jsouth

I think you meant this one: http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=26332 Maybe it makes more sense to be in the rig tying stickies? Not sure since it is in context of mainline....

Could stuff the bag with pva foam sticks / packing peanuts

If you don't have the braid yet you can get a coated hooklink and just strip away some of the coating near the hook end so that the swivel end is more like mono and won't tangle/coil up as much. This won't really "kick it out" as much though.

Oh I didn't mean it would be made more dangerous. What I meant was that if you were concerned about a single fake bait not catching and were banking on the carp "just picking it up", then a running rig would be counterproductive in this scenario because you aren't planning on the carp actually running with the fake bait. I guess I was just interested if anyone had solid takes with only fake maize on a running rig? It seemed close enough to Kev's question as to not hijack.

Are any of you trying this with slack running rigs though? edit: I mean, with the concern of using a single fake particle this would make things worse right? Daryl's comment seemed to suggest a semi-fixed setup, or a bolt rig at best.

Just found this again: http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=37835

I spent a day fishing size gama 6's with light drag and a 8lb hooklink and didn't have that problem again lol.

Some like spooking them by throwing bait out (if they are close enough) and then casting. I have had luck baiting and then casting as well as in the reverse order so I'm not convinced it matters. The other day I threw a handful of groundbait out, then hit my spot dead on with a cast... I didn't even have a chance to let my drag off from the cast and set my rod up before a biggun broke my hooklink on a quick run.

Look for their fins splitting the water and at least here they tend to jump out of the water a lot, maybe to check for anglers

Sorry if this is a repetitive post, but I have done a good amount of searching on and off of this site for a comprehensive comparison of the different styles of hooks (straight eye, outward turned eye, curved shank, long shank, wide gape, ...you get the idea). There are some basics that pretty much everyone knows, the conclusions we draw from our experiences, and the assumptions we make but I was just hoping to read more on the subject. So far the best I have been able to come up with is http://www.carp-fishing-tactics.com/carp-hook-patterns.html Can anyone point me to a more in-depth article?

Well by getting rid of the swivel I'm using mainline straight through and also removing the hooklink.

That makes sense, thanks dj

How do you adapt this as a hair rig?

Make sure you have your camera with you when you catch him

Thanks for the detailed response I will attempt the rig when I get home tonight. One thing I tried before going to bed last night was cutting a piece of mono and tying the loop in it. Next I put the other end through the eye of the hook and snelled the line against the hook shank. Now I have to decide how to secure that hair piece of mono if I'm to go that route. I'm not sure if snelling is still as strong if you have 10+ windings of mono?

I'm not sure what kind of rigs you are looking for but mono works fine for running, bolt, and semi-fixed rigs. You can probably substitute it in for braid in many rigs and remove the anti-tangle need in some cases.

I wish I knew what was different. I'm not sure what you can do about a carp hitting a hook with their underside. I'm going to start dropping my rigs in water to make sure the hook lays down now.

I have been fishing with the semi fixed rig a lot at close distances lately and am trying to simplify the rig. From the hook end my rig has been: hook (hair rig w/ knotless knot), fluoro(coated) hooklink, swivel, rubber bead, running bead with swivel lead, glass bead, float stop. This can also be easily modified to a bolt rig by slipping the float stop further up the main line. I know this works as a safety rig because the float stop is often several feet up the line when I get a fish in. I would like the rig to be (from the hook end) hook (hair rig w/ knotless knot), 2x float stop, glass bead, running bead with swivel lead, glass bead, float stop. This will have the mainline straight through and avoid two palomer knots. It will also allow me to quickly change hooklink lengths. The only complication is the knotless knot. The knotless knot really assumes that nothing is attached to either end of the line when you start. I have tried just snelling the hook and creating the hair loop with the slack but it is on the outside of the knot so the hair doesn't lay against the hook. I'm trying to avoid adding any rings or tubing to the hook. Is there an obvious solution I'm missing?

I know that damaging the mouth of the carp with the scorpion rig has been mentioned already in this thread, but I am concerned that foul hooking in general would be high with this rig? Even fishing semi fixed rigs with short hooklengths I have experienced too many foul hookings (chest, eye, fins...) simply from the fish brushing across the rig or possibly even while thrashing about after feeling the hook. If it weren't for the fact that I have pretty much eliminated the chance for the carp swallowing the hook I would switch back to a running rig. Can anyone share any more experiences with the Scorpion Rig although honestly I have been trying to make my rig less complicated(working on getting rid of the swivel at the moment).

Thanks noknot I will keep giving them a chance. I can't remember what pattern my hooks said and they are at home, this will be bothering me all day because I can't find much searching for "gamakatsu 66810" on google. I think that number may have been what I was using, it is SKU 1340_02 at gama's online US shop in my case. edit: nevermind, it looks like the ones I bent were Pattern 02407 . The size 4's (Pattern 02408) were holding up.

The Gamakatsu hooks came in and I caught a dozen carp between Friday and Saturday. The size 6's seemed to bend easily and I had a hook pull on a big fish(felt like a catfish) after the hook was bent to almost a 90 degrees angle. I was surprised this happened because I was using 12lb line with the drag relatively low. Also, the barb doesn't seem to hold up very good. I can't remember the last time I managed to bend a hook like that. I switched to size 4's Saturday to test them out and wasn't very happy about the size in comparison with my particle baits, but I didn't experience any of the same problems from the day before. Side by side the Gamakatsu Octopus hooks were almost identical in appearance to my Owner hooks except for the finish and maybe a 1mm length difference in the shank. Basically I don't like the eye or red coating on my stand-in bass pro octopus hooks, but don't like how many hook pulls and bent hooks I have already experienced with Gamakatsu.

Thanks, I will look into the Fox arma points or see if I can find some Owner's hooks in the sizes I want. The Fox arma points would be the SR here too as only a few carp tackle dealers would have imported them. If I get picky I will probably have to order straight from Fox as I have from Gamakatsu Thanks also for the concerns about my knotless knot. I will spend some time checking them and make sure I have them right. Possibly not out in the USA tho

Hi, I have been using the bass pro octopus/dropshot hooks lately (I know ) to replace my slightly more reliable owner's octopus hooks. I use the size 6ish hooks to match against a small stack of corn. Twice now my knotless knot has broken off right at the eye. I believe this happened as a result of me using thin P-Line 12lb cx co-filament hooklinks against their snaggy hook eye. Tonight was completely ridiculous as I had a nice take and lifted the rod with little to no pressure and the hook came off before I could even feel the fish. I have ordered some Gamakatsu hooks but haven't received them yet so I don't know what the eyes are like. The only hooks I have seen advertised as having a completely closed eye are the End Zone SP1/SP2 hooks. Do you have any advice about my situation or can you recommend some sharp hooks, preferably with an outward turned and fully closed eye? Thanks

I had luck pretty quickly with this setup tonight, except I used 2oz of lead. Link to thread with pic of fish: http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?p=431391#431391

Have been playing with a rig like this and waiting for the weather to get a bit better... I'm going to try 2 float stops for a little bit more resistance. For lead I'm going to try a 3oz, possibly attached to the bead by a paperclip for extra safety. edit: What I have noticed is that the stop bead between the swivel bead and the float stops can cause the line to bend when it slams against the float stops. This seems to greatly increase the force required to slide the float stops. This is only the case if the stop bead is small enough to fit partly inside the large bore of the swivel bead. A larger stop bead with a small inner diameter(just larger than the line but small enough to get caught on the float stops) doesn't have this problem.