coops_northants

I use it loads and to be honest if your using it for hinge booms try it in 12lb. It does discolour as your stretch it and stays like that but I don't have them snap on me. If you need a little more security you can use 15lb but with 20lb you end up with a rig which does not fish as effectively and can often end up with the rig presented poorley due to being too stiff. A little finesse in your rigs goes a long long way.

Hinge stiff rig on the helicopter or multi rig with a lead clip.

To fish it helicopter style with a back bead would I have to use a leader? As I don't no how you would use a back bead on straight mono? If I'm not mistaken you make your own wafters? And own a bait company? An it I remember rightly you supplied courtz and his mate some wafters for sandhurst and they bagged up on there last 24 hours there? Almost spot on. Courtz did use them as did I and also dan and one or two others with, I would say, a decent level of success and PBs. As said about the bead. baiting needle through the side does the job and is fairly safe if your not using a leader. Or a very little blob of putty on the line the bead sits against it tight enough on the cast and pulls off easy and the bead pulls off easier. Over the years I have played with hinge stiff rigs and have now settled on what I think is the best combo. Rigmarole 20lb fluro for the chod section about 1.5 inches to a size 11 swivel. The swivel is on the end of a 10mm loop on the boom section. The boom section being 12lb amnesia also with a size9 big eye swivel looped the other side. This gives loads of movement and means you sit fine even in weed and light silt. The boom section being about 4-6 inches total.

Yeah, good ain't they? they last at least 48hours pierced with a size 6 under them on the 16mm pop ups.

That would be good. Makes sense, neutral colour, very stiff for combi use and ace in shallow water.

If you don't mind piercing the baits, something I do is blob the end of the bristle filament or fluro. Then to the end of the fluro I use a thin braid and whip it on with a blood knot. Then slide it up against the blob and it does not pull over it. Then tie your loop in the braid for the stop. Then just tie a knot less knot and loop knot onto a swivel and your away. Not ideal for leaving baits for a long period of time but if you make up some cork ball pop ups that solves that.

For pop up rigs I use hinge stiff rigs for anti tangle properties. I fish them on a helicopter set up with 6 to 10 inches of movement with the backstop bead. Mainly fished over light silt bottoms. If I'm fishing over harder bottoms I use the multi rig with a clip set up as you can get the pop up section quite short if needed and can create a great hinge effect with coated braid (Jel-e-wire is my preferred hookink for this) If your not having much luck with pop ups or bottom baits then try a wafter, these sort the fish out. They don't see them that often as most companies don't make them and those that do make them very few make them right. But get the right ones and you have a unique hook bait which is fished in it's simplest form.

My favourite is the original Korda hybrid. This stuff made a difference to my fishing when I switched to it, but like has happened with so many other great products, the company discontinue it in favour of a new product. I am down to the last couple of feet of this stuff and over the last 2years I have been trying loads of other links, cortex, Jel-e-wire etc and have noticed that the catch rate with these is reduced. For spot fishing it has to be hybrid links I have in the box, but try to preserve it by using the Jel-e-wire when chucking into the unknown and fishing silt patches.

If you want sharp hooks there are a few people doing sharpened packs. Someone like sticky carp hooks would be worth a try. He Uses drennan and Gardner hooks as the wire is most suitable for sharpening.

You could just fish hard on the deck. Bait up and when you fish have some feed around the hook bait. Create competition by feeding accurately and regularly ( either while fishing or pre baiting) hooking potential is always there with bottom rigs as much as with the chod, infact you will probably notice a better hookng of the fish, with the extra freedom and the greater flexibility to change it up to maximise the runs and numbers of fish caught. The chod rig has its place and works well as its always fishing, not because it hooks better but with 100percent of the time offering a bait as the rig intends not tangled etc as other rigs do. For me I cannot understand why you would go out of your way to make a rig work for something it was not designed for rather than use the obvious, carper make carp fishing difficult, carp are just underwater pigs.

