salokcinnodrog

That's fair enough, but the shape of the Inline can make a difference. That's about the only place where I think that Korda make the best Leads, in their original Inlines. The taper allows the weed to slide down better than other shapes. Like Nick says I also tie the Lead on if I use a Running Lead, or if I'm feeling lazy "the Paper clip"

Do what?! Slide down onto the hook?!!! U gotta be jokin right!?!? If my lead was sliding onto the hook I'd be very very worried. Inline sit above a swivel, so how do they slide down onto the hook? Inlines are a no no when fishing in weed in my opinion. they'll snag on weed just like any other setup. Your best bet in my humble opinion, is to use lead clips, (I use the Armaled clips and rubbers aswell) and just push the rubbe on lightly, half a cm is enough to stop the lead ejecting on the cast, but still throw the lead very easily. If you're fishing into weed, put the whole rig into a PVA bag, not only does it give you some freebies around ur bait, it guarentees your rig is sat nicely on the bottom and not hooked up on some weed and also means you can set the tail rubber light without fear of losing the lead on the cast when goin for the biggun. The weed slides down past the lead, and either onto the hook (as it does with a Lead clip set-up), or off the end tackle anyway. Must admit I have fished into some serious weed and can't remember the last time had an Inline snag up. Also I don't always want the whole lot in a PVA bag sat on the bottom. I want my bait where the fish feed, so I may be using a Pop-up off the bottom, No use for a PVA Bag. Theer was a definite PUBLISHED problem with Lead clips releasing the Lead on contact with the water when they were inside the PVA Bag. The Bag slows down the rig, but the Lead doesn't slow, so the Lead clips were ejecting the lead on hitting the water.[/i]

What about the possibility of fishing Inline Leads. They don't seem to pick or snag up with so much weed, it often slides straight down and past or onto the hook May be something on here that is useful as well: http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=26640

I'm not sure that we do need to change the hook every fish. I fished at Merrington Social and put a fresh rig on for that trip. New Hook new braid etc, and landed a good 20 on it. I didn't bother to change it for my next trip, and fished in a very weedy water and landed 4 more Carp to double figures on that same hook. The hook itself was an ESP pattern. The only reason I took that hook off was that I snagged up and frayed the braid. At another water I didn't bother changing hooks and landed some 20 Carp on 1 hook over 2 trips. I don't sharpen my hooks, I do check them for, sharpness, burrs and properly closed eyes though. To sharpen a hook and to check that you are not removing the point then you really need a Jewellers Eyeglass to magnify the point. Every time you sharpen or attempt to sharpen the hook you will remove metal. If there is less metal then you will be making it harder to hone the point to needle sharpness, as each time you will need to start the "stroke" from further up the hook. No matter what, or how brittle the hook, if the rig is badly designed then the hook will not penetrate. If a point is brittle then it can be very easily broken off on a stone or snag in the water, and just by dropping a Lead as you get ready to cast, (you know that "oops the line slipped out of my fingers" as you reach back with the rod) and the hook hitting the ground, can be enough to take the point off a hook.

Question for you, does it say which hooks he has sharpened? A hookpoint has often been tempered and set so by sharpening an already tempered hook makes the point more brittle or damages it in other ways. The reason that in most cases that the hook needs sharpening is that the hooks have been coated with Teflon or some other coating to protect the hook from corrosion. This coating "blunts" the hook slightly, just running a file along the edge of the hook removes it and re-sharpens the hook. There is a problem with this in that some waters, especially silty waters the hookpoint can be blunted just by being in the water. It may or may not get snagged up but something in the water blunts the hook. That is what the hook coating is there to protect from.

