Snowman help

[mrmud]

Hey everyone looking for some help.

I'm fishing a critically balanced snowman on a slip d rig.

I'm using Nash hair braid and tying it off with a boilie stop ontop of a sight stop to keep the foam inside the top boilie.

I'm having problems keeping the bait attached on long casts.it looks like it's coming undone at the boilie stop. I use 3 or 4 overhand knots to tie it off.

Is using mono and blobing it down better.(Also needs to resist the constant harassment of the dreaded bream.

Any suggestions on what else to use.

Thanks

[yonny]

I just use floss and blob it with a lighter..... unless birds are a problem in which case I use floss and a hair stop with 4 overhand knots!

Not sure why yours will be coming undone. Try floss instead of the hair braid. The braid could be slipping.

[salokcinnodrog]

6 hours ago, mrmud said:

Hey everyone looking for some help.

I'm fishing a critically balanced snowman on a slip d rig.

I'm using Nash hair braid and tying it off with a boilie stop ontop of a sight stop to keep the foam inside the top boilie.

I'm having problems keeping the bait attached on long casts.it looks like it's coming undone at the boilie stop. I use 3 or 4 overhand knots to tie it off.

Is using mono and blobing it down better.(Also needs to resist the constant harassment of the dreaded bream.

Any suggestions on what else to use.

Thanks

I've been tying hairs onto rig rings (or swivels) for years for snowman rigs and pop-ups, and because I had to deal with crayfish which can cut dental floss, mono or fluorocarbon, settled on Kryston Merlin braid.

I found hair braid is too 'slippy'.

Any brand uncoated hooklink braid should work, but I bought loads of Kryston stuff when Dave Chilton sold the company.

I even go old school and have a loop at the end for a boilie stop for snowman rigs.

So I tie the loop at the end of the braid, and normally using a plain simple blood knot tie the hair to the rig ring.

There are occasional alternatives if I've been using single bottom baits or even wooden balls on the rig and they are tight to the loop and bait stop; I'll tie a dental floss or braid loop a pop-up onto the original hair loop. 

Uni knot a loop, put your pop-up in it, and pull the loop tight. With the two tag ends tie them into the original hair loop with 4 overhand or granny knots, then lighter blob the ends to stop any pulling free.

A faff certainly, but it doesn't put fish off.

I've found overhand knots or granny knots can slip, but lighter blobbing the ends stops them pulling back through. 

[mrmud]

3 hours ago, yonny said:

I just use floss and blob it with a lighter.....

I usually blob the braid but couldn't this session(didn't think of that causing such a issue 🤷🏽‍♂️), couldn't get the lighter working in the lovely weather we was having. 40mph winds with a bit of rain thrown in for good measures.

[mrmud]

Hey salokcinnodrog

3 hours ago, salokcinnodrog said:

A faff certainly, but it doesn't put fish off.

I've found overhand knots or granny knots can slip, but lighter blobbing the ends stops them pulling back through. 

I'll give some uncoated braid a go. Does sound abit a faff but worth faffing around aslong as I'm confident my rigs are fishing and not just empty rigs in the water.

As I mentioned above couldn't blob the end as the weather wouldn't allow it(probz my problem  but didn't think it would be the cause)

Got windproof lighters for my rig box now

[salokcinnodrog]

5 hours ago, mrmud said:

As I mentioned above couldn't blob the end as the weather wouldn't allow it(probz my problem  but didn't think it would be the cause)

Got windproof lighters for my rig box now

Not just your problem, in the wind lighter blobbing the end can be a nightmare. Even worse for me, is this trip I managed to leave my lighter and spare at home. 

2 days of lighting cigarettes from a gas stove until I went to the local village to get some supplies...

The pop-ups had been tied on with dental floss on one, Merlin on the other (to compare).

They both lasted 48hours no problems.

[ouchthathurt]

I’ve always used floss as the “hair” on the slip d, then tied the hair stop on with a couple of granny knots then blobbed with a lighter. 
 

