Hair Rig Knot

[Juan pablo]

Hello fellow carpers, I"m new to the whole carp scene, and I have a question about the knots, I use the figure 8 knot for my hair rigs and sometimes the knot is too bulky for the boilie I end up breaking just to try to get the hair rig through.
I"m wondering if there's any other options or any other suggestions or any type of micro knots available. I've looked around and tried the loop knot I got the same bulky knot Thanks in advance
Pablo

[yonny]

Never had an issue with the figure of eight. I'd be looking at the boilie or maybe the hooklink if I were you. Assuming the link isn't too thick, the boilie must be too hard/brittle?

[ouchthathurt]

Simple overhand loop knot? What hooklink material are you using? 

[Juan pablo]

Checking here i'ts soft n trap 30lbs and i'm using size 14mm, i'll admit sometimes it seems bulkier than other times, kinda inconsistent. 

[Juan pablo]

I'll look into the overhand loop knot thanks

[Golden Paws]

30lb BS may be a bit thick. Just strip off a few inches of the coating so that your hair section is more supple.

[jules007]

tie a longer loop so you only pull the loop and not the knot through the bait

[salokcinnodrog]

7 hours ago, Juan pablo said:

Checking here i'ts soft n trap 30lbs and i'm using size 14mm, i'll admit sometimes it seems bulkier than other times, kinda inconsistent. 

Simple overhand loop knot, but large enough so that the knot doesn't go into the boilie as you thread it. 

If it is still a problem, drill the boilie before putting it on the hair, something I do with rock hard baits anyway. If you glug them in a glycerol based bait soak, it can be worth putting them on a half cocktail stick before soaking.

Nothing worse than hands that smell totally fishy and it won't wash off...

[Barney2]

Your boilies sound too soft and inappropriate you need some specific hard hookbaits mate

Hookbaits are purpose designed, Sticky Baits ones are good and come in generous big pots they are useful if in any doubt 

Coated braid will produce a thick knot but you can still use it

but you need a big hard hook bait, and drill the hook bait as well which helps stop baits fracturing, a small selection of drills are cheap, just get small name branded ones

rigging baits is faffy, takes time, you can experiment with different loop sizes use a ruler to measure out the loop and a gate latch needle to help tie them

 

[Juan pablo]

On 18/04/2025 at 16:24, Barney2 said:

Your boilies sound too soft and inappropriate you need some specific hard hookbaits mate

Hookbaits are purpose designed, Sticky Baits ones are good and come in generous big pots they are useful if in any doubt 

Coated braid will produce a thick knot but you can still use it

but you need a big hard hook bait, and drill the hook bait as well which helps stop baits fracturing, a small selection of drills are cheap, just get small name branded ones

rigging baits is faffy, takes time, you can experiment with different loop sizes use a ruler to measure out the loop and a gate latch needle to help tie them

 

Yeah i'm in the states Texas to be exact, and i get everything shipped from bigcarptackle, i'm using bait masters and nash northern specials, but the bait masters seemed to be more effective in my waters. and its also much softer than the nash ones. This is the 3rd time ordering the bait masters and they have all been a bit on the softer side. the issue i have once i use the pop up needle to insertthe rig the knot would make the hole bigger a chunk would break off the boilie

[Golden Paws]

If your boilie is breaking off when you withdraw the needle, it sounds more like you are using a baiting needle with too harsh a barb rather the knot causing the problem. Boilie recipes have undergone a change from being hard, which was supposed to put off smaller fish and make them easier to catapult or stick out, to softer which requires less boiling and so they retain more of their nutritional profile and allow water to penetrate them and release their attractants more readily.

I use a Korda needle which is fine enough to penetrate boilies without causing any damage to them.