Chod Chod Chodyy Chod Chods: Rant and rigs

[zander1]

Hi all.

 

I’ve been browsing the site for some while now, and have held back from posting as a lot of posts I have seen have been of a repetitive nature, pointless and downright idiotic at times. I mean really, some of you guys want your heads looking at with the silly and sometimes outrageous questions you ask. But hey ho, some of the more well tempered and experienced guys on here are often happy enough to answer some of these posts. It is this that prompted me to write this piece on the chod rig. (I know some of you prefer to call it its original name, the silt rig, but you will have to bite your lip on this one, sorry) After seeing countless posts on the issue I finally came across a piece Nige (nigewoodcock) posted in April 2010 and another earlier this year (I worked form past to present when looking through chod related items via the search function). Personally I think that the post from 2010 should be stickied so it’s nice and easy for people to find. Anyway it is this combined with the other posts i’ve read/seen, that leads me to write this, and Nige has also inspired me to show how I fish the Chod on a fluro leader similar to how he fishes it on his mainline.

 

The Chod rig. Without question it is one of the most prolific carp catching rigs to date. However, they get a very negative response on this site by some of the more established members. I think this is due to the over publication of the rig in magazines and it’s over use by noddy. I too used to scoff at the thought of using one as I refused to be associated with its normal stereotype. For several years I avoided its use instead using other, suitable, self designed rigs.

What a mistake this was. I believe this was a massive oversight on my behalf brought on via my own arrogance and pride (for want of a better word).

I really do believe this oversight has cost me countless big fish. It may not have, as I have a very high conversion rate of runs to fish on the bank, but circumstance leads me to question this.

To put this into some kind of perspective, the first day I ever caught on one, I caught 2 carp out of a 20+ acre water with only 30 original fish (200+ recent stockies of between 6-14lb) and the one of them was one of the original fish id been after for a good while. Only 21lb, but a cracking old English mirror full of character. Could have been nearly 50 years old and perhaps hadn’t been caught in just such a time? Needless to say these fish don’t get caught all that often.

When I think of the time, effort and bait I had put in on this lake to be rewarded with just stocky after stocky (which to be fair 9/10 anglers on this water struggle to catch) makes me wonder how many times I had “been done” by original, big fish. At times just thinking about it I could kick myself.

Now then, I am not advocating the use of the chod in just any swim, on any lake at any time of year (that I will reserve for the Noddy’s with the rest of you and will join you in condemning them) but if you really do use it in the correct manner, in the right spot, at the right time, then that to me is just good angling.

I mean come on; I’ve made a map and notes in one of my A3 pads trying to detail the topography of each peg, signs of fish and captures! Mind, it’s not even half as detailed as I’m planning on yet.

Then maybe I’m just trying to justify my use of such a fashionable rig, to ease the guilt of catching such lovely, proper old English carp? I was almost disappointed that I had caught my PB fish on a rig used by Tom, Dick and Harry and that it was also the capture of these fish, on this rig that has changed my outlook on Carp angling. No longer do I strive just to catch bigger fish, give me a carp with a story to tell any day over an overgrown import in an undersized lake.

Don’t get me wrong, I still dream of the day I catch a 30lber, but when I do I hope it isn’t a known fish of any description and that it is an old character of a brute, battle scars and spawning wounds. From this lake it still isn’t known if a 30lb carp even exists, but from what I and mates have seen, the odds are that one does.

Anyway, enough of this boring self revelation and on to the rig itself: how to use it safely and effectively.

 

My setup comprises of a 20ft+ 25lb soft Fluorocarbon leader (shock leader style), with an E-S-P tapered bore rubber bead, flexi-ring swivel attached to the chod link, another E-S-P tapered bore rubber bead, Drennan rubber float stop, an E-S-P rubber helicopter sleeve all threaded onto the fluoro. The fluro is then tied to a Korda Xtrasmall multipurpose clip with a 4 turn grinner knot. This is used to attach the required lead. You could for go this clip and just tie the lead straight on.

 

 

The Chod link itself is tied using a Stiff rig material, I prefer Fox rigidly stiff link, attached to a flexi-ring swivel via a figure of 8 knot and knotless knotted D-rig style(typical to most chods you see in the glossy’s) to a size 6 straight pointed hook.