Why? I don't see what difference it makes. Although I would crimp it on a tight line so you didnt lose diameter under tension from stretch. Me personally, I'm not convinced but I was not convinced by splicing lead core and that worked. I think pop ups are un natural but they work also. As does having the bait on a hair, I didn't like the idea of that much either. I'll buy a set in about 3 years once im sure they are ok

I use lead clips regularly, but I would like to think I know how to use them without causing issue. I bought a few packs of the fox safety run beads, really like them. The lead pops off easily, enough resistance to get a bolt effect. Just need a lead or ring system that works better with them and they would be perfect. One like the old enterprise run rig that they stopped making.

You could just use knots that don't slip. Use a loop, the fold is always the length of the rig. You can clip them on or loop to loop it with a swivel. the loops also acts as a boom section to kick it all away from the lead and keep it away on the cast. If you don't like or want a loop then the palomar knot also allows for a non slip knot. Again Where you fold it is the length you end up with, very strong too and good with mono but not so good with braid.

Guys, if you can hook a pva bag on your choddie and cast it out without the bag weight dragging the hooklink all the way up your mainline then you souldnt be fishing. For that to happen the link would need to be fixed. With this type of arrangement the hooklink should be free to slide off in the event of a crack off or the line snapping. With so many people using this rig and so many that try to re create the wheel when is not necessary issues arise. use it as its intended and the results will be just fine and the fish you fish for much safer.

Buy rigmarole fluro, all you do is pull it straight, its awsome.

Are you sure the fishery has banned them or long shank curved hooks (often referred to as a bent hook) If they have then use a different hook set up instead of a kd style hair. Kd is not everything and many other arrangements are as good or in my opinion often better.

Awsome. Keith, I think im going to be coming out with James in may next year.

No way, that is huge, what an awsome result. That is the longest common i had ever seen so im not supprised at all. If thats 52lb...... how big will the long common be..... some lucky angler may find that out soon. I really want to get out there again soon Keith, maybe a short one 3-4 days, monday morning to thursday evening one week maybe.

Incredible, I cant believe i dont have enough time to get out there this year, Im going to miss my trip out to Moorlands with the fish in such fantastic condition and so very big. The pictures of arfur were great, what a stunning fish, breeze block like. Roll on september and october when they huge. Definately one of them will be over 60lb this year, if not a few more

What an awsome report, you will need a holiday to recover from that.

Striker, In that post you managed to show everyone exactly the difference. Im sure if people had the oppertunity to fish 6 weeks in france over a year they would have a mixed plan of different fishing. Finding themselves fishing rivers, inland sea's and the pay lakes. Lets also look it from another perspective, (My persepective) I work 6 day weeks, 12 hour days most days if not more. During my year i consentrate on my uk fishing and take it, in the main very seriously. Now when i have a holiday, 2 a year i dont want to struggle on mis information, and have to put in loads of effort in my fishing during my holiday as i have to make the effort all year just to go fishing anyway. For a holiday i want to relax, socialise, chill out and the best run package waters like Moorlands offers me that. I can book up and know what i am going to get, which is well looked after, great facilities, some cracking banter, the chance of some monster carp in pretty well perfect condition but best of all the chance to relax and just enjoy being there. If i had the chance to fish for 6 holidays a year, explore i would diffinatly do, but only after i have had the rest and relaxation that these well run fisheries offer.

Good job you suppressed the urges then Beanz... Berkley vanish transitions on my floater rod at the minute. try the pole lines for a tippet. ultra fine and usually clear.

Are you taking bookings all winter? i was talking with a mate the other day about doing a short trip which would be, drive monday night, start 7th and leave 10th early doors. Just the 2 of us. Any space? PM me cost cheers

I should explain, i meant in fish swiming in the lake a probable 1 in four over 40lb.

just been and had a look..... one of my favourites..... wouldn't mind making it 3 captures in 3 trips..... (it is the half lin right?) Well done Keith, trust it to have been you to have it, Nice one