ouchthathurt

The 360 rig is sometimes pinned with mouth damage due to its mechanics, in the same way the long shank bent hook rig was in the 80-90s - indeed this rig was banned in many places. The long shank aspect used to "double hook" (hook through the lips multiple times, otherwise called stitching) and then tear in the carps mouth, the bent hook, if not bent correctly, would open and close at the point of bending kind of like an old fashioned can opener causing damage to the carp. The fox series 5 - the first commercially available long shanked curved hook brought in to try and emulate the success of the bent hook rig. It was found that smaller, more frantic carp could "double hook" themselves which then tore, ripping the lips. The readon shrink tube became so popular was it allowed you to fish a "bent hook" which didnt cause the damage with the hook opening and closing like a can openerin the carps mouth this is why we bend and curve shrink tube, to emulate the bent hook rig.The link has been made between the longshanked aspect and the 360 rig, it has been said (by "them") that it can cause the double hooking which leads to mouth damage. The evidence is not exactly solid, in the case of the bent hook rig, the damage and its cause was obvious, and lots of lakes banned it. The 360 rig is used by many top anglers, mr dave lane being one of them, it is seen as a "big fish rig" mostly down to the fact it utilises a longshanked hook which can hook multiple times in a smaller carps mouth. It is also designed to be fished heavily weighted as opposed to critically balanced. The idea is that the pop up spins 360 degrees and hook in the bottom lip. The use of a longshank hook has always been linked to mouth damage to smaller carp. Whether its true or not? Well thats open to speculation, the old bent hook was brutal, but the 360 rig is well popular and well used, if it was as damaging as the old bent hook rig was, then we would know by now, its been out for years, i dont use it as its too much metal in/around the hook - plus the use of a longshank puts me off a bit, as i remember the mouth damage from the 1st longshank curved hooks and bent hook rigs. I havent seen the series 5 on sale for years, although fox do sell the armapoint LSC which look near as damn it identical.

Time to complain!!

Ive had the absolute priveledge of being able to fish for carp for 19+yrs, i love all aspects of the sport, including watching and appreciating the wildlife, i dont understand the current trend for drinking on the bank, these days getting the bivvy up, tv on etc before getting on with the inconvienance of getting the rods out... I know one lad who used to set up on the pond, cast out anywhich where and retire to his bivvy for a weekend of fostors tinnies, an ounce of weed and several hard core porn magazines, you wouldnt see him from one day to the next!! Personally, i dont really care if i blank, being there is enough, remember: Take nothing but photographs, Leave nothing but footprints, Kill nothing but time... We "borrow" the swim from mother nature, we should at least return it in as good a nick as we were lent it, we owe them that, litter louts, drunks, stoners, noisey neighbours, they dont deserve to see the wildlife in the close intimate way that us anglers do. As a footnote, i have no qualms with those who enjoy a can or two on the bank, just dont kick the asre out of it!

Ive got several sets i could chose, but my centuries have been there through thick and thin and i feel "lost" fishing without them.

Many thanks buddy! Just checked it out, O...M...G...(to quote a teenage girl!) the 19" cork sleeves looks proper gucci...!

I was wondering if you could buy the cork and do the job myself? It seems such a simple job, and i dont have any specialist tackle shops around me who could do it for me, i dont like giving my rods to someone else either, when i had the "mature" (like it!!) blanks rewhipped, i was warned not to fish with them for about a week to let the varnish harden off and dry thoroughly, needless to say, 4hrs later ive blasted them with a hairdryer and am set up in a swim merrily angling away... Yeah, the varnish all cracked and warped and i had to strip it all off and redo it all over again...

Lol!! For me it still does!! :blink:

Yeah! Although i shouldve re-eyed the rod before giving her the push, she could have paid for them as a leaving present...

God damn it! Protected!!

I want to strip and re-eye my centuary blanks, i'd love to replace the duplon/foam handles with cork as i love cork handles. I had to get my blanks re-eyed years ago after the eyes were twisted around themselves by a rather angry ex... Well she was an ex swiftly afterwards! Sticks and stones may break my bones but keep your mitts off my carp gear!! On the plus side, at least it was the fishing type of "tackle" that she chose to twist off... :blink:

No no no... We need to unbalance everything now! Lol!! The carp are used to balanced set ups... I have used this rig to good effect on the past.

Yeah, this is almost the modern take of this classic rig, however using a light line hair from the bend of the hook, without the hair being a continuation of the hooklink which seems to make it stiffer, the light, long hair makes the point of the hook "heavy" and the hook is more unstable on ejection. Its similar to the very early hairs during their inception with lenny middleton the knotless knot/continuation of hooklink-hair is a relatively recent concept, the hairs were often lighter hairs tied seperatley on to the eye or shank of the hook. As the hooklink of the time was mono, dental floss hairs on mono links were one of the first hair rigs i ever used in the mid 90's The "hook bend hair" is relatively forgotten about as being "old" but it can work. It looks pretty "hookable" i think with a curveshanked hook, this would flip over and dig in really well.

