Gazlaaar

Have a look at Chilham Mill, I think mist of the waters are syndicated now, but they have some stunning gravel pits in the heart of canterbury. I fished The Mill, The Pan, Swan, Tonford and The Handle a number of years ago before I moved back to the Midlands, great waters with some great fish. Fordwich Lake in Canterbury is also worth a look, Wingham, if its still around, lots of water down that way mate, im envious of your potential move

You can both of these rigs drop off style, the advantage being, that the lead only comes off if, it itself gets caught up, not on every take. As stated though, I wouldn't do this using a leader, but the naked version would be fine, as if it did snap, the break will almost certainly be at the back of the knot. I do believe in simplifying things, theres a lot of unnecessary items out, that just aren't needed.

A very simple way to tie, firstly make sure your line is strong, Tie an overhand loop, make sure its big enough to pass through the lead ring and over the lead. Then just add a big eye swivel, shrink tube and bead. The good thing about these rigs, is you can take off the hooklink and lead and attach a spod or spomb, should you need to put any bait out, and the swivel is now running up and down two pieces of line instead of one, making it more durable

There is another "naked" version if you like, one I have used a number of times over much more clear waters, its stronger than most types, still the same principle, ill put a couple of pictures up later Id be interested to actually see your version

I don't take anything as a criticism, we all have our own belief's, derived from our own experiences, experiments and thoughts

I do try Otherwise, it does do some decent shots when I get it right

The paper over the flash does work Plus ive switched the phone from 16.9 which uses 6mps to 4.3 which uses 8mps gives a better quality photo, cheers chaps. I totally agree about a bridge camera, ive been looking at the Fujifilm, but its just out of my reach for now, but it is down on my christmas list

Cheers chaps, Ill give it a go when I can

I can change Exposer Value from 2.0- to 2.0+ ISO from 100 to 800 Do I use flash both day and night, or just at night? I have no idea lol

Its my phone nige, ive just found out I can adjust the iso and a few other bits, but have no idea, they might as well be talking in latin lol

The camera is no more than 3 feet away for these pictures, I might try at 6 feet, just trial and error I suppose

These are the typical pictures I know the first thing would be to buy a decent camera, but its just out of my range for now, I just wondered if you had any tips

I could really do with some help chaps, im having real trouble with self takes, not the self taking itself, but the quality of pictures, im using my phone as I just can't afford a camera. Ive got the galaxy s4 mini, ive tried the camera no more than a couple of feet away, and the flash is just bouncing off the fish. Should I move the camera back and zoom in?

You should see what he looks like now, still just as messy with his food lol

Beanz, im having a thick moment, could you explain your rig, im having a little difficulty visualising it. My hook lengths are roughly 8 to 9 inches long, I don't use chods, more the traditional rigs.

I know this may spark off some controversy/debate but its an attempt to show my thinking in making leadcore slightly safer to use This is just for use for Helicopter/Rotary Rigs, incorporating leaders. Firstly we come to the personal decision of whether its better to dump the lead, leaving the hooklink and leader tethered to the fish, or, using the weight of the lead to pull the leader free of the hooklink, just leaving the fish with the hook link to get rid of.I favour the latter, to my thinking, surely the quicker a fish can get rid of the leader the better. With this in mind I set about trying to create a safe a leader as possible, but this presented its own problems. A lot of the kits available now don't work as effectively as you think. Shrink and Silicone Tube aren't fixed and can both be slid up the leader with the bead connected. Yes we are told to moisten the bead before its slid into place but don't forget the leadcore/leader also soaks up moisture making it more slippery. One of the best kits out there is the Korda kit, because the bead is split, it has a much better chance of slipping off, freeing the hooklink, but the kit can still slip up the leader. Which has lead me to trying to create something that doesn't slip at all, leaving the bead as the only movable point.This is where I came up with this idea, tying a 4 turn barrel knot using the leadcore/leader itself. This can not move, which puts all of the pressure on to the bead. After tying the knot I shrink a piece of heat shrink tube over the top to facilitate the bead coming off. The lead inner has been stripped out of this bottom section of leadcore to the top of the knot. This is the presentation in its entirety All I can say, before you comment, try it, and try the lead theory I have mentioned, try getting rid of the leader without the lead, then try getting rid of the leader with the lead and you'll see how much better it is. To my thinking, the fish being able to get rid of the entire leader has to be better than towing it around. Another point to make, these beads have a taper, with the larger hole facing away from the lead. This helps the bead to slip over the knot connecting the mainline. I have also found, the heavier the lead the better, and instead of using a ring swivel which has been problematic I would suggest using a big eye swivel, with the larger eye pushed over the leader.Plus I have adopted using barbless hooks with this particular presentation, on a just in case basis and my mainline is strong, 18lb to be exact. The main reason for using Leadcore lately is because of its stiffness, Leadcore does not follow all of the contours of the lake bed as once believed, this is due to the Lead Inner, which is specifically why I am using leadcore.Other softer, lead free versions do follow the contours, and my pool is littered with very sharp debris. The leadcore predominantly lies on top of the debris without coming into contact with many of the razor sharp edges where a softer more supple leader would drape over these edges.I would like to make it clear, that leadcore wasn't my first choice, but it is the better of two evils in my situation.It goes without saying that you should check the condition of your leader and mainline before each cast and make sure everything works just how it should. Accidents happen, crack off's, loosing fish during the fight, but to my thinking, I have made this presentation as safe as possible, using the lead to pull the leader free. As you see a lot of thought and testing has gone into this rig and I know it may spark off some debate, but I feel perfectly justified in my decision for using it.

