theobeeus

anyway they are brilliant now. I love learning a superior new not that improves something secific and doesn't strangle material and create potential risks It makes you feel like you are advancing and that all the fretting is worth it in the end for the sake of clarity I now have my rigs right, therefore head right, and can stop buying endless knick knacks and fish with far more confidence and efficiency It is worth fretting as it means you are working things out for yourself Fishing is about developing your own style and being pioneering If you are worried about your rigs not working and tangling it is because they are doing just that I now have 4 brilliant methods of almost completely perfect tangle free rig presentation, all done through a lot of hard work researching, fretting, wasting money, etc. but things can be very enlightening if you have a game plan

Thanks mate Interested in these fox beads (please dig out a link or are they on the page already? I'm rushing a little bit to get to the kitchen and make the roasts today) and good to see that others out there think about having rig sleeves with rubber beads shoved on and swivels rotating on that etc. etc. as I spent ages over the last few years fretting over this one. I like a fluoro leader on my helicopter rigs better than leadcore, I use a quality sea fishing fluoro in 23lb, it behaves beatitifully and stretches nice and straight, never seems to tangle with my pure braid hooklinks on small ring/uni swivels, and the whole setup looks very simple and neat, a small tapered leader knot (Jon Bones one on youtube is neat) has a fox tapered bore small soft bead that sits perfectly on a drennan small floatstop, the ring swivel can pop over the lot with just a gentle tug

I strongly disagree Leaders are only dangerous if they are tied irresponsibly without attention to detail What difference is there to a carp in towing around a perfectly thoughtfully tied leader or towing a load of line about? If the mainline breaks, a hooklink can just as easily slide off a leader as long as the correct fittings are used in the correct manner. I would say leaders are safer anyway. Rotary rig setups like chods have the swivel digging awkwardly at the line at the lead end during the fight, if the line being used is too weak, or the swivel is too thin, or roughened, there is a danger of it parting thus leaving a carp dangling a rig stuck in its mouth whereby there would be no danger with a tough leader.

I love using leaders, for a start choddies are essentially helicopter rigs and the swivels dig in at an awkward angle on naked line playing fish, hence the (necessity in my opinion) of using line of about 18lb minimum depends on lakebed but if it is relatively flat go for a heavy fluoro leader, or if it's a bit bumpy why not a sinking heavy hooklink braid? Both can have a couple of sinkers or putty dotted up em as well

Not fond anymore Once bought some off ebay that didn't dissolve (never again lol) They tend to fly off, and if you compress them too much they don't melt properly (I tried all the brands and supposed best ones) Also I don't like the thought of them elevating my hooklink only for it to descend sharply in a heap when they melt, and I think they often leave residue that spells danger to the cyprys in clear water I use them sometimes on my running rigs to plug the lead for the cast, but I can think of five superior ways to prevent your hair tangling

I can think of one fail safe and three almost perfect anti tangle rigs, but will only give away one to you as they were very hard earned through fretting, spending etc. Funnily enough the one that I don't use is the best of all and that is solid PVA bags. I prefer to use long hooklinks so they just don't suit me and are not that necessary on the lake I fish.

In short I much prefer the neatness of braid.

stop press, lol I wasn't happy with em so I dismantled the lot and learnt the perfection loop like all new knots it was very fiddly at first but is actually not hard to tie The links seem a lot stronger now I think the first few yards of the dodgy braid spool were a bit weak as they were exposed in a shop for a long time, but with the new knot as opposed to the simple overhand loop it is now behaving Whatever the problem was, I now have 6 (all that I could manage before going mad, I have literally spent, including the previous evening, about 7 hours fretting over and tying rigs and I am finally happy with them I think it is important to have confidence in what you are doing in all facets of carping and it all starts with the one thing that you can really control and that is rigs They are unbelievably simple, but ever so beautifully tied, sneaky, and neat, just the way I like to fish. Thanks for the advice.

