ouchthathurt

in this day and age with every tackle manufacturer under the sun firing out new and more fancy rigs, it is very easy to start to lose confidence in your presentation. what i do is remember that the manufacturers are relying on you buying their product, so i tend to take their new wonder rigs with a large pinch of salt. i prefer to pay attention to location, finding the feeding fish, i pay more attention to using good high quality baits, fished in the correct areas, as for rigs, i dont want the newest superduper carpcatcher3000wonder-rig, i want the nice simple rigs i have confidence. thats why on my rods right now there are simple silkworm hooklinks with a bit of shrinktube to flip the hook. i want to know where the carp are, i want to feed them a good quality bait that they will grow to love to the point they are actively feeding on it, then when they do suck in my hookbait, i have every confidence that my size 10 ESP longshank will flip over and nail them. and my catch rate is as such i'm totally happy with my presentations, when my catch rate suffers, then i will happily re evaluate my rigs based on my own past exeriences.

i used to use the beachcaster rig years ago, but i found it unnecessary, if the carp are partial to a flater, i just used a nice soft through actioned rod, (mine was an abu garcia delta 2lb test through action specimin rod designed for light carp and heavy tench work) 8-10lb mainline, the smallest controller i could get away with, (or a stick with a hole drilled in it and a bit of tubing threaded through, then the line to make a stick controller, then drennan doublestrength hooklength in 6-8lb. these days with the fluro mainlines and hooklengths, its possible to make a near invisible controller set up if you use a soft actioned rod, sensibly light fluro line for the conditions, play the fish well, and build their confidence before introducing your hookbait. get them going for your mixers before casting.

i use ESP leadcore, with a needle knot and superglue to the mainline, and i srip a short length of leadcore inner on the hooklink end and tie it with a 4turn blood knot, i've never had any problems with it.

how about pellet paste wrapped around a small corkball? then you can pop it up or balance it.

[i use the D ring principle on all my pop ups as i feel the presentation is more superior to a standard hair, the hooking mechanism does rely on the 'blowback principle' which can make it harder for the carp to eject, they are used to dealing with standard hairs, so offer up someting slightly different? also, the pop up height? well that depends on the day, i personally would start at about an inch then work form there. PVA rig foam will protect the hook on casting then it will also suspend the hook over the lead as it settles, as the foam disolves, the hookbait then drifts gently into position, on top of the detritus, rather than being buried in it with the lead. i have great faith in pop ups, but in my experience, i find most dont like them, so when they do use them, they dont fish them correctly, then when they dont catch, they write off the bait as opposed to the method. you need to fish pop ups with the same thought and confidence as you would your bottom baits.

i'm using the same rig as described above, i just use ESP stiff link, its called bristle filament for the stiff end and silkworm for the supple end. for straight stiffys, i just use ESP stiff link to stiff rigger hooks, fished swimmer rig stylie.

in my tackle box you will find, ESP stiff link (chods, hinged stiff links) kryston silkworm, (bottom baits, small pop ups) ESP ghost, (bottom baits in clear water.) thats it. hooks? ESP stiff riggers for my stiff rigs, ESP longshanks fr everything else. total confidence in that. best ever hooklink for me? amnesia!!! (or bog standard mono.)

i tend to use 4''-6'' links, then adjust them to suit the hookhold, if im getting hookpulls or poor hookholds, i tend tolengthen them by an inch at a time untill the hookhold improves. i tend to try and use the hooklength for the situation, rather than rely n haing the same set lengths for everything.

in this situation i tend to use the smallest lead i can get aeay with, slack lines and suchlike. its personal preference at the end of the day though. if they are that close, i would also consider float fshing or stalking, its that more thrilling as well...

with leadcore, i worry about any rig that has the hooklink tied directly to the core, thats why i like helicopter rigs, where the hooklink can slide off the core leader when you snap off. the bdest leaders ive found recently are the clear leaders by wychwood, its totally different to leadcore, and the change can be a bonus with pressured fish.

i could never get on with the black amnesia, i think its the colour. i use greased weasel for my beachcasting, i cant fault it, but again, i find i little thick for carping. the clear amnesia is good stuff, but when it runs a snag under pressure, i find it lets go too readily. compared to greased weasel, which i find pretty damn good, in sea fishing anyway.

morning all, ive always used a simple knotless knot to a proven hooklink with hrink tubing to offset the hook. jobs a good 'un

ive used amnesia for years, in clear. it stretches somewhat though... can have poor abrasion resistance over time also.