Agreed, the concept of the rig is a great one, I too ,so far, have a 100% record, take to banked fish. There are so many aspects as to why I like this rig I have merely taken the idea and made it my own, and im happy with the results it gives me

When you steam the rig, both sides of the loop stick together making a stiffer d section than a single length would.

I really do believe the curve has contributed massively to the success of the chod/hinged rig, but I wanted a rig that presented a bait closer to the bottom, but still retained the same characteristics of a ready cocked rig. This rig fits the bill, once autumn is in full swing again I shall probably swap over to the hinged rig for the winter until next spring.

The stiffness of the bristle filament does the job for the chod/hinged rig,

I believe so Phil, I think its a major contributing factor as pop up rigs are what I like to call ready cocked, look at the curve on a chod, a fish can approach that rig from any direction and you stand a good chance of the bottom lip touching the curve and swinging the hook round into position. My tube, theoretically does the same job, id also like to add, sometimes I use a small pva bag of crumb attached to the hook, I have found without the tubing the coated hooklink can straighten out, the tubing alleviates this problem also.

Actually nige, your recommendation of the sssp looks a good plan, I might have a look at that, I still feel the tubing is an essential part of my rig though for turning capabilities

Nige, I have tried with many a pattern of hook, but ive found, for me, this set up acts like a mini chod or hinged stiff rig, with the tube helping turning the hook. I did nearly use a curved shanked hook but I prefer the sr's, I suppose its just a confidence thing I understand and appreciate your input though, thanks

Its to give me the angle I want, ive tried silicone but it doesn't sit right for me. I find rigs a very personal thing and this is just my interpretation of it.

Part 2 Step seven Now steam the whole rig, using two gate latch needles, one through the Micro Ring Swivel on the hook and the other in the loop at the lead end of the hooklink. Steam carefully and impart the bend you require in the shrink tube. Step eight Place a piece of Super Floss through the Micro Ring Swivel and pull your pop up down and over the barrel of the swivel. Step nine Tie 4 simple granny knots at the top of the pop up, trim with two small tag ends and heat using a lighter, moisten your finger and flatten the Floss, you won't need a boilie stop. Step ten Use a PVA Nugget around the hook, this will stop the hook becoming tangled and help set the rig up in the proper position once its settled on to the lake bed. This rig can be used with a multitude of lead set ups, if you use an inline lead make sure you use a Ring Swivel, this will help the whole rig to settle nicely on the bottom. I have used high attract, bright pop ups on this rig, but I have found it better using matching pop ups, to your loose feed. Its not a hard rig to tie once you have done a few. This is how the rig sits, I like how the rig constantly resets itself ready for the next investigation. My components Fox size 5 SR's ESP Heat Shrink Tube 25lb Kryston Dark Mantis Fox Micro Ring/Bait Swivels Fox Kwik Change Weights ESP Super Floss There we have it, my interpretation of the Multi Rig