A Hair rig and a helicopter rig? Think you're confusing yourself! The Helicopter is a Lead set-up with a rig at an angle to the mainline. A hair rig is basically any Hook with a piece of line coming off to attach the bait to. http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=22185 Description and picture in there , but I'll explain it again. Tie a Uni knot at the end of a piece of line and put pop-up into the loop you have created. Pull tight. With the other end tie it as tight and as close as you wish it to be to the Ring. I tend to use 3 or 4lb Mono for the line as I can blob melt the tag end of the knots to stop them coming undone. If you decide to use a Bottom bait under the pop-up (snowman) on a D-rig put that on the "hair" before you tie the line to the Rig Ring

For the line recommendations have a look through the "Which is best" in Tackle and Equipment as for the Braid you know my answers

This is part of a post from one of the Stickies at the top of the Rig Tying section:

Don't get me started on SWP, and I know the place well Trevor The Bailiff is a top bloke, knows the lake like the back of his hand, won't accept any Bull or arguments. A lot of the reason he is so strict is that he is worried about Fish Care. They lost a fish due to being sacked a while ago (Army Fish). The theory was that Noddies who bought cheap kit weren't going to be made welcome, unfortunately it doesn't take into consideration "Credit card" anglers. What about waters near Alresford? there is a club there and a Reservoir near the Station.

Heck, I bet that took a bit of effort to type in , capitalising every First letter Essex is fairly spread out, a reasonably large county, and some of the syndicates are a 'mare to get into. CAPS, Kelvedon, Sudbury and District are clubs with a few waters. The lake right next to the A12 near Chelmsford (the name has slipped my memory ) is day ticket, but there was or is a phone number of who controls it on the fence. It may be a bit noisy though

Have a look at the Thread "Leaders" (I think) or key in Leadcore as a search, and you will be surprised at some of the tests results I found out using Leadcore. At anything over about 40metres your line will be on the lakebed anyway, as it arcs down from the rod tip. Tubing is a far safer way fo fishing than Leadcore which can fray, cut the fish, and become a Death Rig without you even noticing. A Running Rig is no safer with Leadcore than a Fixed or even Semi-Fixed Lead set-up. In fact because of the consequences of the Beads getting trapped it is more dangerous!

You are joking, right? nope i have pics to prov it the biggest fish out ov the big lake todate is 39lb 6 i will post some pics ov the fish soon I can believe the Tench, but an 8lb Roach is double the species Record, the Rudd Record is 4lb10oz, the current Perch Record is 5lb9oz, but there was a 6lb Perch caught from the River Thames. Methinks you had better start checking some of these stories properly!

There are many Fisheries in the Fisheries in France (click here) section, if you type some of them into the Search facility and see what is said about them then you will find many recommendations already on the forum Reminder Please do not post external links in posts!

some of the Waters around Cambridgeshire, Earith Carp Lakes, and Ron Middleton's Ashmire syndicate, both Season Ticket. Virginia Water, Earith was a very good water for me. I think I had in the region of a few hundred fish over 2years and plenty of Good twenties. Ian Jones is the person to call 07799199256(?)( and there may now be a waiting list), or have a look at the website:www.earith-carp-lakes.co.uk (I think from memory) Also near Cambridge you have the Ponds at Milton (Hit the search facility as they have all been mentioned before)

I've used the Fake Maggot Line Aligner using fake maggot to disguise the hook: but never the Mag Aligner with just the Fake Maggot. I actually found I didn't get as many hook-ups for some reason, but that is probably down to me fishing like a numpty Incidentally in that pic, it is scanned so the Angle from Top of the maggot with the line is not normally as severe, but the scanner lid pressed down on the maggot. Thread moved to UK Rig Tying

What happened at the Grumpy Old Mens Social? I'm running on my fish as well still! Zander, With Pop-ups other than the Hi-Viz approach I prefer to use Braid, or if I use Coated Braid I strip it back so that the hook can move. (just visible in the pics). For the Hi-Viz baits the "mini hooklink" swivel I keep the putty away from the hook end of the swivel, and let the swivel turn. Its difficult to explain, but the swivel is actually on end with the mini hooklink coming straight up. If I use an unswivelled Combi-rig for a pop-up then the final end length is always braid and the putty always goes over the knot join I also think that the Carp will actually move to get the bait in their mouthes if they want it enough. I've actually found with Pop-up rigs that I get Carp sometimes hooked in the top of the mouth. I think that this could be to do with them just closing their mouth around the bait rather than sucking it in.

