garysj01

Just an idea here for the carp angler. It has been expressed that weighted leaders are in fact not so safe as the weak point of the whole presenation is at the connection from the mainline to the weighted leader. If this knot should snap even if the lead has come off, the fish is still towing round a leader. So whats the answer, well either fish your rigs naked or use tubing should there be any sharp objects or snags present. The problem with some tubing it doesn't sit on the lake bed and often can curl up giving a bad presentation, this i hope will help a few out. The tubing in my case is eighteen inches long, but if have wound the lead inner out of leadcore around the tubing 15 times and then shrunk some heat shrink tube over the top to keep in place and to avoid the unraveling of the lead wire inner. This can also be glued in place with some super glue should you feel the need. This is how it looks when its finished, giving you a safer alternative to a weighted leader. Thanks for looking

The mesh style bags soak the juices, not all of it obviously, but you can see this as the mesh changes colour, i wouldnt worry about the juices leaking out during the cast. Groundbait is really a bulker for me, but it is the same flavour as my boilies so just an extra attractor,

Go on nick im interested what have you used in a pva bag, i just want to show how much can be used,

You'd be better keeping away from salt theres enough in baits as it is, icing sugar i have never used so i cant comment on that, all i do is have a towel handy pour the juices out of your particles into a little tub (these juices are full of attractors so they are very good for stick mixes) put the particles onto a towel and dry them out slightly, then either add them to a dry ingredient like groundbait or boilie crumb, or add oil to them, the oil will effect the melt down rate of the pva bag slightly. You can basically make any mix you want with any particle, just treat it like a groundbait mix that is slightly dryer than normal, if it is a bit wetter than you like you can leave it for a while to dry out or again add a little oil.

You can put in a lot, When using the hook, push through once then twist the hook and push through again, make sure the hook is dry. Or you could get a long baiting needle and thread the stick down the hooklink. Any wet particles like, corn, hempseed etc.... will need to be dried out, but they can be added to grounbait or crumbed boilies as this will soak up any juices, make sure you mix it well. Adding oil helps with wet particles as well but you'll still need to dry them a little. I make my mix up the night before, small 6mm pellets, corn, hempseed, a little groundbait and boilie crumb, just to allow the juices to soak in to the dry components. By the morning i tie about 20 sticks ready for fishing.

I have to say i have never used a chod rig,

Cheers fella it does look good for a carp or two and it always looks quiet every time i pass it

Yes mate it looks nice

No problem fella, i suspect one of the mods will move this thread on to there anyway

Hello mate have a look at carp fishing in france and other countries on here, further down the page, im sure they'll be some info there, oh by the way welcome to the forum and have fun

Hi all Does anybody know anything about the stretch of canal that runs under the A458 in Stourton, looks really nice, just wondered who runs it, just general info Thanks fellas

Yeah the bag can pull in the opposite direction to the bag when cast, didnt think of that even crashing through the water it can happen.

I agree with the above, and i have actually seen the nose of the lead stained in clay, this becomes more apparent when the whole presentation is left to go down in a heap. I do feel the lead down and while the lead is on its way down i arc the rod slightly towards me and then just drag the lead a little on touch down for that reason and also to straighten out the rig. With any rig we all have to make compromises somewhere, its just knowing the limitations and adapting the best possible solutions to achieve the presentation we want.

That's a bit close to the truth. My grandfather came over from Russia at the turn of the last century Nick im interested on your thoughts on the line acting like it is pulled through a tube when immersed would you care to elaborate, im sure it was you not so long back who mentioned this:)

Phil im using the esp curve shank and i am thinking of moving over the the mugga's, they look like they have a slightly wider gape, whats your opinion The mugga are a wider gape than the esp hooks I've used Gary and I really like the curve to the mugga the line comes off the eye at a very nice angle in my opinion, and they sharpen nicely when needed. Cool ill have a proper look this week thanks mate

Phil im using the esp curve shank and i am thinking of moving over the the mugga's, they look like they have a slightly wider gape, whats your opinion

The hole is tapered slightly to improve this problem, it does turn slightly but on the hole its as good as i can get it, and its made even easier when its wet.