the new batch of braid is faulty, but I think it is just the top layers as it is God knows how old, anyway the big set of rigs was done with the old good batch I just tried to tie that perfection loop thing with thin 15lb braid and it nearly drove me bonkers with how fiddly it is maybe I am a bit ham fisted but I have just glued all my overhand loops as I have had enough of fishing for the moment and the world of knots is giving me a headache right now to be honest I would test knots but like I said I broke a set of scales doing that so I am just going to go out tommorow, not worry about it and chuck my glued overhands at em. I can't imagine too many issues with the 15 and 20lb braids I am using, didn't have any issues last time so am going to just carry on, and if I do have issues then go back to swivels and grinners

blanksalot: that knot is too bulky mate but thanks. besides I explained in my post that I was asking for piece of mind not to re-tie all the rigs yet again. I have tied loads and changed them and at this point my head is getting frazzled. I am not retying again, just wanted piece of mind like I said I used to test out all my knots until I broke my scales doing that I have spent a firtune and fishing has been doing my head in a bit to be honest with you so like I said: thanks grangemilky for letting me know that as an experiennced angler you use a simple overhand loop with braid the braid that I have just had snap on me fairly easily won't be revealed, sorry. It is fantastic stuff that I like and I don't want to negatively advertise nor do I positively do so as in free advertising lol , I have contacted the manufacturer and am sure it might be a rare blip, I am not even sure it wasn't due to me pulling much harder than I thought I was with pullers, so am sending a smaple to the manufacturer

ok great thanks, just realised have a bad spool of braid though... grrrr

I am new to the wonders of quick change hence new to tying loops in my hooklinks as opposed to swivels Before I begin, please refrain from telling me to tie a horrible little wire loop on my rigs, lol I tried them and binned the lot, I could not get them onto the swivels without tearing my fingers to pieces, and they also made an absolute dog's dinner of my bags in trying to pull them through.. anyway.. I am concerned about simple loop knots using braid. I don't want to tie a double loop or buly knot as I like I said want a neat knot to pull through the bag My main concern is strength of knot and suitability to braid. The braid I am using is strong (20lb) As I was tightening my new batch of rigs they seemed ok, but one did go at the loop knot using my pullers quite hard. That happened to be the braid that is softest of all that I was using, I don't mean weakest, but supplest. I really don't want to pull the lot apart as I tied loads. Shall I glue them? Please put my mind at rest.

To me the 360 rig is the actual embodiment of how ridiculously ott carp rigs and end tackle have become It causes mouth damage, and is completely pointless.

I hate chod rigs and hate pop ups. They just don't work for me and never did. All my pop ups get cut up to use as tippers to semi balance baits sometimes, but even they don't catch me nearly as many as bottom baits. Maybe that is just the way it is with the lake I target, I don't know, but I know my mind, and I don't like chod rigs full stop.

Despite trying them all, I still catch way more and feel way more confident on a simple uncluttered hair rig. I tie them dead carefully, thinking about the way the hook sits and tying more turns on for bigger hooks, less for heavy braid, and tucking a couple of turns underneath the hair etc. etc. to get the angle right. And I keep an ultra sharpened hook always with my posh sharpening system. I found a couple of materials I like as hooklengths and stick with them now, also stick to my favourite simple pattern of hook in 2 or 3 sizes now, yet again I have given away or thrown a load of expensive complicated end tackle which was only serving to confuse things and do my head in. Simple rigs ALL the way now, and not just for the sake of clarity either, but because they're better.

It's important to, at some point in your fishing life, stop reading too much about what others use and use what YOU FEEL CONFIDENT IN. In other words take control of the dreadful complex maze that is rig mechanics etc. etc. etc. and ignore most of it. I now (finally) have a box of end tackle that I feel confident in and know that I will use. I have no intention of either reading about or buying into another idea again. The fishing media is geared twards creating doubt and therefore getting you to open your wallet. I have lost a lot of faith in it and don't buy magazines any more. They are all rubbish.

As an experienced cook mate, trust me that slow cooked food is way tastier and more healthy. We are only talking a few more minutes with a slow flame Trangia anyway.. the energy transferance is very good. Get a Trangia or face toxic propane fumes and billions of pounds worth of expensive empty gas canisters mounting up. End of my input to this discussion.