Now you may notice I opt for a hook pattern with an interned eye rather than out turned. This is for no other reason than the fact I am very confident with that particular hook (Fox armapoint sssp).

The pop-up in the picture is 16mm , I actually prefer to use a 14mm Richworth airo pop-up as I get the same, if not greater buoyancy and better hooking potential as the hook is masked less.

I also fish a little more aggressive of a bend in the stiff link compared to how the rig looks sitting flat on my tackle box in this instance. Why does the curve make a difference you may ask? The standard answer is that it greatly improves the hooking efficiency and I agree. The curved nature of the hooklink allows the bait to sit at an aggressive angle, hook like a claw, and when a carp sucks at the bait it turns on its axes quickly to the direction the carp is sucking at it from. The loop at the bottom of the stiff link where it joins the swivel also aids in this. It also tends to catch hold in the mouth further back and more effectively than a straight, stiff hooklink tends to. I also tend to fish this rig with the bead closest to the lead a foot or more away from the lead itself.

 

 

This leads me onto another debate that i picked up on reading through previous posts and that is whether you can fish a pva bag/stocking or string on the chod safely. My answer is yes, you can, and the remedy its self is simple though i tend not to. However I tend to fish Chods as single hookbaits. If i do want to fish it amongst free offerings i tend to fish them over a spread of boilies created with a catapult or throwing stick. At the absoloute most i will attach a 50pence peice size pva stocking of 2mm pellet to the rig itself.

No the bigest problem you face in doing so is the rig and end bead flying up the mainline on the cast.

Some say that if the rig does not do this then the rig is not safe. To me that just shows a lack of imagination and testing. All you need to remedy this is a small section of rig or sillicone tubing. Just insert this paralell to the main live/leader through the end bead. DO NOT THREAD IT ON TO THE MAINLINE/LEADER! This is when you run the risk of complications with the components not coming off the leader in the event of a crack off. Trim it down to size and job done, you can position the end bead safely and secure enough to allow the use of PVA products with peace of mind you are angling safely and effectevly.

 

 

 

I apologise if this was a little to preachy for your liking and i am sorry if you took the time to read this and it was a total waste of your time. Hey, i have nothin to do untill i go back to Uni in september so the devil made work for my idle thumbs. Well that and fishing now and then.

Also, before some of you slate me for being a magazine article wannabe, i asure you i am not and that literature is by no means a hobby of mine.

Rant over, hope this helps some one and maybe even gets a detailed debate going.

Thank you for reading this.

 

Zed’s

 

BTW feel free to add your thoughts, arguments, complaints, chod rigs, ideas and any other related items you care to. I know i am not as experienced as some of you guy’s but i will do my best to answer any questions.

Have fun.

[nafy118]

i know everyone uses theres differently but earlier today i belive i had a stroke of genius,

 

i fish a flourocarbon mainline so no need for leader or knots there,

i also prefer to fish the 'naked' chod as its called, this way there are no beads for weed to jam on and get stuck in the event of a break off,

now ... after a recent discovery, the atomic tackle choppa droppa .... I DEAL! a system that allows the lead to be dropped when fishing this style rig!

combine all this whilst fishing semi locked up (not completely solid almost like just leaving the fighing drag set) even when fishing open water means that hooking potential is fanatstic and safety is paramount!

 

 

fish this with a semi slack line or completely slack dependant on distance being fished with a critically balanced rig and i think it should be a winner.

 

ill keep you posted

[zander1]

Any results would be very interesting Naffy, good luck fella

[nigewoodcock]

Nice post Jack. Good to see you back on here again too.

As always, the way I fish it has changed a bit again! I now use the Korda sinkers as suggested by Jez. Fantastic little things they are.

Also, you might have noticed that I tie the rig with a loop and did have the shot on that loop? I now loop a bit of floss around the swivel eye that is on the mainline. This then has a shot placed on it tight to the eye. It is a bit difficult to explain so will try and put a sketch up or a pic soon.

Anyway, I find this helps the rig sit much nicer.

[zammmo]

Why was I taken back to Wimledon whilst reading these post

Yes the chod is a brilliant rig I use it almost exclusivly.

As auntie Gok would say "lets get naked" and I do,I also use the Korda sinkers they act to weigh the chod down and add friction to stop the rig moving up the line too much. And contrary to what the mags say can be reused (large and small). You can either put them inside your beads or either side depnding on the size of the bead.I have heard say you can get away with a 2 turn grinner with a blob but I would risk this...