you state that for years you havent actually used leadcore, but you can now. before using it, ask yourself this, do you actually need to use it? you have managed alright up to now without it, why change you rigs if your happy with them? prsonally, i use ESP leadcore, have used leadcore for years now. i feel its most safe used as a helicopter rig, as the hooklink can slide up and off the leadcore, as opposed to staying tied on to it. wvwn without the bomb, discarded leadcore can be lethal if it becomes tangled. i dont like the use of over heavy hooklinks either, i use 10-12lb hooklinks, something a tethered carp can snap fairly easily. i feel if the situation warrants a heavy hooklink, 25-30lb, then the situations may not right for leadcore anyway... also, the tubing that ESP sell, sinktube, or something like that, is as heavy as leadcore anyway, so you get the same benifits as leadcore from a tubing, which is easier to use. just because a place allows leadcore, you dont necessarily have to use it. i had good results using amnesia leaders and wychwood clear leaders when everyone else used leadcore.

at long range, i prefer not to use backleads at all. at that distance, the weight of the water and the angle of the line is often enough to sink the line. as a final thing, i use about a metre of leadcore so sink it all down. ive found no real advntage to backleads at range. as for mediun range, or steeply sheving banks, i would use flying backleads, although im loathe to use them too far back. i often use a pva stopknot about a foot above the leadcore, then sink my rod tips to lessen the angle. ive had 2 mid 20s pivot on the backlead and kite a fair distance before registering a run, granted it was in winter, but it was because the backlead had flown a good 30yrds behind the rig, effectivly giving it 30yrds to play with. as for the margins? i use blobs of leadputty on the end of the leadcore, always test to makesure your lead can eject though. in my eyes, helecopter rigs are better for leadcore as the carp can jettison the lot and just be left with the hooklink if a break should occur. the hooklink slides up and off the leadcore if he rig is tied correctly. close in margin work is perfect for slack lining and light bobbins. but if their that close, why not try freelining or floatfishing? it is a hell of a lot more exciting...

well well well, best way to prove/disprove? someones just gotta fish for it!

where abouts is this? are these the pits you see from the road when driving along the A27?

no, i usually just stick to a brand. so its the ESP 'core for me. ive had no problems with it. i used the 'sinktube' by ESP this last session, not 100% impressed with it yet, but ive a few little things i can do to it to make it better, so i may well grow to like it.

ive just brought some ESP tubing to replace the leadcore in my rigs as im fishing tight to snags and i feel tubing is safer in the event of snagging/snapping up.

i couldnt really say to be honest, because i dont know! i would be just as happy using tubing, but i used leadcore years ago, before i started using tubing. leadcore was origianally a flyline, i had loads of the stuff, so i used it. it was no where near as good as what is for sale now. if i had started using tubing more when i started carping, then chances are i would still be on it. either material does the job well, but tubing is more user friendly. ive got esp rig tube in my tacklebox as well. and still use it from time to time.

the flying backlead goes on the mainline behind the tubing. i use between 1-2ft of tubing. its good stuff, and far simpler than fiddling around with needles, lighters and splicing bits and bobs! i use leadcore because i love it, yet it all comes down to personal preference, at the end of the day, the tubing and the 'core do the same basic job.

then use anchor rig tube and flying backleads. that will pin it down flatter than any quicksilver leader will ever do. quicksilver, being a braided material does have a certian amount of bouyancy, so it wont lie perfectly flat either, if it did, then leadcore would be unnecessary. anchor rig tube has been proven to be denser than most leadcore leaders out there. use those and get yourself some gardener flying backleads. they will pin everything dead flat without the need for leaders and such like.

the needle knot link you have shown is the knot i use. but thats for leadcore, not quicksilver, its too thin to tie using the needle knot and will unravel. why is it you feel you need to fish a leader anyway? are you fishing over savage gravel bars? or swan mussel beds? or in thick snags? or are you casting 4-5oz leads a long distance? 99.99% of the time, normal rig tube is a much simpler alternative and can offer the same benifits to leaders but are easier to use. if you are not happy about tying them, then dont cast it out, if the worst should happen, you need rigs that are 100% safe. stick to tubing its easier to use and much safer than relying on knots you are not happy tying in the first place. get a book, practice the knots and rigs and fish in confidence knowing the rigs you have lobbed out are carp safe.