Get a trangia, they are a neat and timeless design, ultra cheap to run, and far and away the most efficient, cleanest old skool option of all as they burn just meths.. There will be NO CANISTERS TO DISPOSE OF, and massive savings on canisters, as all you need is a quidsworth of meths once in a while.. Slow, but who cares whilst you are fishing? They don't take that long to boil enough water for a tea, and they come with a built in mini frying pan. The mini ones are about 22 quid on ebay etc and you can get bigger ones for two person cooking work for about 40 odd quid Other than that look out for a an old s bleuet s200.. When I say they are reliable, I base that on the fact that mine is older than me at over 40 years old, and I have never even had to replace a part.. it is a bit slow in freezing conditions though if you want a fast stove, just get a trakker micro stove with coleman screw top cartridges. These perform well in very cold weather and are fine.. My NGT cheap as chips kettle fits perfectly on mine

More and more I find myself into making simple, proven rigs as neat and precise as possible.. by that I mean no 'knot curls' and kinks in the line, lazer sharp hooks, and everything covered and smooth with bits of tubing and sleeves etc. I love simple, effective and very basic hair rigs fished with well thought out lead, backlead and indicator setups, not too light, not too heavy.. just ultra sensitive at all times. GET ON PALOMAR KNOTS.. they are the neatest of all knots, super strong, and a tribute to the great man: Richard Walker invented this great knot. So it is good enough for me. It is simple, but a bit fiddly to tie well in all honesty. Just take your time, practise, and TEST YOUR KNOTS on an old set of cheap scales (this also helps you to find out if you have a bad batch of line, and to tune up your setup to TRUE breaking strains).. For instance, Big Game in 10 breaks at 13lb, which is perfect for my rods which, with a destruction curve force of 7.5lb, (tested on braid only and a bimini twist), (then always add four), means I should be on line that breaks at 11.5lb.. The test curve rating X 5 equals the rod manufacturers suggested line strength for that rod. In my case my 2.25 test curve rods were nearly bang on, just slightly under rated, as in slightly sytronger than the manufacturer claims them to be.. Good kit(Old expensive Shimano with biofibre).. This will give you complete confidence in the fact that you can apply as much pressure as you physically can, and the line will not go. No other knot in mono, if tied carefully, can give you such a neat, straight and undamaged line near your main swivel behind the knot after tightening down securely.. You will be amazed how much better your setup performs without hideous knot curls and badly 'squeezed' half damaged line that you tend to get using grinners and tucked blood knots with mono, no matter how carefully you tie them. Keep the grinner for your braid, and get on the palomar.

firstly, buying "gimmicky rubbish" as you put it might just buy you a bite when all else fail . how maby fish get caught each year on plastic? shed loads . as for your combi hair why dont you just take a coated braid and strip the part on the hair you want to be supple. . hey presto combi hair I don't like plastic, don't use it, and don't rate it. So I wouldn't bother flogging a dead horse mate. Answer this: what good is plastic on a lost rig in the reeds, dangling away and tempting fish for 100 years until they swallow the rig, rather than a real food bait that at least will dissapear after a few months? And my idea is based on improving the basic bait seperation mechanics of a STIFF rig, not some airy fairy overpriced semi supple angler catching coated braid rubbish

That rubber maggot rig aint an interesting rig, it is still tangly.. Lose the rubber maggot, you shouldn't be buying gimmicky rubbish like that anyway in my opinion. The point of my thread here is that what I was talking about was a combi hair, i.e a combi hair!! The far end of the hair is hair braid, and the bit nearer the hook is stiff material.. this stops the rig tangling. It takes a very fiddly albright knot done with as short a samson section as is humanly possible. I cannot post pics up because my camera is bust. Sorry.

That still looks a tad tangly mate My idea will follow in a post or two

will do so later mate, np.. am miles from my rig wallet at the moment but watch this space!!!

This is my own invention, I like to think, lol: The rig has a combi HAIR.. half fluoro, half braid.. the hair can't tangle this way.. lol, very fiddly to tie, but even though to avoid hair tangles people just say: 'use a nugget or bag' (which works fine of course), I like it for my helicopter rigs as copters don't like a pva nugget or bag on the hook, for some reason this makes them more tangly.. and this is a way of avoiding the dreaded and common hair tangle

Use a short piece of pole elastic (strong is best) connecting the lead to the clip/ring/swivel. this prevents the fish using the weight of the lead to shake the hook out clse to the bank.. alternatively try triggalink elasticated hooklink Personally I just use soft rods and play fish to a standtill close to the bank.. IMO most hookpulls are just from trying to rush things