The

A CARPOLOGY AND MAXIMUM CARP PUBLICATION

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ITS OUR GENERATIONS VERSION OF CARP FEVER

The

PUBLISHED BY TOFFEE PUBLICATIONS LTD. 65B DUNELM HOUSE, LOWER OLLAND STREET, BUNGAY, SUFFOLK, NR35 1BY

CONTENTS

FOUNDATIONS

006 WHAT HAPPENS WHEN

A CARP STARTS FEEDING 008 WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A CARP SUCKS IN YOUR HOOKBAIT 010 WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HOOK A CARP 012 HOOK HOLDS

WHAT RIG

KNOTS

016 GUIDE TO KNOTS 024 SNELL KNOT

028 THE TAKE-ANYWHERE RIG 030 THE MULTI RIG 032 THE CLAW RIG 034 THE KD RIG 036 THE STIFF COMBI RIG 038 THE MAG-ALIGNER 040 THE CORN-ALIGNER 042 TIGER NUT PLUGGING 044 MULTI HAIR RIG 046 THE BLOW BACK RIG 048 THE CHOD RIG 050 THE AGGRESSIVE CHOD

051 THE BREAKAWAY CHOD 052 THE HINGED STIFF LINK 054 THE WITHY POOL RIG 056 THE SIT UP AND BEG RIG 058 THE PVA BAG SET-UP 062 THE ADJUSTABLE ZIG RIG

THE PROS RIGS

066 GAZ FAREHAM 068 DUNCAN MACLEAN 070 ADAM PENNING 072 JON SHOES JONES 074 NIGEL SHARP 076 KEVIN NASH

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Editor Joe Wright Editorial Assistant Toby Long Design Louisa Cribb Illustration Mr. and Mrs. Smith Design Sub Editor Dennis Bell Our special thanks to Jason Hayward, Terry Hearn, Gaz Fareham, Ben Gratwicke of Diggerlakes, Lewis Porter and the many tackle and bait companies who supplied us with the information and products to make this book possible.

078 MARTIN LOCKE 080 LEWIS READ 082 IAN CHILLCOTT

LEAD SET-UPS

104 GET MORE FROM

LEAD CLIPS 106 THE ULTIMATE DROP-OFF IN-LINE LEAD SET-UP 108 THE HELICOPTER RIG 110 THE LEAD SET-UP ONE-STOP

HOW TO

118 MICRO-IMPROVEMENTS
WHAT WILL TRIPLE YOUR CATCH-RATE!

LONG READS

084 ON THE DECK BY

TERRY HEARN 090 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HINGED STIFF LINK BY TERRY HEARN 096 THE TOOLS OF EFFICIENT RIGS BY JASON HAYWARD

INSIDE INFO

126 ESSENTIAL GADGETRY

GUIDE TO

112 UNDERSTANDING HOOKS 116 UNDERSTANDING LEADS

First published in 2011 by Toffee Publications Ltd, 65B Dunelm House, Lower Olland Street, Bungay, Suffolk, NR35 1BY Copyright Toffee Publications Ltd. 2011. All rights reserved. No part of this publications may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any informal storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publishers.

FORWARD
ITS OUR GENERATIONS VERSION OF CARP FEVER The best rig is one with a bait attached that they really want to eat, is how rig and bait guru, Jason Hayward once put it. And how true that is. But (and of course its a lovely big rounded but), with every bait manufacturer in the land stating their carp food is better than theirs, what harm can it do to stack the odds in your favour when it comes to end tackle i.e. rigs and lead arrangements? It cant and hence why this creation you hold before you was born. Its the ultimate collection of rigs, advice and how tos. It starts by laying the foundations: the basics of how a carp feeds knowledge which will help you develop and tweak your rigs. This leads onto analysing hook holds the only sign that will tell you how well your rig is performing. We cover literally every knot known to man. We showcase 20+ of the latest rigs, each featuring clear, easyto-follow illustrations or crisp-sharp photography. We look at the pros rigs: Gaz Farehams Rig For A 50; Nigel Sharps Stiff Bottom Bait Rig; Lewis Reads Fatal Rig and many more. We look at lead choice (why) and set-up (when). And finally we have a manual of how tos which will only aid in ensuring you get more bites after carrying them out. What lies within this behemoth of an encyclopedia has taken the featured anglers decades to learn and develop. Youll have that wealth of knowledge in just 132 pages. Good luck, carp!

FOUNDATIONS...