Chillfactor your right i do use a counter sunk drill bit to smooth the edges off

Thats what i try to do

In all honesty i probably do over think situations but thats what gives me confidence, which to be honest is my denominating factor. I am confident in the lead set up i use just as you are with yours. Everybody has there own little tweaks that gives them confidence and i commend anglers who do sit down and think and test their presentations and are not just persuaded by the press just because it catches for someone else. Id like to think i may be helping someone somewhere, even if they just use an idea or even if i can just get somebody thinking, thats enough for me. Like i said before there is not a 100% rig out there and i think its important to show various idea's on here. On a lighter note you look like a russian spy in your reflection in photo 2

Hi gents Firstly i am just using the lead as a pivot point, and i found on testing with an inline lead the heavier the better for me. Inline leads as you know have a hole drilled right through the centre, which in these leads is approximately 35 to 40 mm long, which causes the lead to lift slightly when Mr carp is fiddling with the hookbait, more so with lighter leads. Having a heavier lead as a pivot point goes in some way to stop the lead lifting so easily and promotes line movement instead. I wanted a presentation with just a lead, thats it, you would get better indication with a swivel lead but for me, i don,t like seeing swivels, clips, beads and so on. By drilling out the lead i was able to hide these components inside the lead. On watching carp at close quarters over the years i have become more and more paranoid of what they are actually seeing that makes them spook. Put my arrangement next to a lead clip with sleeve, clip, rubber sleeve and lead and you will see my one is more inconspicous, just a lead. When i am stalking i use exactly the same set up only with a lighter lead, but only because i can seeing what the fish are doing. If i were casting any major distance then yes i would use a swivel lead, and bead. As for setting the hook i agree a razor sharp hook will penetrate the flesh and the bolt rig or semi fixed lead arrangements help firstly making the fish panic and help set the hook in some cases, but i think more often than not the fish are using the lead to its advantage and getting rid of the hook. As for a 100% rig, well there's no such thing, as you say Kev thank god, it keeps us all on our toes and continously learning. Just my views, im sure a lot won't agree but hey Thanks for your points gents

I can put a picture on here for you if you like i have it some where

Hi all I have been doing a lot of test's with running lead set ups for a while now to try and find the least resistant set up i can. I like to try and keep things as simple as i can, keeping all components to a bare minimum. I think running set ups give you the best and quickest indication possible, the only problem is, is they generally do not set the hook for you, which is fine as i am usually on the rods with in a split second anyway. I tested using tubing, but because the tubing is stiffer by nature, the tubing would often move the lead from side to side and still not show any indication at the rod end, unless the fish pulls directly away from the lead. This lead me to just using the mainline straight through. The lead does need to be fairly heavy in weight (3oz to 4oz) for the running rig to work properly, this is the reason i set about testing. The best short to medium range running lead set up i can come up with, is this. Its very simple in construction, just a 3.5oz inline flat pear, a quick link and a rubber tail to fit over the quick link. I have taken out the plastic insert to the lead and drilled out the larger hole at the bottom of the lead to take the quick link and tail rubber. Once in water the quick link and tail rubber move with out any friction at all and on testing at 25, 35 and 45 yards i only have to move the hooklink at most and inch or so before i get an indication at the rod end. Sure i could of used an inline with a stop bead and swivel to gain the low friction i needed but i like to keep my rigs as inconspicous as possible. This is what it looks like ready for a cast. Thanks for looking

About 7-8 inches I think, although I don't actually measure them. Just an idea, Why don't you make the hooklink twice as long and tie a loop at the opposite end to the hook. Thread the loop through the eye of your swivel, and pull the loop down towards the hook, so now the hooklink is doubled up, push the hook through the loop and pull down an inch or so,tie a piece of pva round both bits of hooklink and tie another pice of pva by the swivel. When the pva dissolve's the loop is now free to travel up the hooklink until it hits the swivel, the hooklink might just be enough to make the fish panic and bolt giving you the best of both a running rig as well as a bolt rig. Just an idea i used many years ago,

How long fella?