[splitter]

Great post mate, I was recently thinking it would be good to get some examples of the rigs people actually use on here. I'll try to get a couple of mine on here when I get the chance.

 

I agree the chod is a great rig in the right situation, over light weed or silt. I caught my first 20 on one. I do think it's a set up the carp will get used to avoiding if they see it day in day out.

[zander1]

I look forward to seeing the updated rig Nige, I know exactly what you mean though. I did wonder why you needed shot on the rig in the first place mind??? are your pop-ups very buoyant???

 

Wish mine where, i jinxed my Richworth pop-ups, the pot i opened new today barely lift the hook off the ground, had to put a small portion of foam under them to fish today, whacked one out mind but I wasn’t happy

Even tieing the pop-up on rather than piercing them made little to no difference.

I have never encountered this with Richworth pop-ups before :/

Needless to say they will be returned. Having paid delivery on them in the first place and now having to send them back makes me rather mad.

 

On another note, as being as a few of you seem to rate Korda sinkers i may have to give them ago some time

[nigewoodcock]

Jack - have a word with Coops. I use Bang on baits DSM pop ups. It takes an AA shot to hold them with a size 6 fox arma point!

When used on a chod then a No1 will hold them (along with the swivel and sinkers). The rig just pulls nicely down through the water with the shot under the swivel rather than pushing it down.

[ozzy1994]

great post zander, but i personally feel i fall into the "noddy" category here used one for the first time to today but let me explain. there is a lake near me with a very large gravel bar running down the centre of the lake with two silt area's either side i recently fished a 24 hour carp match not normally my thing but the way i saw it was it was 24 hours fishing for 8 quid bargain!, now my favored set up was around 7-8 inches of 10lb esp ghost fluro fished straight through to a size 10 wide gape hook. now this lake is considered a runs water 5-6 fish in a day session and you have done well within the first two hours of the match i dropped two fish i then swapped to a coated hook link with the same hook and only dropped one. never the less i went on to win it and i am still buzzing from the result made a few new mates, and was good to chill with my old man for the night. and i intentionally fished in the silt although not to soft if left for a couple of hours the lead would plug in. the lead set-up i used was a lead clip. after the match i pondered my first choice a semi stiff hooklink fished on a lead clip in silt!? not the best choice good job i swapped to a softer hooklink, but the amount of fish i have dropped fishing in the silt is unreal i have tried solid bags which has been quite consistent, but at the back of my mind i always thought "perhaps a choddy" so today at the on site shop of a different lake i brought the bits some esp stiff bristle filament, some size 8 mk 2 stiff riggers some size 11 korda ring swivels, and some some small rig rings along with the thinking anglers 5mm beads to mount on the leadcore. now this particular lake is a clay pit (no need for a chod what so ever) i flicked my rods on to the spots inline running leads and my fluro hooklinks steady action through the day was really good fun during the quiet spells i thought sod it i will have a go at tieing up a couple of chods for maybe a mid week session on the silty lake. after much swearing and jabbing my fingers with the stiff riggers i had tied a chod rig, and i was pretty proud with it not bad for a first effort. this is how i go about fishing it two feet lead core leader at the end a 1.5 oz square pear lead covered with a heli sleeve then i put the chod on then a 5mm bead about 8 inches form the lead (room for improvement i know) , and i sat there, and it sat there, and temptation got the better of me so i wetted it all down, one shake boom the rig was off happy i tied it on couldn't quite get to grips with flossing the bait on so i copied a way of blobbing it on it sat okay chucked it out for the last hour, and dropped a fish on it now the going was tough at the time not a bite around the lake for a while to say i was gutted was an understatement, but i remembered i never bothered to check it in the side, and it held the leadcore up it was to late for another cast so i shrugged my shoulders, and thought well i can try it in the week. now i may have dropped the fish because of the way it was set up or the fact i hadn't weighted it down properly only time will tell i suppose this kind of my justification as well one thing i will add is it was quiet around the lake had it been weighted down properly i may have had a few, and it was over clay.