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A CARP STARTS FEEDING?

THE PROCESSES THAT CARP GO THROUGH DURING FEEDING THANKS TO FISH EXPERT AND DIGGERLAKES OWNER, BEN GRATWICKE

01

As a carp switches on to feed, chemoattraction and stimulation facilitate the initial location (olfactory response.) Also using its sensory organs, such as its barbules to touch and taste its food or if clear enough water it will use its eyes to see the food source.

02

Food is taken in to the mouth of the sh and any debris such as stones, sticks or other unwanted items are sorted out and rejected. Fine silt or sand is expelled through the gill rakers whereas stones and your rig if you have got it wrong are blown out of the shes mouth! Items of food are then passed back to the pharangyls (teeth) where it is crushed before being swallowed for digestion, as carp do not have a true stomach, the food is digested the entire length of the intestine before exiting the anus.

03

Carp will pass almost whole pellets if they are fed enough only digesting the smallest outer layer.

04

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ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

NOW FLICK THE PAGE TO DISCOVER WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY SUCK IN YOUR HOOKBAIT

007

FOUNDATIONS...

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A CARP SUCKS IN A HOOKBAIT?

UNDERSTANDING EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS WILL MAKE WHATS TO FOLLOW A DAMN SIGHT EASIER TO UNDERSTAND

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01

02

03

WHAT HAPPENS FIRST THEN? Says sh farmer and all-round top angler, Ben Gratwicke: Once the hookbait is in the mouth, if the sh hasnt already been spooked, the palatal organ on the upper side and oor of the mouth will trap the food item for sorting. This is when the alarm bells will ring, as there isnt only a yummy boilie in its mouth, but also a nasty sharp piece of metal. The palatal organ is highly sensitive, covered in taste buds and can enable a carp to sort bloodworm out of silt so any foreign objects are quickly sensed. DOES ANY OF THAT CHANGE IF ITS A BOTTOM BAIT OR A POP-UP? Ben continues, The only thing that would change is the positioning or perhaps the angle. With a pop-up you can have the hook prone ready for attack whereas a bottom bait is more likely to get sucked in with other bits of debris, so it is vital it has good hooking ability. IS THIS THE REASON SOME

RIGS WORK BETTER THAN OTHERS THEN? Most denitely. Having the right hooking pattern/ rig type for the job is so, so important, thats why you will see many of the very successful anglers having their rigs absolutely razor sharp, aligned, tied and balanced to get the best result. So its a case of: right rig, right job. WHAT ABOUT HOOK HOLDS THEN? Once your rig is out and shing, the number different parameters for a hooked sh are endless: size of sh, number of sh feeding at anyone time (competition for food), direction a sh approaches your rig, the make-up of the lakebed youre shing on, be it silt, gravel or somewhere in between and also what rig and the condence in which a sh is feeding. A shy, careful common may just get nicked in the lip, whereas a fat old greedy mirror may wolf down your hookbait and be hooked an inch inside. All these things can play a massive role in where the sh gets

hooked. Just have a think about what you have shing on the lakebed and the surroundings you are shing on. HOW MUCH WATER CAN A 30LBER MOVE WHEN SUCKING IN YOUR HOOKBAIT? A 30lber can move a hell of a volume of water, especially if its sifting through silt and loose debris after those little bloodworm, says Ben, but put it in a situation where a more delicate approach is needed, such as plucking a oater from the surface lm and the water movement can be altered to suit. As for the exact volume, I have no idea, but in one suck perhaps up to half-a-litre HAVE YOU GOT ANY INTERESTING EXAMPLES OF A FISH GETTING AWAY WITH IT? I once watched a sh pickup my hookbait and rather than bolt off, it stopped still with the hookbait in its mouth, levelled itself which in-turn picked up my 2oz lead off the lakebed. It then violently shook its head,

05

04

06

spun round and shot off leaving my rig in the process and escaping capture. The only indication I got was the line lifting about two-inches. So why didnt I strike? Well, I was curious to see what would happen and the sh in question wasnt very big, although after shing the lake for the rest of the year I learnt that this particular sh hadnt been banked for three years and I never saw it in the water or on the bank again! DO YOU KNOW IF IT HAS BEEN CAUGHT SINCE? Well, last year, the lake in question very unfortunately had a major sh kill and lo and behold, this sh turned up dead and none of the new members recognised it. From what I could make out, since I left the syndicate in 1995, it had never been captured, so I make that 18 years uncaught! After my occurrence, I shortened my hooklink to three- to four-inches and upped the lead size and was super careful that my hooks were needle sharp. The result was a run of sh from the lake, including a personal best.

