courtz

some nice bits of info there cheers

you just set up with stardard semi-fixed legering gear, i prefer inlines, as it keeps the centre of gravity on the line. To stop the lead from swinging everywhere whilst landing a fish, but safety-clip gear will be fine too. i prefer using 1oz - 2oz leads for thins, as it'll make landing fish easier. from the lead instead of a standard hooklength you tie one from around 1ft upto to 12ft. A good starting point is half the depth of water you're fishing in. And then the hookbait will be halfway between the lakebed and surface. i use 10lb drennan double strength for this. But any line between 8-10lbs will be fine. Thicker lines will weight down the pop-up, and lighter ones you will risk being snapped, unless the fish you're going for are not too big (upto 10lbs) You tie this rig just incorporating a knotless knot, just with more line. On the hair rig you put on a floating bait, i prefer tutti pop-ups, but anything which will stay on the hook for a while is fine, fake baits etc. When casting with a long hooklength, say 6ft or more, i is better to place the hookbait into a cup whilst casting, and have the line between the rod tip and hook. so it wont hook anything as easy when you cast out hope it helps matey tight lines courtz

since switching to ESP big-T's (barbless), i've not had single hookpull yet, on fish to upper doubles. if i was you i would stay WELL CLEAR of the ESP T-6 hooks in you're likely to catch carp around 10-15lb. On my first session of using them, and not bullying the fish i lost 2 out of 4 fish due to hook pulls, and the ones i landed the hook had damaged the lip quite a bit. so both packs of hooks went straight in the bin since switching to Big-T's all the fish are hooked well, and the hook doesn't move around in the lip. they're also teflon coated to provide anti-reflective properties tight lines courtz

ESP anchor tubing, contains tungsten and is denser than leadcore i used to use it before switching to leadcore sticks to the lakebed like sh*t to a blanket. It's a duller colour too that looks natural and won't reflect light. tight lines courtz

I always wet the knots with saliva, it's probably because the line i use for zig hooklengths are fine diameter, prestretched monos(drennan double strength) tight lines courtz

i've been giving the grinner a go, seems strong enough when tied with 10lb line for zig-rig. It also odesn't coil the line as much from where you've tightened the knot cheres tight lines courtz

i've got a few mags showing how to tie it will give iy a try with an pld pair of scales in a minute, before i put my total confidence into it. tight lines courtz

i've seen quite a bit about tying one it sems pretty complicated for me though looks too small to be strong tight lines courtz

oops that was a double grinner here's the one i meant

tight lines

i use the grinner for most of my knots apart from attatching leadcore. works well with braid, mono and flourocarbon. when i've tested knots with an old pair of scales i fisnd the grinner to be the strongest by far. tight lines courtz

sorry mate i thought you were asking about the braid i use fox as most tackle shops sell them and have got on well with it tight lines courtz

most braids should work if you're not lookinh for a hybrid/coated braid i highly recommned ESP sinklink as i have had others drift off the lakebed tight lines courtz

i use it on most of my rigs fishing on the bottom it helps the hook to turn. i prefer to shrink it in boiling water, as this is cooler than steam, and if you're using mono or flourocarbon won't weaken the link as much. Braid can be used with steam, as it isn't weakened too much

A simple set up incorporating a safety rig set, 1 1/2 oz lead with rig tubing leader. mono knotless knot rig, with or without shrink tubing you can fish bottom baits on this rig too, but you wont need the tungsten putty to anchor a floating bait. tight lines courtz

cheers p.s. for this rig you don't need a leader, tubing etc

it's amazing what you can od on microsoft photodraw running lead setup inline bubble float, if not then normal bubble float held in place by the swivel joining the mainline to hooklength. 3ft hooklength and pop-up boilie by letting line out of the reel the rig will rise to the surface more A zig rig is best used in quite deep clear water tight lines courtz

i think you should only use a semi fixed with a 'real zig' as it will keep the pop-up at the righ depth below the surface. there is a running zig though which incorporates a bubble float, so you can change the depth of the bait. i've never used this thoough, but it seems a good idea. i'll make a picture set up of the running and post it in bit. tigh lines courtz Courtz, I edited the post as you had "above" the surface, Nick [/i]

i've had a 21 on a mono knotless knot rig. And a 24 on freelined bread. proves that simplicity can be the key

When i used tubing i always used ESP anchor tubing. Sticks to the lakebed like sh1t to a blanket, as they contain tungsten. Other tubings i've had raise off the lakebed. it also has a more natural colour. tight lines courtz

i do but i dip it into boiling water and not steam. steam is hotter than boiling water and therefore weakens the flourocarbon quite a bit as it's pretty brittle anyway. something frank warwick showed in an article. tight lines courtz

ihall i don't use flourocarbon for long zig hooklengths (3ft plus). it snaps easier when 'jerked' about. combine this with the fact of a lead which may be swinging 8ft from the fish, and it's a potential line breakage. i use drennan double strength for all my zigs, in the 10lb version for my venue. i also use 1oz leads, so they don't act like a pendulem when landing the fish. These are inline, so it keeps the centre of gravity on the line, ruducing how easily the lead can swing. tight lines courtney

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/authors/gaffer01.htm tight lines courtz

i always use a leader now leadcore, but tubing acts in the same way. it helps prevent a tangle when casting, and protects the fish tight lines courtz

i always use it too it's just that beginners may find it too complicated. thats if ccc is a beginner. which i was presuming from little knowledge of rigs. tight lines courtz