I got a set of centuary 12ft 2 3/4tc canon carp rods, they are a lovely set of rods, but they are starting to show their age. (arent we all??) nothing a good clean and a rewhipping of the eyes will sort out. The blanks are mint! I also have a set of 11ft shimano 2lb tc rods that i love, they are pretty old to, but ive never found a blank that is thinner, crisp and snappy as these rods. I love them, although they are "dated" by modern standards.

When i tried it out, i used either a tucked half blood or 3 turn grinner knot, secured with a dab of superglue, i found a lot of knots slipped, i also tried a "round turn and two half hitches" and clove hitches as well, (check out nautical websites!) and secure it with superglue

Yeah, got ya, ive been playing around and have not had any issues on my bench tests. And they look pukka neat, just need to get some reliable crimps to have a proper play. I tried initial tests with sea fishing crimps which are ideal for placing on 60lb rig bodies but they need testing with carp links which i found to be (obviously) thinner, "smoother" and might be more liable to slip or nick the link as some of the crimp edges are a bit rough.

The floss trick is one of my little ruses to extend the length of a pretied hair. Ive looked at extenda hairstops, but i tend to tie a loop in my chosen hooklink and hair rig a boilie before threading the hook on and tying it all up, making sure the hair is the length i want it. rather than tying it up first then seeing how the boilie fits.

Ive looked at them mate, but my local tackleshop stocks mainly trout/predator and sea fishing (we are about 2hrs drive from the nearest sea mark!?!) gear, their carp gear is limited to say the least so i make do with what i can find. They any good mate?

I find soft ghost to be a lot easier to use that more traditional stiff links, it knots well and straightens well and does the job. Ive never had an issue with it. I also got a spool of old school amnesia for more "stiffer" applications and boom sections on hinged stiff links, that i used to use a lot. Im looking into crimping at the moment but have a few reservations at present.

Looking through some of these threads a lot of the hairs on the rigs are quite short..?? What are peoples thoughts on hair lengths? My hairs for my bottom baits have always been on the long side this is a size 4 curve shank on blowback rig and braided hooklink for a 14-15mm bait. this is same rig with bait attached although something is lost in the photo, it looks shorter now?!?! I think a longer hair encourages the hook to turn and prick in the lip better, i think also as it is not so closely linked to the bait, it is more "unstable" during ejection. I also think it is something different at the majority seem to fish far shorter hairs. I could get two baits on a bottom bait hair that is designed for one bait. However i think with pop ups, a shorter hair is more effective. What do others think?

A delightful pic of my tackle box, its 2sided tool box i use, sorry no pictures of carp adorn my tackle box. The other side. all very chaotic but it works for me. I mainly use helicopter rigs, as i use leadcore often (have for 14+yrs) and think the helicopter rig is safest. basic helicopter rig arrangement with spliced loop. If i get snapped off then the hooklink will slide away like this. you may note thati dont have any tubing/shrink tube on the leadcore to temporarily affix the top bead in place, nor is it altered or doctored in any way, for instance, not threading the bead on sideways! There is nothing in which to impede the movement of the top bead if required. the 100% most important most imperative thing is that the bead and hooklink swivel ( with big bore ring) must be able to pass over the spliced loop like this. then the 'core with lead attached is now seperate to the hooklink.

Photo copy of cr##py carpers.com all rights reserved. To place an order for the "karp-level" (the real spirit in angling) call 0-1 2-1 do one and this excusive piece of carp fishing equipment can be yours... The karp level only £69,99p rrp (limited editions signed by an essex wide boy with a quiff and polo shirt will cost £99.99 only 10,000 of the deluxe levels will be available to those on a first come first served basis. Stitch em and legget tackle specialists have the "karp-level" on offer at £39.99p to the first 100 buyers. To complement the set stitch em and legget will throw in the "karp kruncher" a 2lb mallet for getting those pesky polished stainless onto hard banks... Or B&Q sell them for a fiver, but there are no pictures of a carp on it...

Ih jesus!! My rigs have to be 100% spot on; but my tackle box?? Er.... Lets just say it could do with a visit from the cleaning fairies...

Close up of my bottom bait rig, curve shank size 4 hook on braid hooklink using blowback principle. Note the darkness of the braid? This is lead putty rubbed into braid and excess removed. I like a pretty long hair. Bait is 15mm fishmeal/robin red boilie.

When i used to make my own cork pop ups, i would only make small batches of 10-20 at a time. I would take a length of shockleader line or a cocktail stick and score a shallow groove around the middle so once boiled and hardened off, i would have a groove to tie my floss in. Just be careful not to make a groove right through the boilie paste and expose the cork ball.

I prefer to tie my pop ups on as any piercing of the bait will affect its boyancy over a period of time. I also find that the boilie skin over the pop up integrety is damaged, then water ingress will soon soak and split the skin as well as leaving it open for small fish to have a peck at it.