Nige and I have been swapping ideas I think , either that or he's beaten me to the punch. To be honest I would avoid them! Zander and I have had the Leadcore debate already, so it's not something that I need to go into again, but search out Leadcore or Leaders and there will be a few threads come up. I'm quite happy fishing with 30lb Amnesia as a Shockleader if I need to go for maximum distance. The Black is softer than the Clear or the Green, but Black may show up more. The rest of my fishing is done with Tubing, and I put putty at the top to sink it. I've even fished without Tubing on the Mainline and caught. Anything over about 40metres the line will be drooping in an arc anyway so you don't really need to pin it down. Incidentally have a search for Korda Safe Zone Leader, not all the comments in the past have been good, ESPECIALLY not from me! Hey Kev, Don't knock it. I actually enjoyed reading a post without worrying about spelling mistakes

I'm not totally sure that the D-rig "outperforms" the standard hair rig, it just seems that I'm more comfortable fishing pop-ups that way. Stupid I know . I say don't over-complicate the issue, then I use a rig that is more difficult to tie than standard. The standard hair rig is I suppose more instant to tie, but with the D-rig I can alter the length of the hair from ring to bait should I need to, just by tying on a new piece of nylon for the bait. The other thing with a D-rig is that should the bait be blown out then it may be that the Carp feels that it has gotten rid of the problem, yet with a standard hair, if the bait is blown out the hook may also get blown out. I don't think that unless the Carp are heavily fished for that you will need to go onto that route. The D-rig is a step forward I guess(?)

I've moved this into the Rig Tying section. Difficult to say how high you want the bait, you'll have to play around and find out what works for you. I prefer to keep the pop-up as close to the Lakebed as possible, but know at times I need to play around and alter the distance from the Lake bed. If I'm using a Food Source Pop-up then it is normally mounted on a standard rig, the same as my bottom baits, or a D-rig, with a power gum stop knot mounted on the hooklink to mould putty around. For Hi-Attract Pop-ups I normally go to something totally different. A length of Amnesia from Mainline swivel (size 8 ) to mini swivel (size 10 or 12) about 15centimetres long. Then from the mini swivel a length of braid to height you want it popped up. To counter balance I use putty over the mini swivel. It is then easy enough to change the "mini hooklink" rather than the whole rig. I nearly always tie my Pop-ups on to the hook or rig ring, I don't like piercing the bait as I believe it can affect the buoyancy over a period of time. So to do that with a Standard rig I create that loop at the end with a Uni Knot, and then make the rig up with Knotless knot as standard. For the D-rig presentation I put the hook on with a knotless knot, and then with the tag (that would usually be the hair) I put the rig ring on, put the tag end back through the eye, and then blob with a cigarette lighter. Get a 20cm length of mono, about 4lb, and tie a Uni or Grinner knot LOOP at the end, and put a pop-up into the loop, then pull down tight. With the other end tie the bait onto the rig ring, with minimal clearance. Leave yourself enough slack so that you can change your bait! I've put the link to the Rig Tying Sticky as you can actually see what I mean. http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=22185 This thread may also be interesting http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=32655&highlight=popups

Depends on how you want your pop-up as well, so Carperp1's point about testing in the margins is spot on. Sometimes I want the Pop-up nailed to the Lakebed, or at whatever distance I want to fish it, so it is over-weighted. Yet at other times I want a bait that is able to be sucked in more easily with minimum weight (critically balanced) Because of the different types of presentation, if I want an "in 'yer face" I have a Combi-rig set-up, normally about 5cms above the bottom, if I want a bait that is only just above the bottom I use a standard rig, but thread on an olivette when I make them, or get the olivettes that are held on with a piece of silicone at either end if I want to change with the standard rig I have on. I don't like putting shot on the hooklink, I worry that squeezing the shot on will damage the hooklink. For Pop-up weights I tend to use Olivettes if I fish them on a standard rig, and add putty to add extra weight if they are underweighted, or put putty around a stop knot. If I use a Combi-rig, Braid to a length of Amnesia or other stiff boom section, then its putty over the knot.

