travisbickle

In a few backwaters on the Zezere in Portugal I have mate..had a couple but nothing of any size...as yet...I actually prefer fly fishing to carping thesedays..have done for a year or two now...a more mobile hunting approach satisfies me more

a good 99% of the hooks used in carping are based on salmon or trout hooks....Have mentioned before about using long shank salmon hooks in the 80s for the bent hook rig....and to this day I still use Tiemco shrimp hooks for surface work as well as for my fly fishing obviously

the name rings a bell mate but not sure....never got out on the quads....was clay shooting up the hill at the traps in every and every bit of down time....its a lovely spot isnt it.

Its a lovely big old sheet isnt it mate...was there in 01/02....then went and set up the kitchens etc for Peckforton castle as they were converting into a hotel.. was a busy old time

Its an amazing water Ian....was a valley that was flooded back in the early 1900s........worked overlooking it for a good while...some very funny stories from there....a chef wandering round in a four acre forest fire... naked... with a sausage on a fork etc ...but i digress....brilliant body of water that I have heard is throwing some surprises up.....location would be a major job on here

Hearing a few bits back on the grapevine of some decent fish popping up in here...to mid thirty...and for wales thats a monster....Its a massive water(was exec chef at the hotel overlooking it for a while but never had time)......anybody else heard anything????.....

Gary....similar to the original sliding hair but two crucial differences that make the original rig a winner hands down in my opinion....a perfect rig for wary/riggy carp...almost impossible to eject....coupled with a seriously good HNV.....its deadly(not literally) And as a footnote....Im no follower of fad or fashion over rigs...this one came along 25plus years back and still outscores for me.....when I cant keep it simple

its just the new name for the old "sliding hair" from mid 80s Kev...but without as much finesse

I still use the original 80s version of what is now called a D rig......far more effective

look for "boils" on the surface...and stirred up sediment....this is a good starter to look for a hard spot...but also...dont be afraid to fish into the silt...they will actively feed upto the back of the gill plate in silt....I fish meres etc that are devoid of hard spots and still catch.....basically...have a play around and lead about a bit

a one and half ounce trilobe lead will get you there comfortably and wont nose into the silt too bad

bang on....like most things thesedays it is overthought...but also....its not a case of the fish being pricked with the hook...its how long the hook is in its mouth BEFORE it gets pricked, with a fair degree of certainty in that particular circumstance I can say that a bolt will outfish...simply down to the fact that it is self pricking....the fish hooks itself "properly" on the first run.....but as said....I agree...most issues are so over complicated now...and no need to be

Kev is right...a good old fashioned bolt rig will do the trick...when theyre feeding over particles ..inc hemp, they dont hoover up in perfect symmetry...they do actively move around on the baited area...hence clear indication ..up until the stop knot...and then BINGO....worked for me for decades and have no complaints or need for change

Id much rather be fishing a suspect rig in the right patch ..than a complicated one in the wrong one mate....

one doesnt .... .....you loop the hooklength back up your mainline and secure with either pva tape or pva foam to hold secure for the cast...this will melt freeing the rig up.....

surrounding trees dont really affect your approach but would suggest a longer hooklink...say 12-16" with a 2-3" hair....and try a bottom bait....a basic confidence rig...mix it up...and break from the norm

Hi mate...you dont actually NEED to use short rigs....its all dependant on how riggy your fish are...also...pop ups or bottom baits work with a solid bag...its all a matter of experimenting...if your fish are riggy..then i would use a long hooklength and a longish hair too...but if they are true water pigs...go with a shorter approach for both...is it a hard water or fairly commercial???

I favour combi rigs...utilising mantis gold and hinging into multistrand....yes multistrand...I still have five bulk spools of the stuff and it is without doubt my preferred hooklength...I never ply it with anything other than natural fish gelatine though...which holds it tight for the cast and for around five mins in the water...at which point the gel dilutes and breaks away leaving the added bonus of trace elements for chemoreception. The only deviation from this is to use a 12"section of merlin threaded through, and held coiled, in a 6"length of fine soft silicone tube in place of the mantis...on a fixed lead ...to act as a spring back...coupled with a tiemco shrimp hook with a running hair....I find this all but impossible for them to eject once taken