zander1

yeh, the same style as teh hooks i use on the 360 (the fox arma point lsc) IS a bent hook a hook with an out-turned eye???? a hook with a curve shank???? a hook with a bend/kink like some of the big cat hooks???? I don't know what the rule applies too??????

Just a quick one: Im off to a fishery later today hopefully for 24hrs but on their site it says no bent hook rigs???? I use rigs like the 360 alot for my pop-ups and my bottom bait rigs use a short curve shank hook... will i not be able to use these or is there an actual rig called "the bent hook rig"????? this is probably a sill question thanks for any replies, Jack

they have brought an "even better" version out now (this version apparently doesnt burst as many maggots ) Why not just get it right in the first place

You want it longer than the deepest water you fish or will fish. This is because the knot can prevent your float from popping up, it shouldn't do this often especially with a massive running ring on teh lead setup but it can happen. Really you want a braid shock leader and braid mainline, mono (even tho it is what im currently using) has too much stretch and you can only feel the most obvious of features.

The original stiff Hybrid, weed green sheath skin and gravel brown cortex/ E-S-P strip tease will cover most eventualities. A spool of stiff rig/fluro and soft fluro will come in very handy too Tying a combi link from a thick softer fluro can create hinge rigs slightly stiffer than coretex and suffix but softer than hybrid. Use a stiff fluro or a bristle filament to tie combi rigs as stiff as or stiffer than hybrid and much stiffer than the other braids. BTW- you could tie a combi out of braid and your mainline, it works. Its all about what works best for the job at the time- Being able to adapt (without going mad lol) will catch you more fish

korda 10s are not true 10s more like 8s in other tackle brands- fox, drennan etc.

That depends on how the carp pick up bait tbh mate. Trial and error is the only way to find out but a 1cm gap between the hook and the bait is a good place to start You may find a gap of an inch works better or no gap at all.

you will prob do it in an hour with a brisk walk

Tie your own pal- much better- learn to tie a few knots sufficiently The hook is the most important so pic a reliable pattern and make. Deep silt- longer hook links can work well

Thats a killer tactic on some good stocked waters- the pellets attract the carp and keep them grubbing around- the pop-up is the only visible bait. Hey presto- banged out loads like that: if i can remember it was 18 fish upto 20lb (my only 20) + 2 bream Also- A size 8 hook is fine for your fishing apart from a korda size 8 which is more like a 6 believe it or not (compared with drennan super specialists and fox arma points) even with hooks the size 6 and bigger you will still catch but it may cause unnesasary damage to the carp you catch. And one more thing- learn to tie your own rigs as soon as possible- get a coated braid and some Fox arma point hooks (ssc or sssp size and some swivels. Yow ill need to learn to tie a knot less knot and a grinner knot (or fig of 8 knot) and thats about it- your on the road to catching

Some good points on this thread

Ahh never noticed. well why not stick with owner, i believe they are one of the best hook makers in the world, they make the fox arma points too boot Maybe its your knot that is at fault?????? When you tie the knot less knot, do you get any slip or do you get any line wrap under the eye lassooing the hooklink???????

Fox Arma points mate, all the way. they do every pattern you will ever need and their eyes have good closure. I believe the out turned eye pattern is called the SR.

It is definitely one of the best pop-up rigs going, but my Turf pop-up rig which is a very similar setup is awesome- only ever had 2 runs that didnt end up as fish on the mat out of over 100 carp in a year from the Turf pool alone , ive now been using that rig 3 years It is my choice for pop-ups nearly 90% of the time no matter where im fishing as i have so much confidence with it

Yes Or bellow the bait on the hair, or just on a straight forward pop up rig so that the hook is still suspended with the bait, but its only just held down on the deck by the tungsten putty (rather than a shot).

Tungsten putty- its the muts nuts

Im with everbody else on this- grinner over blood knot anyday I to do snag fishing- 15lb sensor - if you want the best out of it, use a grinner

The float trapped on a length of stiff link virtually eliminates tangling. I will give it a try the next time i use an adjustable zig

Yeh its similar Tryzard, I haven't got the float trapped on my set up- it runs like the lead does- as its bouant it just sits behind the hooklink swivel Its the adjustable zig thats a pain- it tangles no matter how good you are at casting

Is that the adjustable zig??? I know a few areas where i have obserevd the fish but there is only one spot where i managed to induce a take on a bottom bait (wasn't a proper run), zigs are the way to go- i had a take off a zig using a drennan super specialist hook and i failed to connect in time (don't know if the weed caused much of a delay in striking????) Tell you what though Tony- Bring on tomorrow, im going back and reckon ill have a 20 on the mat off a zig. beep beep beeeeeeeeeeeep!!!

Im using the stem on the marker. I used to use a wire trace and a cork. Ahh right, Put the running rig on a boom????

Horses for courses

TBH Tony, Fishing in weed has created a few problems that im working on, to refine my set up. Lead wise- im unsure of what is safer- at the end of the day it doesnt matter wether you use an in line or pendant lead, running or semi fixed it is still on the mainline and will be covered in weed. On my bottom bait rigs i use an in line lead running and on the zig i use a pendant style lead. I have no idea which is safer and tbh i dont know which is better as ive only just started fishing a weedy water. I prefer pendant style leads if there is bottom debris (run of the mill light chod) but weed seems different, the in line lead seemed to pick up marginally less weed than the pendant lead but i dont know if the mechanics of the rig will be affected by it (the lead pulling the hooklink down further in the weed). With the pendant style lead i am hoping that the eye of the swivel will sit above the weed where possible but tbh i dont think this is happening which means both set-ups aren't effective in weed running- if i were to use a bolt rig id use a semi fixed in line lead but i will not fish a semi fixed zig. this is where my dilemma comes in- i haven't got a clue what to do for the best. This was the exact zig rig set-up that i used (for the first time i might add) last week in the weedy water. My normal set-up gathered far too much weed around the components when i cast out and so i tried to make the set-up more slender. I know the hooking arrangement works so its just the lead set-up that i need to play around with. (i struggled to get a marker float -the korda stem kit- to come up in some areas as the weed is so thick) Normally, on a clean bottom, i would have a quick link or loop and no anti-tangle sleeve but as i was fishing in weed i didnt want that extra pivot as there would be a good chance it would be clogged with weed and wouldn't help at all- just another snagging point. However, with out this point/hinge- the hooklink doesnt come straight up from the lead- instead there is a slight curve from the end of the sleeve (as its a tight line set-up). May have to put the hinge back in. Lead wise, I hope that the massive bore of the running link will help the safety and sensitivity of the set-up rather than the thinner bore of an in line lead or normal lead swivel- (even the korda "big eye" ones on their leads are smaller than that nash running link). Will it work??? I cant say for certain, weed is new to me. But i like a challenge Your thoughts anyone???? (a bit of background info on the pool- 4 acre, gin clear 26 rig shy carp- easily spooked buy anything and everything, 9ft deepest- average of 8ft and a few shallower bays. Thick blanket of weed)