zander1

You already know this though and so I needn't have bothered.

How will you have any confidence in your set-up unless you catch a few on it???? Say your on a water where you can catch 1 fish a month if that. You get your bite on the zig and loose the fish/ don't connect with it because you in your wisdom thought it would work the way you set it up and it doesn't. What do you do ??? wait until the next bite where it fails again??? its like fishing blind. Besides- like a day on a runs water will hurt your ego. You could go on a runs water for the day- refine your set-up. You'll have confidence in them and problem solved I know my set-up works, The pic was just tied up quick to show the general idea of how an intured hook is fine. My proper arrangement is more refined dependant on the buoyancy and size of the bait being used. (balancing bait and hook size etc) You can never tie the perfect zig- you will not connect with every run even on the runs water- 28 runs and 26 fish isn't bad though. The carp will always have several feet of line to play with before he gets hooked. Id like to try a zig using a fluro and see if the stiffness (compared to mono) hooks more fish but while my fine mono seems to do the trick I will stick with it Personally I find a running rig setup (on a fixed length zig) with a tight line and some weight on the swinger to be the most efficient and sensitive set-up. I have a large bore swivel/runring on the zig, a rubber bead ( the ones that are elongated to cover the hooklink swivel as well) and an anti-tangle sleeve on the hook link as im currently fishing over weed and so the running properties don't work as well. On a clean bottom, standard swivel on the lead, small rubber bead hook link tied on to the mainline swivel with a loop (or quick link etc) and no antitangle sleeve. Job done. I like to avoid adjustable zigs as they tend to tangle, I have still used the adjustable zigs to good effect though. You will probably still try to shoot me down. Jack

Just to let you know Tony, there isnt alot in that,probably less than when its in the water as the baiting needle was just to get the bait to hold the hook flat so you could see the hooking arrangement, i wasnt holding the other end of the line, it was just overhanging the box and table. Catch a few pasties on it, you'll soon know if its working right or not- you'll have a cracking day on a runs water later on this year with them

This seems to work. When the foam pulls the hooklink up from the lead its as tensioned and the hook sits like a "claw" dependant on how you set the hook/bait. Just literally tied that one up. just by changing the amount of wraps around the knot less knot you can create more aggressive or less aggressive "claws" and make the hook hidden by the bait. Each to their own, i wouldn't mind using an out turned eye hook but i prefer inturned eyes

The video talks about not using hooks with intured eyes as it can break the hooklink. I wouldn't worry about that too much- ive never had that problem- i use wide gapes, fox arma point sssp's which have inturned eyes, or drennan super specialists that have straight eyes, of fox sscs and havent had the zig break near the hook. Go for the finest gauge wire you can get away with, fox ssbp's are a great pattern, but too heavier gauge for zig hooks- hence why i like the widegapes in this shape/pattern even though the korda hooks aren't as good as arma points in general. (i could word that better but cba) BTW, The Fox arma point hooks are made by Owner- need i say more

I also tie the majority of mine on the bankside now. I will tie a couple up at home and put them in the wallet just to get me started when i first arrive at the venue, but if things change, or i need to adjust something, then out comes the materials and i can tie one there and then to suit the situation. Its much better that way IMO. I totally agree with you Tony, i think that doing this has put more fish on the bank for me as the hook is sharper than one thats been used. Plus- the rig is the perfect length for what i want to do that day and the materials are more easily matched to the lake bed costs a bit more material wise but i think its worth it Ive still got my tried and trusted rigs in my wallet- but i always check the hook point- if its not out the packet sharp- it doesnt get used.

Same- i only trust my own knots and if something goes wrong i only have my self blame. I love tying my own rigs anyway

This is interesting, I use the mahin knot and a whiping knot on the hook (may well be called a snell?? its not the knotless knot anyway) and i have tied them with tiny hinges (3mm no joke) and others upto about 3 inches (i dont like that large of a gap). I use E-S-P Sinklink and either Fox rigidy stiff link or seagaur fluro (for a softer option, but still stiffer than fox coretex which is my normal coated braid). My prefered combi is aound 4 or 5 inches of the seaguar fluro with a fig of eight knot for attaching to a clip link and personaly i prefer around 1- 1.5 cm for the hinge, using a size 8 ssc hook. It seems to work for me but i dont fish waters containing big fish and so i cant comment on how it will work on 20-30lbers

I like the Zig, only really used it on runs waters (10-12 fish 20+ on a very good day) and on a easy but not an exact "runs water" (2-3 fish a day 5- 6 on a good day) so far but ive had a fair few fish on it, the adjustable and the normal fixed version I prefer a fixed zig as it tangles less but isn't always suitable

I don't use it on knots but if its detrimental to the fish even when its set i will avoid it in the future, not used it often anyway. Jack

To right! the gas given of from super glue are in fact Cyanide, ethyl cyanoacrylate Even once its dry???? i wouldn't of thort that once its been dried its a problem???????

