long hair

[LACarper]

I'm using a bait that is small but quite long and ive made a couple of hair rigs up with the bait on there is a bit of a gap between the hook and bait also making the distance from hook point and the bottom of the bait even further. could this long hair lose me bites?

[adamkitson]

I'm using a bait that is small but quite long and ive made a couple of hair rigs up with the bait on there is a bit of a gap between the hook and bait also making the distance from hook point and the bottom of the bait even further. could this long hair lose me bites?

 

Is it a bottom bait, pop up, or balanced? Also what rig material are you using, and how long is your hook link? Is the bait really thin? What hook size?

 

To my mind, hair length just comes in with a whole other list of variables that affect rig mechanics, and one affects the other and so forth.

[LACarper]

I'm using a bait that is small but quite long and ive made a couple of hair rigs up with the bait on there is a bit of a gap between the hook and bait also making the distance from hook point and the bottom of the bait even further. could this long hair lose me bites?

 

Is it a bottom bait, pop up, or balanced? Also what rig material are you using, and how long is your hook link? Is the bait really thin? What hook size?

 

To my mind, hair length just comes in with a whole other list of variables that affect rig mechanics, and one affects the other and so forth.

 

 

its a bottom bait, the rig material is coated braid with abit stripped back by the hook. the length is probably slightly more than 4 inches the bait is probs slightly less than half a millimeter in thickness and the hook is a size 10 korda kurv shank hook.

[nathanhuynh]

I'm using a bait that is small but quite long and ive made a couple of hair rigs up with the bait on there is a bit of a gap between the hook and bait also making the distance from hook point and the bottom of the bait even further. could this long hair lose me bites?

if its a bottom bait/snowman then always use a nice long hair, if its a pop-up then use a short one. When I use a snowman rig of 20mm I use a 40mm hair so a 20mm gap betwen hokk and bait.

[adamkitson]

I'm using a bait that is small but quite long and ive made a couple of hair rigs up with the bait on there is a bit of a gap between the hook and bait also making the distance from hook point and the bottom of the bait even further. could this long hair lose me bites?

 

Is it a bottom bait, pop up, or balanced? Also what rig material are you using, and how long is your hook link? Is the bait really thin? What hook size?

 

To my mind, hair length just comes in with a whole other list of variables that affect rig mechanics, and one affects the other and so forth.

 

 

its a bottom bait, the rig material is coated braid with abit stripped back by the hook. the length is probably slightly more than 4 inches the bait is probs slightly less than half a millimeter in thickness and the hook is a size 10 korda kurv shank hook.

 

Wow, that is a thin bait!! With a 4 inch rig I wouldn't go too long on the hair. The bait hasn't far to move before it will hit resistance and you don't want the whole lot being pulled back out of the mouth before its been sucked in properly. Too long hair on a short rig and the hook might not be in the mouth before the fish realises its not just a freebie. 5-10 mm from the top of the bend in the hook to the bait, but that's just my opinion. Others may differ. Maybe a blow back type rig too perhaps, or some tubing on the hook to keep the hair along the hook until past the point?

 

Doubt there are any hard and fast rules for a bait that's less than half a mm thick! Is it like a sheet or something? I'd have a play around with different set ups and see what works. If you think you're missing pick ups or getting aborted takes then change the hair length or rig length.

[LACarper]

I'm using a bait that is small but quite long and ive made a couple of hair rigs up with the bait on there is a bit of a gap between the hook and bait also making the distance from hook point and the bottom of the bait even further. could this long hair lose me bites?

 

Is it a bottom bait, pop up, or balanced? Also what rig material are you using, and how long is your hook link? Is the bait really thin? What hook size?

 

To my mind, hair length just comes in with a whole other list of variables that affect rig mechanics, and one affects the other and so forth.

 

 

its a bottom bait, the rig material is coated braid with abit stripped back by the hook. the length is probably slightly more than 4 inches the bait is probs slightly less than half a millimeter in thickness and the hook is a size 10 korda kurv shank hook.

 

Wow, that is a thin bait!! With a 4 inch rig I wouldn't go too long on the hair. The bait hasn't far to move before it will hit resistance and you don't want the whole lot being pulled back out of the mouth before its been sucked in properly. Too long hair on a short rig and the hook might not be in the mouth before the fish realises its not just a freebie. 5-10 mm from the top of the bend in the hook to the bait, but that's just my opinion. Others may differ. Maybe a blow back type rig too perhaps, or some tubing on the hook to keep the hair along the hook until past the point?

 

Doubt there are any hard and fast rules for a bait that's less than half a mm thick! Is it like a sheet or something? I'd have a play around with different set ups and see what works. If you think you're missing pick ups or getting aborted takes then change the hair length or rig length.

 

i think i got it wrong half a millimetre isnt right not sure how thin it was but not that thin. i ended up blanking anyway. not sure what was happening as i was getting bleeps and what seemed like semi takes. i dont know if thi was carp or other fish?

[hnv]

Hair length is something that you can experiment with. It all depends on the bait size, buoyancy, bottom substrate, hooklink length and even the size of fish being targeted. I like relatively long hairs for much of my fishing, but I suspect that what I would deem a long hair may not be your idea of a long one. When fishing for wary, pressured fish over silt I can sometimes use a hair length that allows the bait to hang up to 2 inches from the bend of the hook. Other times I want it pretty tight to the hook shank with a gap of say 5-10mm.

If you are experiencing stuttering and aborted takes I would increase the hair length first and if no improvement in catch rate then try shortening it right down.

Just remember - the whole point of the hair rig is to allow separation of bait from hook so the fish take the bait confidently as if it were a free offering.

Have a play around and let us know how you get on...