Breakaway Small Oval Rig Beads

Overview

The Breakaway Small Oval Rig Beads are hard-plastic rig-making components designed specifically for sea-fishing rig construction. Made by Breakaway Tackle, these compact oval beads measure approximately 5 × 3mm on the manufacturer's current specification and are built from tough plastic to withstand repeated use on the rig body.

Their primary role is as stops, spacers and protective buffers, most commonly positioned between crimps and swivels. Breakaway uses this exact style of small oval bead on its own ready-made sea rigs, including using them with mini crimps to retain size 6 swivels on its whiting rigs, which speaks to their proven reliability in commercial rig production.

The beads are rated for use on trace line up to around 100lb according to Breakaway's current specification, and they're supplied in a choice of colours — Clear, Orange, Red, Green, Yellow and Black — giving anglers flexibility when colour-matching rigs.

Perfect For

These small oval rig beads are particularly suited to building a trapped-swivel assembly — Crimp, Bead, Swivel, Bead, Crimp — where the beads buffer the metal swivel from the crimps and help position it neatly on the trace. This makes them a staple component for 2-hook and 3-hook flappers, pulley rigs, paternosters, clipped-down rigs and distance rigs.

Anglers tying their own shore traces for species such as whiting will find these beads especially useful, since Breakaway itself specifies them for exactly this type of rig. They're also a sensible choice for anyone making up rigs in bulk, as their compact size keeps traces neat without adding unwanted bulk.

Technical Insight

The oval shape and small 5 × 3mm profile allow the bead to sit snugly against a crimp while still letting the swivel move freely within the assembly, reducing wear on the line and metal components. Being hard plastic rather than soft or flexible material, the beads hold their shape under the tension created when crimping, maintaining consistent spacing along the rig body.

With a maximum trace line rating of approximately 100lb, these beads are built to cope with the stresses involved in shore rig assemblies carrying heavier traces, while remaining small enough not to interfere with casting or presentation.