superstiff dissolves in water doesnt it???? Would some good superglue not work???? (just dont glue the knots or anyplace that will end up folding/hinging as that does weaken the braid)

I like the figure of eight knot, quick and simple, hard wearing

A bit contradictory in'it

I don't use the knot less knot either anymore (haven't for about a year), i dont know what you call the knot (Dont think its the uni like you use , i use the uni for tying on pop-ups or line markers). For the knot i use i make a loop parallel with the hook shank, thread teh line through, then again but overlapping teh first "roll" then another 6 times bellow this sort of "x" then pull the hair and the hooklink end tight, thread the hooklink through the eye and tie a loop for the bait???????????????????? Its a bit like tying a spade end but with out the hook tier?????

http://ultimatefishingblog.blogspot.com/2007/12/fishing-knots-and-rigs-rapala-knot.html

To me it depends on the hooklink material. I attach all my rigs to the hooklink swivel, don't like Quicklinks of any sort as I feel that it is another pivot point that may or may not be used for the rig to be ejected. I know the thinking is old fashioned, but I don't want anything that can be used to slow down the feel of hitting the lead, that additional link may allow it. When it comes to Fluorocarbon or mono and combi hooklinks I tie the line to the hooklink swivel with a loop knot. This is the one that is shown in Kryston packaging. The best way I can describe it is tie an overhand knot in the hooklink material, but don't pull tight, put swivel on the end, then go through the overhand loop with tag end, go round the line 4 times, and then back through loop, wet and pull both pieces tight. You then have a formed loop. I feel that it gives a little extra "arc" movement that may allow the Carp to move without feeling for the Lead or any resistance For braided hooklinks I just use a straight Uni knot to attach the hooklink material to the swivel. Not much need to feel for the "Lead resistance" as the braid is not going to be tight, and the Carp doesn't know when the resistance is going to pull in. Mind you, I do tend to use Running Leads on most occasions, so there is not much chance of the Carp feeling the Lead, but because I use tubing there will be some resistance Is that the Rapala knot than Ken T recomends ?

Hi mate Some of the benefits: More movement in the hook link so that the rig can sit flatter (settle if you will) easier on the lake bed. You can take the rig off the clip, thread on a pva stick and put it back on the clip If you damage a rig its quick and easy to replace with a rig you have pre tied. If you cast to a different area and need a slightly different rig that is more suited for where you are fishing. Cons: More for the fish to see in some scenarios Cant think of any more cons

what bs fluro and braid have you used and what knot have you used??? I tend to find that 24lb braid and 25lb fluro are the most reliable as if your knot is somehow impaired it should still break above 12lb, if you tie it with a slightly adapted mahin knot, it should break above 15lb on average around 20lb. You would be surprised how easily a combi tied ot of 10-12lb bs materials can brake. Jack

I used something very similar using an arma point ssbp for pop-ups and a coated braid. Tied one up with a longshank hook but after suffering a few missed runs and a hook pull i stopped using long shank hooks so i never got round to using that actual rig. May give it ago when i stop catching on whats working for me at the minuet

I have noticed that a lot of people have only started using curved shank hooks since Korda brought some out I remember seeing a korda dvd before their latest range of hooks came out where Mr F said something about not needing any other patterns of hooks than the wide gape and the longshank, that could be why

No probs mate

http://www.animatedknots.com/albright/index.php I use this but i wrap the braid over twice, so there's the first 8 twists and then another 6 over the top coming back if that makes sence Makes the knot a bit bigger but i have more confidence with it Also. leave the tag ends an inch (or so) long rather than trimming them to the knot

This is a little off topic but is a similar question to Cg150's : I'm running out of Fox cortex brown and so need to replace it however Ive been looking at getting Suffix camo fusion instead. I have never had a problem with cortex and it does what i need it to do however i fancy a change and would like something slightly better camouflaged as at times my cortex has been quite visible and i have had to mess about tying a combi rig with some soft fluro, i would not mind this but i don't like having that extra knot in my set up. i Have Korda hybrid for when i need something that bit stiffer and for fishing over gravel, suffix green sheath skin for fishing in weeder/greener patches and then cortex as my light chod/mud/silt etc hooklink. i have never liked the sheath skin as much as the cortex as its slightly thicker but they are both very similar (ni-on the same) in stiff/softness properties. knot strength is brilliant in both and they are both easy to use. If i buy the suffix camo fusion i will be doing so over the Internet and so cant get to see any close and feel it so i wondered what you guys think of it. I will happily buy cortex again but i would like a change and hopefully it will be a change for the better. Thanks

The one across the road from archline is now run buy them, however the brick and tiles pool further down the road isnt There is definitely carp (pasties) in the small circular pool and i would imagine there would be some in the big snaggy pool, however i haven't seen any in teh big pool.