Even when I am fishing clipped up, my reckless casting still manages to send leads flying off into trees, reeds etc. When paying the high prices charged by some of the big brands, the cost of replacement carp fishing leads quickly adds up.
In order to save myself some money, I started ordering leads online from independent manufacturers, and I must say that the quality of the products I receive from them is as good, if not better than some of the more well-known suppliers – and for just a fraction of the cost.
I decided to share a list of the companies that I have either used myself or those recommended to me. This list should give you the opportunity to see where you can also pick yourself up some online bargains.
In alphabetical order, let’s take a look at some of the best manufacturers of cheap carp fishing leads.
Carpymad Leads
If you have ever seen the famous Hovis Bread advert from the 1970s, then you should be familiar with the small Dorset town of Shaftesbury, which is where Carpymad Leads is based.
Matty Francis is the man behind Carpymad Leads and you may already be familiar with him via his Carpy Madness YouTube Channel.
Matty’s style of fishing meant that he was often dropping leads which, as we all know, can quickly become expensive. It was with this in mind that he started making his own leads, and soon started supplying his friends, too. With the demand for his leads growing, Matty invested in some additional moulds and officially started Carpymad Leads at the beginning of 2019.
![](http://carpsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Carpymad-Leads.jpg)
Carpymad Leads produces pear, flat pear, flat pear inline, distance/zip, dumpy distance, dumpy distance inline, bottleneck, grippers, inline dice and flat square inline leads, as well as backleads.
Carpymad Leads are available in a variety of colours including gravel, brown, clay, sand, dark sand, lime green, silty green and black, and can have either a smooth or textured finish. Weights vary between 1oz to 6oz, and prices start from just £0.60 – making them among the cheapest leads on the market.
All Carpymad Leads orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd class recorded delivery and cost £4 for packages up to 2kg. If you live locally, Matty is happy to deliver your order personally to Todber Manor, Coking Farm or Islands Carp Fishery.
Carpymad Leads At A Glance:
Name: Carpymad Leads
Location: Shaftesbury
Order Completion: 2 Days
Most Popular Lead: Flat Square Inline
Price: From £0.60
Postage: From £4
Matty has kindly offered a 10% discount to all Carp Smart readers. To avail this discount, simply quote “Carpsmart10” when placing your order.
Place An Order: Carpymad Leads
Foxy Leads
Over the years, Nottinghamshire has given us tarmac, traffic lights, HP sauce and, since 2005, Foxy Leads.
Mark Fox is the man behind Foxy Leads, and he operates out of his own warehouse in Newark.
His well priced, high-quality leads are produced in weights from 1oz up to 20oz, and Foxy Leads also supplies a range of feeders from 2oz to 10oz.
![](http://carpsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Foxy-Leads.jpg)
Foxy Leads currently produces distance, dumpy distance, pear, flat pear, hexi, helicopter, square, inline, gripper and anchor leads, all of which can be finished with a rough or smooth coating, and come in a variety of colours.
All of the leads that come from the Foxy warehouse are produced using CNC moulds and are shipped the same day (if all leads are in stock), or the next day if they aren’t.
Foxy Leads start from just £0.65 per lead, and discounts are available if ordering more than 100 leads. Postage costs £4 (up to 3kg in weight) or £7.50 (up to 10kg in weight).
Foxy Leads At A Glance:
Name: Foxy Leads
Location: Newark
Order Completion: 1-2 Days
Most Popular Lead: Dumpy Distance
Price: From £0.65
Postage: From £4
Place An Order: Foxy Leads
Mark Payne Leads
He started making leads for his own personal use 30 years ago and has been supplying other carp anglers for the last 20 years, so I think it is safe to say that Mark Payne knows a thing or two about lead manufacturing.
Mark always has in excess of 30,000 leads in stock, so he is capable of sending out even the largest of orders within 2 days. His leads are available in weights between 1oz to 10oz and are shipped with either a coated or textured finish.
![](http://carpsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Mark-Payne-Leads.jpg)
Mark always has a plentiful supply of hex distance, hex distance cog, tournament distance, dumpy distance, pear, flat pear, flat pear inline, flat pear cog, long flat pear, long flat pear cog, square pear, bottle and gripper leads in stock, ready to be coated.
There are many colour options available, including camo sand, camo dirty sand, camo dark sand, camo silty gravel, camo clay, camo brown, camo light brown, camo green, camo lime, camo black, camo mud and camo stone, with prices starting from just £0.60 per lead.
Postage costs start from £3, with orders of over 100 leads receiving free postage.
