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Or load the spare spool with the other reel. One of mine does it, as above it sorts itself out with use to a degree

Just use as is it will sort itself out once you use it a few times

yeah it was the DL RB , i did use the spare spool for both as im not the most experienced when it comes to spooling up new reels so i felt it might of been the issue but it makes sense, especially what i heard about the shimano br and how they have gone down hill over the years! So you dont get any washers with these reels is that correct? its just down to manufacturing i guess, i wil try despool and add some backing and respool and see if i can get it to load correctly with the new spool on maybe that helps with the line lay (do the spools have washers in them?)

No definitely use a separate hook link. You want a safe set up. I always use an inline lead on mainline with swivel at end of hooklink. I guess a stiff braid hooklink is OK but you definitely need a flexible line at the boilie end. It was not particularly designed as an anti-tangle rig. Personally, if I am casting I put the rig in a PVA bag (I have my own ideas about that too!). Where possible, I prefer to use a bait boat. I didn’t even know what a dumbell wafter was so had to google it. It looks OK. Definitely thread it on through its long axis. I have not found the need to put a stop above the boilie. I try to keep stuff as simple as possible but it should do no harm. You could also consider a floating maize instead of a stop. Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Hello Carpepecheur I was happy with the rig I was using , but last trip out I had a couple of tangles , so now seems an ideal time to try out The Bald Rig . Some questions please to help me on my way . I use 15lb mainline so I guess I don't thread the boilie directly onto my line as it will be too stiff ? ; maybe thread the boilie onto a coated braid hooklink , and peel back the section that the boilie and split shot rest on ? . Lastly , do you think it makes any difference if I threaded a dumbell wafter horizontally , or vertically ? . Oh , I like Emcees' idea of threading a stop above the boilie to stop it sliding up the line . 😃

That is an excellent question emcee. No I do not mean hook pulls and I have not watched my rig enter a carp’s mouth. I have probably watched the same videos as you which is why I came up with the idea. I often use, what I refer to as, an “active lead” system. This is simply a collar mounted on the lead. I wind down and put a strong bend in the rod as the collar digs into the silt and the line is bowstring tight. The slightest movement of the bait dislodges the lead and the rod straightens. (I am sure I have posted this system on here before). If the rod straightens and I have no fish, I assume I have been “done”. Also, as previously mentioned, this year I have been float fishing a lot using the classic “lift” method. If I use the bald rig, the fish tears off straight away. If I use a typical hair, I do sometimes get a lift and return before I get a chance to strike. The same thing happens when using sweetcorn directly on the hook. From this evidence I surmise that the bald rig is better but I would be happy to listen to other ideas.

When you say missed takes I'm guessing you mean hook pulls? I only ask as how do you know the fish has picked up your hookbait and spat it out or not? Unless you fish the margins and see what is happening. I've watched numerous underwater videos of carp feeding with rigs present and nearly all are picked up and rejected, have you witnessed carp take your rig in to its mouth?

Gonna have a few more walks down this week, not today though.

finale rolling video, rolling the cork mix to some pretty cool music, did run a competition but you tube and their copyright rules gave the answer away.

I had the same thought. Either way, I'd like a few days on there just to see what's what. I like an adventure. Ian.

No, well excited, they will be great fun, it's gonna be even more of a madhouse 😂

Could I just say something about testing rigs in general? I strongly recommend that you test your rigs in action by filming them being sucked up and then reviewing that action in slow motion or frame by frame. I forget who it was but I read that someone advocated putting a shot on the bend of the hook to get a better hooking action. The explanation for using it was pretty convincing. When I tested it myself I saw that as soon as the sucking stopped and there was no tension in the line, the hook just dropped down bend first with little chance of hooking anything. It is best not to take anybody’s word for anything without testing it yourself.

The hair has survived for 50 odd years so of course it works well. That does not mean it cannot be improved and I like to nudge all the odds gently in my favour. I did a lot of testing with the hair and found that the most important aspect for me IMHO is the position at which the hair comes off the shank of the hook. It needs to be just above the centre of gravity. Thus when being sucked in, and with the drag on the line, the point tucks under the boilie to make a smooth entry (and not hook outside of mouth). As soon as the line goes slack (when sucking movement stops), the hook drops down to an aggressive position. You can see this from screen shots taken from that video. IN OUT The drawback is that the whole of the boilie and the hook length must enter the mouth. Nine time out of ten this is not a problem. However, a carp can only take in one mouthful at a time and there must be times when the boilie does not fully enter the mouth in which case the hair rig will not work but the bald rig still has a chance. I am also convinced that the bald rig has a further advantage in that the sudden rotation movement makes the fish bolt straight away. Obviously I cannot prove this but all my takes using it are very fast. There are no casual nibbles as it were. I am enjoying float fishing at the moment using the classic lift method. If I am using the bald rig I get a very slight lift then the float disappears off to the horizon at speed. If I use a few grains of sweetcorn on the hook, I get the classic lift and have to strike the fish or risk losing it. I really do appreciate any input even if it is negative and I too am VERY interested in how others get on. When you have confidence in a rig it is extremely difficult to switch to a new method.

Happens with the dl baitrunners one of mine did it only slight and not really a problem but very annoying, they will be the DL or ST baitrunnrts you have, could be down to slack assembly in the factory. Friday reels lol.