07

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FOUNDATIONS...

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HOOK A FISH

EVER WONDERED WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE HOOK PENETRATES?

Picture captured by Rob Hughes

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ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

! D E L I NA

THE FOLLOWING SHOWS YOU THE PROCESSES A CARP GOES THROUGH AFTER GETTING HOOKED. THIS IS ALL NATURAL TO THE FISH AND THE ONLY THING ON THEIR MIND IS SHEDDING THAT PIECE OF METAL IN THEIR MOUTH.

01

If the sh is clever, it will shake its head or carefully manoeuvre and shed the hook, spinning, rolling and rapid mouth movement are other such ways; if its not so clever, then its fear time!

02

From this point on, adrenaline will be released. Once secreted into the bloodstream, it rapidly prepares the body for action in emergency situations. The hormone boosts the supply of oxygen and glucose to the brain and muscles while suppressing other non-emergency bodily processes (digestion in particular). If the sh has a gut full of food some of this will be excreted during the ght. At this point with this added bodily exertion, the oxygen demand will go up and the sh will respire much harder. Just think if you had run around as fast as you could for ve minutes and then shoved under water how do you reckon you would act? Always think as if you were the sh!

03

Once landed, if held in a sack, the sh will often lighten in colour as added blood is in the muscles and skin. Had a sh that will not sit still on the bank before? This is all down to its natural instinct to escape, so take your time and try to calm the sh by covering its eyes and keep it nice and wet to minimise damage to the skin. 011

04

FOUNDATIONS...

ANALYSING HOOK HOLDS

UNDERSTANDING WHERE YOUVE HOOKED YOUR LATEST BRUTE IN THE MOUTH WILL TELL YOU A LOT ABOUT HOW YOUR RIG IS PERFORMING, AS JASON HAYWARD WILL NOW EXPLAIN

HOOK 1 HOLD
Fish hooked in the bottom lip, not too close to the edge, up to one-inch inside in the mouth, dead in the centre. EVALUATION This is just about as perfect as you can get it! This hook hold will be as secure as you can get in the carps tough bottom lip, therefore causing as little damage as possible. Fish hooked in this manner indicate a condent pick-up, with the rig mechanics working well. This is also an indication that your baiting situation is probably spot on as well. DONT CHANGE ANYTHING!

HOOK 2 HOLD
As before but with the hook further back inside the mouth, but not necessarily in the centre, possibly with some evidence of the hook tearing before nding a more secure hold nearer the lips. EVALUATION This is trickier to evaluate. It could represent a condent feeding sh and/or it could be that the sh has cautiously sucked in/eaten the bait, before slowly moving onto the next food item. This type of hook hold is common when shing with a spread of bait, normally boilies, with a carpet of small particles. This is often a good secure hook hold, but to improve it further, try lengthening the Hair slightly and/or shortening the hooklink an inch or two.

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HOOK 4 HOLD

Inside the mouth, but not in the bottom lip or scissors. EVALUATION A difficult one, as nothing maybe wrong and everything is working well. When using very sharp hooks, its sometimes the case that you start to experience some very bizarre, yet secure hook holds. If you pick-up a highly, well-sharpened hook and imagine it bobbing around in a carps mouth, you immediately realise that there is a huge possibility of it catching hold anywhere within the mouth. If you are using antieject rigs, then hook holds can indeed be irrational. Let me qualify the above sentence: I am not nave enough to believe that there is a rig out there that 100% cannot be ejected, but carp, without a shadow of a doubt, nd some rigs harder to eject than others, so that makes them anti-eject doesnt it?! This type of hook hold is an anomaly in that it can and does happen, even though we set our rigs up so that it shouldnt!

HOOK 3 HOLD

Hooked on the edge of the lips, not securely hooked. the bait in or tried to eject the rig or shook its head and the hook just nicked home. My rst call of action would be to lengthen the hooklink by around twoinches. If I was using a longish Hair this would be shortened slightly by half-inch increments and I would also look at the possibility of critically-

EVALUATION This is where it gets tricky but also very interesting. There is a distinct possibility that you may have been unlucky with this hook hold. The stark reality is very simple: the hook just didnt go far enough into the carps mouth! The sh may have moved as soon as it sucked

balancing the rig or the hook. A change to a slightly smaller hook may also be considered but personally I am of the opinion that a bigger hook is harder to eject than a smaller one, so adjusting the buoyancy of the bait/hook/ rig would be considered rst. The addition of a simple linealigner would also help.