Nick you could easily be a famous angler and i would love to read articles by you. They would be of quality and honesty, not something you get much of these days. Thank You, A post that brought a smile to my face and a tear to the eye Just don't tell anyone else about the tears, I'll claim I was tired

I remember reading Simon Crow saying about having the hair wrapped around the shank in the past as well, and there is me making sure that I get mine perfectly central. Thanks for the credit for the Superstiff tip, but I must admit its down to one of the Original Genius's for the idea; Jim Gibbinson. He called it The Concertina Rig. I'm more of a sponge for information, it goes in and get's remembered for when I need it. I can't think of many things I come up with first, maybe that's what I need to change to become a Famous Angler? Nick

I borrowed this quote (its only part of a reply) from the Different Strains thread, and its a subject that I've been thinking about as well. There are definitely different ways of feeding from different Carp, it has come up in the past in this thread as well. Some fish will suck and blow to eat their food, and others will scoop and pick up their food in the lips. Is this sucking and blowing fish going to get caught on the same rig as a fish which mouthes the bait? How do you make a rig that will catch the both types of feeding. Shorter rigs will catch fish that are over beds of bait, but will this same short rig catch fish feeding on this bait that are sucking the baits in? It can't be going in far enough. Is this the reason for hookpulls on some fish? Or is the short rig being taken in by fish that are picking the bait up and the lead is pulling the hook down to pr1ck the fish too early? On a longer rig with a good length hair ( both longer than usual) do both types of fish get caught? The water I have had a problem with hookholds I was playing this week, and had takes on 2 different rigs, one again, slightly more Complicated than standard. The rig that produced 3 fish was a Basic Knotless Knotted SuperNova Hooklink to ESP hook of about 20cm long. From the end of the bait I had about 10mm clearance to the shank. The other rod had on a Coated Braid Snowman presentation on a Sliding ring on the shank of the hook, the ring only able to slide to the top of the shank as there was a small Fox rubber stop. I had no clearance from the bait to the ring, the hookbait was tight, no additional hair showing through the bait. On both rigs the carp were hooked fairly and squarely and I had no problems with either. Have I gone too Complicated to start with? Dave had a Carp on a basic Amnesia Hooklink with a mono hair. Personnely I think the carp eating your bait has much more say so on whether or not you hook it. I think rigs only make a slight difference in comparrison. That may be true, but there may come a point on "Pressured" waters where you may need to go more advanced. I know I keep going on about you can change the hooklink length, and the hair length, but there may be a point where you could need to do something different. I have had to play around with rigs on this Fishery that I started fishing last year. Its not always to confuse the Carp either, it could be to avoid the weed or bottom make-up.

I borrowed this quote (its only part of a reply) from the Different Strains thread, and its a subject that I've been thinking about as well. There are definitely different ways of feeding from different Carp, it has come up in the past in this thread as well. Some fish will suck and blow to eat their food, and others will scoop and pick up their food in the lips. Is this sucking and blowing fish going to get caught on the same rig as a fish which mouthes the bait? How do you make a rig that will catch the both types of feeding. Shorter rigs will catch fish that are over beds of bait, but will this same short rig catch fish feeding on this bait that are sucking the baits in? It can't be going in far enough. Is this the reason for hookpulls on some fish? Or is the short rig being taken in by fish that are picking the bait up and the lead is pulling the hook down to pr1ck the fish too early? On a longer rig with a good length hair ( both longer than usual) do both types of fish get caught? The water I have had a problem with hookholds I was playing this week, and had takes on 2 different rigs, one again, slightly more Complicated than standard. The rig that produced 3 fish was a Basic Knotless Knotted SuperNova Hooklink to ESP hook of about 20cm long. From the end of the bait I had about 10mm clearance to the shank. The other rod had on a Coated Braid Snowman presentation on a Sliding ring on the shank of the hook, the ring only able to slide to the top of the shank as there was a small Fox rubber stop. I had no clearance from the bait to the ring, the hookbait was tight, no additional hair showing through the bait. On both rigs the carp were hooked fairly and squarely and I had no problems with either. Have I gone too Complicated to start with? Dave had a Carp on a basic Amnesia Hooklink with a mono hair.

I have split this thread. The venue question is now in UK Where to Fish. As for surface hooklinks I use an arms span. Really technical way I know, especially as I normally freeline. I just prefer that length no matter what hooklink I use.