 

sorry for that mouthful, but i will explain why i think i may have been a "noddy" no need to use one, and i didn't bother to check it in the edge to test the buoyancy and the set-up may have been wrong you live and learn. however i have one gripe with your post zander, and this is in no way a dig you say you will condemn the "noddys" using it when they don't have to now i i took the time twice to make sure it was safe i know what you are going to say LEADCORE! but i made sure the bead traveled over the splice easily, and the chod got off, and used a light lead to make sure i didn't have an unnecessarily heavy lead close to its face. now being the stereotypical noddy i was fishing safely so does it really matter if i use a chod or not does it harm anybody does me using the most fashionable rig in fishing at the moment actually effect anyone! so why condemn them? it isnt harming anyone, and to be quite honest i couldn't care less if i follow every fashion currently in angling i still enjoy my fishing, and will do for a very long time so i will quite happily get branded a noddy i don't care i fully intend to make the chod a part of my fishing i have experiments to do on the silty lake , and i feel like using a choddy anytime i will so i also i feel i haven't been a "noddy". zander you are without doubt more experienced than me so please feel free correct any of my logic regarding rigs and when i intend to use a chod this is what this forum is about, but in my eyes i don't believe someone can be branded a noddy on this type of thing when they are fishing safely

[zander1]

Haha, Ozzy. Thank you for an interesting reply

Now then, I’m not condemning people for using chod rigs, by all means people need to learn by doing, I just find it funny how there are a fringe of anglers that think they need to use the chod rig for 100% of their fishing to catch carp

 

I agree with you that people should be able to enjoy their fishing, and in my opinion as long as people aren’t affecting anyone else and aren’t endangering the fish then good luck to them. ( I probably sound like a hypocrite now) That is the great thing about this type of forum, you can disagree with things you see others doing without directly affecting anyone. And everyone needs a rant now and then

Also at times, something’s I say are perhaps a little tongue in cheek, and sometimes that ambiguous that the direction of my ridicule is very subtle, so much so that the obvious recipient maybe isn’t the recipient at all

Now then, Leadcore , I am not one of those anglers that will rip you to shreds for using Leadcore, I no longer use it myself but that doesn’t mean I disagree with its use completely. In fact using leadcore on a chod could be safer than fluros/mainline as long as it is a good quality one and not like that thin, horrible, Maver 20lb bs rubbish. I still keep four different types of leadcore in my tackle box

 

Fair play to trying to enhance your rig set-up and playing around with new rigs, you seem to be on a straight and steady path to success to me mate .

[ozzy1994]

thanks zander my post was in no way a dig or anything mate just speaking generally and thanks for the reply and i know leadcore isn't to everyone's preference but the naked chod is something i will have a look at in the near future just gonna find my feet with the set - up first wish you the best of luck mate!

[zander1]

Hey, just wondered if anyone has ever suffered from the hook link shearing through the mainline/leader when landing a fish???

If so how did you overcome this??

 

I haven’t suffered from this myself yet (probably because I haven’t used the set-up over a prolonged period and have a tendency to tie up new rigs on a regular basis) but I have heard others have??

(I noticed some damage to my leader last session as I was packing up so I need to check that later, but midway up the leader, possibly caused by some kind of underwater obstacle).

 

Because of this I’m thinking of dropping down slightly from 25-26lb to 23lb for my fluro leaders as I think the slight reduction in thickness will aid my casting and concealment.

I know it is only a slight difference but I am worried I will suffer a shearing effect more easily from the reduction in diameter????

[salokcinnodrog]

Hey, just wondered if anyone has ever suffered from the hook link shearing through the mainline/leader when landing a fish???

If so how did you overcome this??

 

I haven’t suffered from this myself yet (probably because I haven’t used the set-up over a prolonged period and have a tendency to tie up new rigs on a regular basis) but I have heard others have??

(I noticed some damage to my leader last session as I was packing up so I need to check that later, but midway up the leader, possibly caused by some kind of underwater obstacle).

 

Because of this I’m thinking of dropping down slightly from 25-26lb to 23lb for my fluro leaders as I think the slight reduction in thickness will aid my casting and concealment.

I know it is only a slight difference but I am worried I will suffer a shearing effect more easily from the reduction in diameter????