FLICK THE PAGE FOR MORE HOOK HOLD ANALYSIS

013

FOUNDATIONS...

HOOK 5 HOLD

Hooked in the scissors or very close to the corner of the mouth. this is generally occurring when anglers use very ne soft braids as hooklengths in conjunction with small hooks, often with small particle baits and/or the waters are very weedy and the sh are often bullied in or get weeded up frequently during the ght. Carp caught in this manner are often feeding on smaller type baits or from very tightly baited areas. The sh are hoovering up large amounts of food and moving to the next mouthful whilst chewing and the hooklink is tightening against the lead and the hook is catching a hold in the corner of the mouth. This is very simple to remedy, as a small shortening of the hooklink (I start in two-inch increments and then work from there) and the inclusion of a small curved piece of shrink tube or a linealigner at the hook end usually gets the hook going back into the bottom of the mouth. Nailed!

EVALUATION Hooking carp in the scissors is a very common occurrence, but unfortunately can also be one of the most damaging places to hook the carp, which if we are in a position to change, then we should. We have all seen the pictures of parrot-mouthed carp and 014
ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

HOOK 7 HOLD
Or not as the case may be EVALUATION Sadly, we are always going to lose sh on occasions. This not knowing whether we will land our prize or not is one of the fascinating aspects of our sport. Whilst angling experience is one of the most important tools we can use to our advantage, its something you cannot buy or learn without some heartache, but thinking about your rigs and learning to adapt and problem solve in any given situation will without doubt put you on the right path to thinking for yourself and becoming a better angler. One thing Ive said before, but is denitely worth repeating is, The best rig in the world is a bait the carp REALLY want.

HOOK 6 HOLD
Hooked in the upper part of the mouth EVALUATION Another anomaly this one. It can very often happen when oater shing, particularly at close-range. The fact we hook most of the sh we catch in the bottom of the mouth proves that the rig mechanics are working, in conjunction with the lead set-up. Years ago, before we dare put any lead on the line for fear of the carp feeling the resistance and blowing the bait out, the majority of the sh landed were hooked in the top lip, as we had to pull our hooks through the bait on the strike. Its a strange one this.

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KNOTS...

D I U G R U O Y

WEEN T E B E IS RENC FAILURE E F F I D THE DCESS AN MALL SUC VERY S

3 1 S T KNO E

LOOP-TO-LOOP CONNECTION
Loop-To-Loop connections are easy to do and are used to attach lines and hooklinks to swivels and leader loops. Most anglers use it to attach loops on your main line or hooklinks to swivels and other rig components.

001

Firstly, create two FigureOf-Eight Loop Knots, one end of both materials.

002

Thread one of the loops through the middle of the other Loop Knot.

Take the tag end of the same length and pass it through the middle of the loop.

003

004

Gently pull the two lengths together; they will need teasing over the knots.

005
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ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

The knot should look like this when it has been fully pulled down.

ALBRIGTHT KNO

The Albright Knot is a simple and easy knot to tie once you have got the hang of it. It is used when attaching a supple braid to a stiff uorocarbon in a Combi Rig or when attaching a mono or uorocarbon leader to your main line.

MAHIN LEADER KNOT

001

Firstly, double over your uorocarbon hooklink so that you have a neat loop.

002

Thread your supple braid through the middle of the uorocarbon loop.

The Mahin Leader Knot is, as its name suggests, perfect as a shockleader knot. Although its a very small knot (which is brilliant as it ies through the rod rings very cleanly), its incredibly strong and comes recommended by a great number of the countrys nest long-distance casters. Its also one of the easiest leader knots to tie - an Overhand Knot, ten turns, followed by six over the top of those and then back through the original loop. Simple!

Wrap the supple braid around the two pieces of uorocarbon six times.

003

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Now wrap the supple braid back down towards the loop four times.

005

Thread your braid back through the loop the opposite way from when you started.

006

Moisten the knot and gently pull all of the ends to tighten the knot down.

001

Form an open loop (A) in your chosen leader material like we have done here.

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002 007
Trim off any excess so that you are left with a neat and very strong knot.

Now take your main line and pass it through the open loop (A).

Next, make six turns of the main line back over the previous 10 turns and back through open loop A.

