and then apply pressure down on the crimp with the correct sized hole.
#5. When used correctly crimping causes less damage to the line than tying a poor knot would. The crimp should have a flared end when finished.
The Advantages Of The Crimping Tool
Hopefully, you have seen in the description and features above that there are many benefits to this fishing crimping tool by Wychwood. The main advantage for me is that it is very easy and comfortable to use and makes tying complicated rigs so much easier.
I also find that I utilise every part of the crimping tool. The additional features to it are well thought out and well designed with the carp angler in mind and there are absolutely no useless gimmicks that can add both cost and complexities to more inferior tools.
Disadvantages
The crimping tool is almost perfect. If I had to give one piece of criticism to the tool it would be that the cutters don’t cut braid. It’s rare anyway that I use this tool in conjunction with braid but on the occasions I have, I had to revert to a decent pair of braid blades to finish off the rig.
Star Ratings
Other Decent Fishing Crimping Tool Alternatives
Korda Mini Krimp Fishing Tool
The crimping tools from Korda are popular, especially since the introduction of their masterclass videos whereby quite often they show how to tie rigs with the use of their tool.
The mini Krimp fishing tool is nice and compact and sits beautifully in most fishing tackle boxes. There are 3 sizes for crimps to fit in which Korda has simply labelled, XS, S and L.
The tool does have a plier-type top section to it, however, it is not serrated like the Wychwood tool is. The tool does come with a cutter that is nice and sharp and the handle has a nice rubberised grip for comfort. The tool does lack a small hook hole however which the Wychwood tool does have. This is disappointing as such a simple addition can really add to the usefulness of the tool.
Overall though the tool is well made, strong and serves its purpose very well indeed.
Key Features & Specifications
- Made from solid stainless steel
- Small and compact in design
- 3 sizes of crimp to choose from XS, S and L
- Handy cutter tool included
Star Ratings
Fox Rage Crimping Pliers
Fox is another brand that has a great reputation when it comes to terminal tackle and rigs. Their crimping pliers compliment this range nicely with a well-built, solid tool.
The handle, again, is rubberised and very comfortable to hold. Within the handle, there are 2 hook holes that the Korda tool was lacking. The materials used for the tool are strong and robust with carbon steel being the choice at the business end.
The tool only has 2 sizes of crimp that it caters for which is one less than both the Wychwood and Korda options. The end of the crimping tool is plier-like but flat and has no serration to it.
The biggest disappointment however is that there I no cutting tool on it. Being as its main competition has this simple feature, I’m surprised that Fox hasn’t included one in this version.
That said, it is a crimping tool after all and a solid one at that. It does the job it’s designed to do perfectly and won’t let you down.
Key Features & Specifications
- The tool caters to 2 sizes of crimp
- Comfortable, rubberised handle
- Handy hook holes in the handle
- Made from strong and robust carbon steel
- 25cm in length
Star Ratings
Final Verdict
Final Thoughts
Technology is advancing all the time and in the angling world, new and advanced rigs are being tried and tested regularly. Quite often these rigs take learnings from underwater videos whereby it is proven that wise old fish can eject a hook without you ever knowing they were there.
With the use of a fishing crimping tool, these advanced rigs are being made easier to tie and create as well as making things neater and safer with fewer knots required in the whole setup.
If you are into rig making, I thoroughly recommend you invest in one. To recap, my favourite is the Wychwood crimping tool as it has all the features I need at an excellent price. I hope this guide has helped you in deciding which one would suit you best.
Many thanks for reading.
Tight Lines!
All of the fishing tackle featured in this article can be found at one of the following online shops…