Mark Payne Leads At A Glance:
Name: Mark Payne Leads
Location: Swindon
Order Completion: 2 Days
Most Popular Lead: Dumpy Distance
Price: From £0.60
Postage: From £3
Place An Order: Mark Payne Leads
MP Lead Shed
Basildon is famous for being the birthplace of Depeche Mode, and MP Lead Shed is now putting it firmly on the map within the carp fishing community, with the production of cheap, quality leads.
MP Lead Shed was formed almost by accident. Paul, the owner, had always made leads for his own personal use and decided to take some time out from his day job to see if there was a demand for his services as a lead manufacturer. Since putting that first advert out on Facebook, he hasn’t looked back!
Paul now produces leads in sizes ranging from 1oz to 14oz which come in a variety of colours including gravel, black, matt black, brown, matt brown, green camo, brown camo, matt camo, silty brown and sand. These can have a smooth or textured finish or, for a small additional fee, can be coated in MP Lead Shed’s unique brown dung coating.
![](http://carpsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/MP-Lead-Shed.jpg)
Paul produces a variety of leads including distance, dumpy distance, dumpy pears, flat pears, in-line flat pears, bottleneck pears, helicopters, dumpy dice, twigs, stones, methods, grippers and cogs, and his range is completed by a selection of backleads and marker leads.
In addition to leads, MP Lead Shed also offers a range of other end tackle items including rig tubing, swivels, PVA products, hooks, hair stops and lead clips – all of which are also very reasonably priced.
The leads from MP Lead Shed start at just £0.60 per lead, but Paul always offers 20 leads (up to 3oz in weight) for £12 or 20 leads (up to 4oz in weight) for £14. Postage costs are £4 (up to 2kg in weight) or £8 (up to 10kg in weight).
MP Lead Shed At A Glance:
Name: MP Lead Shed
Location: Basildon
Order Completion: 2-3 Days
Most Popular Lead: Distance
Price: From £0.60
Postage: From £4
Place An Order: MP Lead Shed
Scruff’s Carp Leads
As a veteran of The Royal Engineers, Craig of Scruff’s Carp Leads has always had to pay attention to detail, a trait that shines through in the quality of his leads.
Based in Southampton, Craig only started making leads in 2018 but has quickly forged a name for himself and now supplies many of the local fishing tackle shops and fisheries, in addition to posting out thousands of leads each month to his customers.
Scruff’s Carp Leads are available in weights ranging between 1oz to 14oz and can be finished with a textured, smooth or matt coating as standard. A range of natural coatings (including sand and muck) are also available and a palette of 17 colours can be chosen from.
![](http://carpsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Scruffs-Carp-Leads.jpg)
Craig always has availability of dumpy distance, zip distance, hex distance, flat pear, dumpy pear, flat distance pear, helicopter drop off, square dice, flat square inline, flat pear inline and flat pear drop off leads, as well as feature finding leads and backleads.
Scruff’s Carp Leads start from just £0.55 per lead and postage is £4 (up to 2kg in weight). Matt and textured finishes cost an extra £0.05 per lead and all leads with a natural finish cost £0.90.
Scruff’s Carp Leads At A Glance:
Name: Scruff’s Carp Leads
Location: Southampton
Order Completion: 2 Days
Most Popular Lead: Dumpy Distance
Price: From £0.55
Postage: From £4
Place An Order: Scruff’s Carp Leads
Taylor’s Lead Lounge
Taylor’s Lead Lounge is a family run business that was created in the home of the proprietor, Simon Taylor.
Simon learned his craft from his father and has been making his own leads and baits from a young age.
![](http://carpsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Taylors-Lead-Lounge.jpg)
The styles of leads that can be ordered from Taylor’s Lead Lounge include tournament distance, dumpy distance, dumpy pear, flat pear, inline, inline drop-off, inline flat square, square, feature leads and backleads, with prices starting from just £0.70 per lead, which come in a variety of colours and textures.
In addition to supplying cheap leads to the carp fishing community, Taylor’s Lead Lounge also supply moulds to enable anglers to create their own leads, as well as an extensive selection of terminal tackle items and a range of baits.
Taylor’s Lead Lounge At A Glance:
Name: Taylor’s Lead Lounge
Location: Colchester
Order Completion: 2 Days
Most Popular Lead: Dumpy Distance
Price: From £0.70
Postage: From £4
Place An Order: Taylor’s Lead Lounge
Conclusion
You now have no excuse for paying £2+ for a lead ever again!
While this list is by no means exhaustive, these guys produce good quality leads at a great price, and all provide great service to their customers time and time again.
Have you ever used any of these lead manufacturers listed here? Or maybe you know of another company who you feel deserve to be on this list? Please let me know in the comments.