 

Years ago I noticed that "naked" line would get sheared through occasionally when playing fish on silt set-ups, so I started playing with a small length of tubing, 2 rubber beads and the swivel on that between the 2. Then Ken Townley I believe it was, mentioned Cox and Rawle Beach Beads for Sea Fishing making a good Helicopter set-up, basically the thing I was working on ready made. It was a removable spigotted bead that would pull apart in the event of a snap-off so that the hooklink could come free, even over a shockleader. They are still available and some Carp Tackle manufacturers produce the same sort of thing now.

[ozzy1994]

i read something once where it in incorporates a really short bit of leadcore a bead over the splice, rig, and another bead on the mainline so during the fight the bead will slip over the splice, and the rig slides onto the leadcore and will stop mainline damage due to the abrasion resistance of the core might help with damaging your fluro

 

i hate to do it fella's i really do as there was a thread about it previous, but the story goes (based on my previous post) i fished the silty lake today and opted for naked choddy or slit rig on the line i know some of you prefer to call it that i know i said i was messing around with leadcore, but i found i could balance the pop up far better with a chod on the line it was quite tricky today and i only manged two fish but also lost two floater fishing, and a further two on the chod fished in silt, and i don't understand why i was dropping fish the rig went like this korda sinker with a 5mm thinking anglers bead over it, chod rig, another tungsten sinker with a 5mm bead over it and heli sleeve covering the lead. on the fight both times the chod slid right down against the heli sleeve. each time i got them under the tip and pffft gone. i don't know why, my prediction is that i don't have any cushion for the chod rig when it presses against the lead i was thinking a long silicone sleeve over the swivel of the lead would act as more of a cushion and would absorb the shock more when fishing with a short rig or is the problem elsewhere? if anyone could shed any light i would be very grateful thanks in advance.

[nigewoodcock]

I look forward to seeing the updated rig Nige, I know exactly what you mean though. I did wonder why you needed shot on the rig in the first place mind??? are your pop-ups very buoyant???

 

Wish mine where, i jinxed my Richworth pop-ups, the pot i opened new today barely lift the hook off the ground, had to put a small portion of foam under them to fish today, whacked one out mind but I wasn’t happy

Even tieing the pop-up on rather than piercing them made little to no difference.

I have never encountered this with Richworth pop-ups before :/

Needless to say they will be returned. Having paid delivery on them in the first place and now having to send them back makes me rather mad.

 

On another note, as being as a few of you seem to rate Korda sinkers i may have to give them ago some time

 

As mentioned before, I have made some adjustments to the way I tie the rig and also how it is mounted on the main line.

 

The rig is tied pretty much the same but the swivel has changed from a large eye to a ring swivel. This is because I can then have the shot mounted on a loop of floss under the swivel and mainline pulling everything down in a much neater way than having it on the loop knot on the rig.

 

 

 

When the shot is mounted like this, the rig wasn’t ‘flying’ off the shock sleeve as well as previous so I needed to alter this a bit.

I still wanted to protect the line during the fight so the obvious solution was a small length of rig tube inserted into a helicopter bead. This was pulled through and then ‘blobbed’ with a lighter to hold it in position without the need of any glue.

 

 

I have now, after Jez’s suggestion, employed the use of a Korda sinker to set my depth along with the ESP bead.

I am now totally happy that I am using a safe rig that sits nicely.

 

[zander1]

Great pics Nige! Cracking addition to this thread.

 

I too decided to use a section of tubing and korda sinkers after re-thinking my set up and after reading posts from yourself and Jez.

Also saves me the bother of having to upload more pictures

 

I have however noticed (yesterday after landing and then loosing a fish later in the day) that the Korda sinkers are prone to parting more than the Drennan float stops, but there added weight and subtlety more than make up for this.

 

I put loosing the fish down to using a barbless hook with a rig where the rig can move around a lot in relation to the lead, I will be sticking with barbed hooks again on the chod where I can.

 

I can only hope that more people follow your example Nige and add constructively to this thread

[beanz]

thats a quailty idea nige!

 

better then putty over the swievel, which can lay it on its side.thumbs up

[jamestaylor]

What knot are you using to tie the loop to the swivel?

[beanz]

i set mine up so i can take the hook link off.i just do an over hand knot, then pull it down on an old dart, to keep some curve in the loop. i havent add a problem with the knot so far.though on normal rigs id only ever use that on the bait loop.

