dorsetwizard2

So how do you know when to use a certain rig then? It's all very well saying you use a certain rig in certain situations, but expand on that a little please. Fishing the waters I do, you do not get the opportunity to watch fish feed, so how the hell are you going to know what rig is going to produce the goods? Say next time out I change to a D-rig and catch the biggest fish in the lake....and the following session I try out a withy pool and catch a couple of whackers....am I all of a sudden an elite angler, or have i just been lucky? Whats to say it's the rigs that are helping to catch the fish? Would they have been snagged on that simple knotless knot anyway just becasue they were havin it at the time? To be quite brutal, I think alot of anglers will claim that they use a certain rig in certain situations to make themsleves appear to be the next terry Hearn, and catch regardless of the rigs they use, not because of them.

For quite some time I think it's fair to say that the majority of carp anglers have been led to believe that rigs such as the line aligner, rig ring blowback, shrink tube blowback etc have been the way to go. Certainly the 'palm' test shows that a rig using a mugga style hook with some silicon tubing on the bend of the hook turns just about as instantly as you're likely to achieve. But is it really the right thing? I remember when I first started targeting carp, many many years after fishing rivers and small lakes with simple float and ledger tactics, I knew of no other rig than a knotless knot tied with the same mono I was using for mainline. (10lb Big game I think it was) The knot was whipped up the shank, so that it finished in line with the point of the hook. No tubing or rings to be seen. I left a gap of about 10mm from bend of the hook to the boilie. Probably 'the' standard knotless knot hair rig. That rig accounted for 2 20lb fish in 3 12 hour overnighters on a local clay pit fishing with 1 rod, no alarm, no hangers, no fancy hooks. I used a Drennan super specialist in a size 8, simply becuse thats what I used for any big bait fishing. I went on to catch many many fish from my club lakes on the same rigs. Then I moved onto the 'more advanced' rigs such as the line aligner, the blowback, withy pool etc, and in turn moved to harder, bigger waters, where I continued to use the 'advanced' rigs. But now it seems that the buzz word in carp rigs is seperation. So we're doing away with the tubing and tying rigs such as the KD rig which forces the hair away from the shank in a very agressive manner. So in reality, it's gone full circle back to what I started with! The standard hair rig that I tied had very good seperation, and as soon as the tubing is added, there is almost no seperation at all. I have always thought that adding the tubing was in some way detracting from the ability of the hook to catch in the carps mouth, but the 'palm' test told me it was the right thign to do because it turns so fast! I havent bought a magazine for a good 3 or 4 years now, but the ones I did buy obviously brainwashed me into using something I wasnt really in full agreement with. I put it down to me being a bit dim and not understanding 'rig mechanics'. Now I'm thinking for myself, and I believe that the standard hair rig with good bait seperation, tied with the right hook and material, will be a more effective rig than any rig that has the bait restricted in it's movement. When the carp blows out the bait, chances are, the hook will go with it due to it being so close. Yes, alonger hair may help, but why bother with all the fiddly bit's n bobs on those rigs when a standard hair rig does exactly the same thing? (sorry, I edited title typo NG)

So you ditched the helicopter setup then? As long as your rigs are safe, all is good! Did you use inline leads instead?

I only use helicopter setups if A) I want to fish at maximum range or B) if I want to use leadcore. I dont particularly like the way it works, but it's the most efficient rig for casting IMO, and the only safe(ish) rig to use wth leadcore. And before anyone mentions the chod, thats just a variation of the helicopter anyway. But yea, you can use pop-ups or bottom baits with it, just tailor your hooklink to suit the bait you want to use.

lol, Stoogi put me right on what you were sayin about the WEED sliding down the line, my bad, must be the beer! lol Never had a problem with the lead ejecting when in a bag. Maybe it happens when people go to the extreme and put the tail rubber on too loose? We're fishing after all is said and done. We want to catch fish, not feed them, so as long as the rig is safe, give the fish something to deal with, dont make it easy by dropping the lead at the first sign of movement. If you lose lead sin bags I'd suggest you're playing too safe, or have naff clips! You could just tie it up with PVA string anyway, no big deal. I'd feel way happier using a clip than an inline in weed. Used both methods on a session on a mega weedy water last year, inline snagged up, lead clips didnt. Enough for me to make my mind up!

Or... You can tie a loop in a bit of mono that is the same length as the diameter of your bait and just use the loop onto the rig ring (threaded through itself to secure it) and hair rig the bait to the loop as normal. Thats my preferred option cos I find it easier, but probably not the textbook way to do it! lol

Thank jesus for that!

Do what?! Slide down onto the hook?!!! U gotta be jokin right!?!? If my lead was sliding onto the hook I'd be very very worried. Inline sit above a swivel, so how do they slide down onto the hook? Inlines are a no no when fishing in weed in my opinion. they'll snag on weed just like any other setup. Your best bet in my humble opinion, is to use lead clips, (I use the Armaled clips and rubbers aswell) and just push the rubbe on lightly, half a cm is enough to stop the lead ejecting on the cast, but still throw the lead very easily. If you're fishing into weed, put the whole rig into a PVA bag, not only does it give you some freebies around ur bait, it guarentees your rig is sat nicely on the bottom and not hooked up on some weed and also means you can set the tail rubber light without fear of losing the lead on the cast when goin for the biggun.

Doesnt really look anything like the multi-rig The multi rig has no tubing, a rig ring, and the line is doubled up coming back through the eye creating a natural line aligner. To be honest I'd bin them rigs and copy the one someone else posted for you, at least you'll be fishing with a rig Known to work.