005

008

Here is your nished knot ready-to-go! Its awesome and it wont let you down!

Pass the main line over the leader material 10 times as shown here.

003

Using nger and thumb, gently push turns of main line to knot A to form knot. Always wet before bedding down. 017

KNOTS...

BACK-TO-BACK GRINNER KNOT

This is similar to the Back-To-Back Blood Knot but uses a Grinner instead. This is another good knot for attaching leaders to your main line and is fairly easy to tie, along with been very reliable, so it will cope with long, heavy casts.

001

Firstly, take your two pieces of line and run them side-by-side to each other.

002

Create a loop using one piece of line running next to the other piece.

Go around the other line and through the loop ve times, Grinner Knot style.

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Moisten the knot and pull it down against the line, dont do this too tightly.

005

Now, ip the knot around, so you have the knot to your left-hand side.

006

Repeat the process again, but this time using the other line against the main line.

007

Moisten the knot down against the piece of line but dont do this too tightly.

008

Now slide both of the knots towards each other until they meet in the middle.

Finally, trim off the tag ends so you are left with a lovely neat knot.

009

Some guys are ummoxed by a Spool Knot, often opting for a knot that doesnt really offer the same values as the knot purposely-designed for the job in hand. It really is very easy. (1) Pass the end of the line around the spool on your reel. (2) Pass the line over the line again and wrap it over itself four times. (3) Now pass the line back through the loop you originally made. (4) Wet the knot and pull tight before trimming the end. (5) Start reeling to load your spool. 018
ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

HOW TO TIE THE PERFECT SPOOL KNOT EVERY TIME

S S E L T O N K KNOT CORE LEAD

The Knotless Knot to leadcore is another awesome method of attaching your main line to a leadcore material. This knot is very small and neat, making it more streamline and aerodynamic. It is fairly easy to tie and once done a couple of times you wont go back.

BLOOD KNOT

The Blood Knot is a brilliant knot and can be used in a lot of situations. This is a very basic knot and is used for attaching your main line to loops on leaders and swivels. It is very easy to tie and is often the rst knot an angler is taught.

001

Firstly, push the sheath back to expose around fourinches of inner core.

002

Take a sharp pair of rig scissors and cut off the four-inches of lead.

Slide the inner sheath back where the lead used to be, so it is supple.

003

001
Take a splicing needle and push it into the sheath where the lead ends.

Pass your line through the eye of a swivel.

004

005

When the needle is out the end of the sheath, take a hold of your line.

006

Pass the end of the leadcore through the loop youve created like so.

002 007
Wrap the sheath around the outside of the loop and back through.

Wrap the tag ve times up the line.

008

Repeat this process three or four times as we have done here.

After youve been through the loop, start to pull the knot down.

009

003

Put the tag back through the loop next to the swivel.

010

When the knot has been pulled down, trim the tag end off.

011

And there you have the nished Knotless Knot Leadcore Knot (a mouthful!). Its incredibly strong, and is both very user and shfriendly. Use leadcore - use this knot!

004

Moisten, pull down and trim off the tag end. 019

KNOTS...

R E N N I R G T KNO

Grinner Knots are very versatile and can be used in a lot of angling situations. They are easy to tie and are very often referred to as one of the most secure knots going. They are most commonly used to attach your main line to swivels, loops and hooks.

FIGURE-OF-EIGHTLOOP KNOT

These are easy to tie and are very secure knots. Lots of people use them in their hooklink materials so they can use a quick-change system. The loop also gives added movement to the presentation, resulting in better hook holds.

001

Firstly, pass your line through the swivel (or hook eye) twice in the same direction.

002

With the tag end create a large loop next to the line going to the swivel.

001
Pass the tag end around the line and through the loop as shown in the illustration.

Double a good length of the material back on itself so you have lots to work with.

002

Take the doubled over end section and bring it around to create a loop.

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Do this ve times; this will make the knot really strong and reliable.

005

Gently moisten the knot and pull it down gently so it beds down nicely.

006

Slowly slide the knot back up the line to the swivel; it should look like this.

Take the loop around the back of the two running lines as shown in the illustration.

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Now put the end through the big loop and gently moisten and tease down.

005 007
020 Finally trim off the tag end and you have the nished Grinner Knot.
ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

Fully tighten the loop down and trim off the excess tag end as shown here.

006

Here is your nished knot. This is awesome for quickchange systems.