 

and then i would add putty, but dont think i will from now on

[nigewoodcock]

What knot are you using to tie the loop to the swivel?

 

I use the figure of 8 loop knot. Quite tricky to do in a small loop with the stiff material but I find it better than a grinner or blood knot. It means that the rig always has the best chance of sitting right.

[zander1]

What knot are you using to tie the loop to the swivel?

 

I use the figure of 8 loop knot. Quite tricky to do in a small loop with the stiff material but I find it better than a grinner or blood knot. It means that the rig always has the best chance of sitting right.

 

I prefer a fig of 8 as well tbh, I don’t trust standard overhand knots at all, I used to use them before I had been shown the fig of 8 many years ago and I lost a few fish when lifting into them. I think the stress of opposing forces applied to the knot caused it to snap very easily (if you know what I mean:S )???? granted I was using pre-stretched 10lb mono hook links so the knot strength would never have been brilliant in conjunction with bold rigs and some cheap tow rope on the reel

 

Anyway moving on to the point I want to get too .

It seems that the majority of us that have thought about this rig and developed it in some way favour a loop knot attaching the bristle filament to the flexi-ring swivel. What I would find interesting to know is whether you prefer a small a loop as possible or as big a loop as possible etc and why???

Is it possible that as long as there is a loop it doesn’t mater what size it is, it will still work the same???

I have a few schools of thought on this myself but I cannot prove or disprove any of them, yet my mind prefers one way over the others.

 

Your thoughts lads???

[iambunn]

Cracking thread, and a rig that I use a fair bit after Nige showed me his version of it late last year I believe.

 

As for the size of the loop zander, I tie it so that it is just big enough to be able to allow free movement. I think if its tied too big, it takes up too much of an already very short hooklink and makes it harder to curve. Too small and you may as well not include a loop.

[zander1]

I’m inclined to agree with you, especially from a neatness point of view. The tidier the rig the more confident I am in it that it will work correctly and will sit nicely.

So obviously too large of a loop and it will look gangly and I don’t think it will offer superior movement anyway in my opinion. I don’t however think it is possible to tie to small of a loop though, unless it’s tied that small it grips the swivel??

As a general rule in my head, I like the loop to be the same width as the eye of the swivel (open the loop out with a tension bar) and this dictates the length of the loop as I like it to taper in neatly. All down to personal preference and probably doesn’t affect a thing, but as always, it’s a confidence thing

 

Anyway moving on, after thinking over and over about the fish that I dropped last session (I think that that is the second fish i've lost since using tubing) I decided I had to get the rod out and check the rig.

Doing so, I noticed that the tubing i had used by the helicopter sleeve was damaged/torn. At first I thought it was the swivel rubbing on it but after playing around with it I realised that it was the swivel, but not in this way.

What I believe it was was the swivel not passing over the tubing easily in the fight instead sitting on top of the tubing. So the tubing was acting like a shoulder and the tension of the fish at one end and me at the other was causing the tubing to crumple before the swivel was moving over it, (probably damaged landing the previous fish) thus tearing the tubing under pressure and not really helping prevent line damage and creating an obstacle to detrimentally affect the efficiency of landing the fish. Can you see what I’m getting at here, at the point where the swivel goes from being shouldered to popping over the tubing it creates a split second free of resistance between me, the hook and the fish giving the hook chance to fall out (being barbless on this one occasion) or pulled out when the tension is restored (that’s how I see it affecting a barbed hook?)

To avoid this shoulder like property I have decided to play around with a small length of tubing running up and down the line with the swivel. The Korda sinker acts as a back stop so that the rig doesn’t come flying all the way back to my rod tip.

I’m hoping to get out tomorrow to test this, it will obviously need refining but I am pretty sure it will work better.

 

What do you guys think????? Am I talking absolute rubbish or I have I got something here??? Is what I think is happening, actually happening???

[iambunn]

Took this photo of the chod that I now tie after Nige showed me a while ago, which has caught me a few fish since...your main line would run through the big eye part of the swivel.

 

[iambunn]

Just bringing this back up as I'd be interested to know what hook patterns people are using for their chods? I'm not using an inturned eye anymore as it closes the gape a little. I switched over to the straight eye xsc fox armor points which seems to offer better presentation and hooking potential, but am considering how much benefit an outturned eye would offer?

 

My current chod rig