I then remove that bait and hair stop and discard it, then turn the floss loop so the blob is half way down the loop, then rebait, so the blob ends up in the centre of the boilie, then hair stop as normal. 
 

I do this because when I bait up, then give the bait a quick sniff, I can smell the melting/burning smell left from the blobbing process, but by replacing the bait and positioning the blob in the middle of the bait, this is eradicated. Extremely fussy I know! But it makes me feel happier! 
 

yet when I lasso and blob a pop up using floss, I can’t do that, and catch perfectly well, so the “blobbing burnt smell” can’t be that off putting… 🙄

[mrmud]

3 hours ago, salokcinnodrog said:

2 days of lighting cigarettes from a gas stove until I went to the local village to get some supplies...

The pop-ups had been tied on with dental floss on one, Merlin on the other (to compare)

Don't think I'd manage 2 days using the cooker. My cookers like a blowtorch, wouldn't have any Fag left lol. I'm going to be prepping a few rigs ready so going to try with some plain braid the way you suggested.

 

How'd you get on with the session.

[mrmud]

3 hours ago, ouchthathurt said:

Extremely fussy I know! But it makes me feel happier! 

 

yet when I lasso and blob a pop up using floss, I can’t do that, and catch perfectly well, so the “blobbing burnt smell” can’t be that off putting… 🙄

I have always wondered about the burnt smell of the blobbing process especially with floss or mono.

[salokcinnodrog]

9 hours ago, mrmud said:

Don't think I'd manage 2 days using the cooker. My cookers like a blowtorch, wouldn't have any Fag left lol. I'm going to be prepping a few rigs ready so going to try with some plain braid the way you suggested.

 

How'd you get on with the session.

It's ongoing just.

I had to reposition the RH Hybrid Brolly last night in the middle of gale force winds after nearly being blown out. This morning I'll turn it at least so I can see the lake.

9 hours ago, mrmud said:

I have always wondered about the burnt smell of the blobbing process especially with floss or mono.

I've thought about that but have caught fish on it for years so it's no longer a worry.

It's one of those 'overthink' things, but if I could see signs of fish rejecting blobbed floss compared to tied on I'd go back to tied on 100%. 

It doesn't bother coots, tufties or swans...

[mrmud]

23 hours ago, salokcinnodrog said:

I had to reposition the RH Hybrid Brolly last night in the middle of gale force winds after nearly being blown out.

Hopefully you'll get a few before your blown away lol.

23 hours ago, salokcinnodrog said:

It doesn't bother coots, tufties or swans

Don't get me started about these pains in the backsides.

I've started fishing a venue that has a resident swan that as soon as you throw your rig out or bait he's there on the spot munching away. It managed to wrap it's neck up in my line today then swim half way across the pond. Comorants n seagulls are just as bad aswell

[Higham1987]

????

 

[mrmud]

2 hours ago, Higham1987 said:

????

 

Thanks looked at these for popups but they're not suitable to secure the foam in the cored out boilie of the top bait.

[Higham1987]

I used to use bait screws for all my fishing scenarios...Bottom, Wafter, Pop Up, Snowman, even floater fishing Biscuits....only didn't use for Zig Fishing 

[salokcinnodrog]

5 hours ago, mrmud said:

Thanks looked at these for popups but they're not suitable to secure the foam in the cored out boilie of the top bait.

For that I'd go back to a normal hair loop and boilie stop, or go 'backwards': put the hair through the rig ring or swivel, leaving 2 long tag ends and pull them through the bait, 4 times overhand knot your boilie stop in place and lighter tag the 2 ends.

[mrmud]

2 hours ago, salokcinnodrog said:

For that I'd go back to a normal hair loop and boilie stop, or go 'backwards': put the hair through the rig ring or swivel, leaving 2 long tag ends and pull them through the bait, 4 times overhand knot your boilie stop in place and lighter tag the 2 ends.

That's how I done it using mono and seemed okay(only tested 1 cast). Landed up moving spots as there was a guy in the direct opposite swim from me spoding n spoding