DECOY - SPLIT RING HEAVY CLASS R-5 MADE IN JAPAN

Decoy Split Ring Heavy Class R-5 (Made In Japan)

The R-5 is the third rung of Katsuichi's Decoy split ring ladder — Light Class (R-1 / R-4), Medium Class (R-3), Heavy Class (R-5) and Split Ring EX (R-11). This is the shore-casting and jigging ring: heavy metal jigs, large pencils and poppers, assist hook attachment, and any fight long enough that a Medium Class ring would start to distort. The key difference from the lighter models is the end treatment: where R-1, R-3 and R-4 use an inner cut, the R-5 is an out-cut type, with the cut ends turned outward so the step cannot bite into an assist cord, solid ring or hook eye when the ring is loaded hard and rotating. The wire is flat-forged and the finish carries an anti-corrosion passivation treatment for continuous saltwater use.

Key Features

• Heavy Class split ring for shore jigging, offshore jigging and large casting lures
• Out-cut ring ends that reduce interference with assist cord, solid rings and hook eyes under load
• Flat-forged wire construction for shape retention during long fights
• Anti-corrosion (passivation) treatment for saltwater service
• Silver finish; sizes #10 and #11, supplied 8 pieces per pack
• Made in Japan by Katsuichi

How To Rig It

• Jig to assist hook — Run the R-5 through the jig's front eye and the assist hook's solid ring. Keep the split of the ring away from the cord so the assist line never sits across the step.
• Solid ring plus split ring — For jigging, the standard chain is leader knot to solid ring, solid ring to R-5, R-5 to jig. The split ring takes the rotation; the solid ring takes the knot.
• Match the whole chain — A Heavy Class ring gains nothing hung on a light hook or thin solid ring; size ring, hook and solid ring together.
• Retire after hard use — Any ring showing a visible gap, a flat spot or a coil that no longer lies level goes in the bin.

Specifications

Wire: flat-forged. Surface: anti-corrosion passivation. Katsuichi does not publish a tensile rating for the Heavy Class rings, so none is stated here.

Recommended Pairing

• Shore jigging and offshore jigging tackle, PE 2–5 with a 40–80 lb fluorocarbon leader
• Heavy singles, assist hooks and strong trebles on 40–120 g metal jigs and 100–160 mm casting plugs
• Use with a matching solid ring so the leader knot never bears directly on the split ring
• Drop to R-3 Medium Class for general lure fishing; step up to R-11 EX where extra-strong wire is wanted for GT and deep jigging