E L D E E N K T KNO

A Needle Knot is another knot you can use to attach your main line to a leadcore material. This is a very safe and easy knot to tie; the diameter is small so it still allows beads and swivels to pass over it easily, ensuring it is a safe set-up.

001

Firstly, push the sheath back to expose around four-inches of inner core.

002

Take a sharp pair of rig scissors and cut off the four-inches of lead.

Slide the inner sheath back where the lead used to be, so it is supple.

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Take a thin splicing needle and push it into the sheath where the lead ends.

005

When the splicing needle is out the end of the sheath, take a hold of your line.

006

Pull the line back through the sheath and out of the other side, as shown.

007

Wrap the line six times around and down the sheath of the leadcore.

008

Do ve turns back up the leadcore in the opposite direction as previously.

Thread the line back through the loop where it comes out of the leadcore.

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Pull the line and the leadcore in order to tease the knot down tightly.

011

When the knot is fully tightened down you will need to trim the tag end off.

012

There is your nished Needle Knot. Super strong and really reliable.

THE LASSOING HAIR

001
Tie your normal Knotless Knot Hair rig, but make the Hair loop around twoand-half-inches.

An ultra ne Hair that means you can change your bait within seconds

002

Pass your chosen hookbait onto the Hair via a baiting needle in the normal manner.

With the hookbait (boilie) mounted onto the baiting needle, push it onto the Hair.

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Now, take the base of the Hair and pass it around the bait as shown in the illustration.

005

And nally, to secure the bait, pull it down tight and this will lock it into position. Done! 021

KNOTS...

BACK-TO-BACK BLOOD KNOT

The Back-To-Back Blood Knot gives you a secure and neat leader knot. These are perfect for attaching two pieces of monolament together or for attaching a uorocarbon leader to your main line.

Firstly, take your two lines and have them running side-by-side to each other, with plenty of excess.

001

002

Take your main line and wrap it ve times around your leader and pass it back before the rst wrap.

Now do the same with the leader and pass it back through the same way as the other tag end.

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Moisten the knot and gently pull the main line, leader and the tag ends to bed the knot down.

005

Slide both of the knots down so they butt-up against each other neatly and trim off the tag ends.

006

Here is your nished knot. It will never let you down when it comes to a leader knot.

R A M O L PA T KNO

The Palomar is a very simple yet extremely effective knot for use with hooks, leader loops and attaching line to swivels etc. The Palomar is very secure giving no slippage if bedded down correctly. This is one that many anglers favour and have condence in.

001

Double over your line and pass it through the swivel as shown.

002

Now create a simple Overhand Knot but dont bed the knot down!

003
the line.

Pass the swivel through the large loop at the end of

004
022

And this is how your knot should look at the moment... Almost there...
ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

005

Moisten the knot and very gently pull it down towards the swivel.

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Finally, you need to trim off the tag end leaving a tiny amount of excess.

KNOTS...

TERRY HEARNS SNELL KNOT I.E. THE BEST KNOT TO USE WHEN TYING YOUR CHODDIES OR HINGED STIFF LINKS
SO: ITS CALLED THE SNELL KNOT AND IS RATED BY THE LIKES OF HEARN AND ELLYATT AS THE BEST KNOT FOR ATTACHING THE HOOK, SIMPLY BECAUSE IT GRIPS THE SHANK SO TIGHTLY AND DOESNT TWIST. PLUS, THE TAG END TO FORM THE D AND THE SECTION THAT EXITS THE EYE ARE BOTH IN LINE SO IT DOESNT KICK THE HOOK OFF AT AN ANGLE AS CAN WITH A KNOTLESS KNOT. IT ALSO MAKES IT EASIER TO RETAIN OR SET THE CURVE. TO TIE THE TERRY HEARN STYLE CHOD RIG YOU NEED THE FOLLOWING ITEMS: 20LB ESP STIFF BRISTLE FILAMENT, SIZE 5 ESP STIFF RIGGERS, FLEXI-RING SWIVELS (SIZE 11), RIG RINGS, LIGHTER, BAITING NEEDLE, SCISSORS AND BAIT FLOSS. AND NOW HERES HOW TO TIE IT

START

001

First off, take your Stiff Rigger and 20lb Stiff Bristle Filament and pass the line through the eye of the hook as you normally would.

002

Now make a big loop, large enough to get two ngers through.

003

Like so.

004

Put the loop under tension and then by twiddling your ngers, begin to whip the bottom section of the Bristle Filamentloop around the hooks shank, at the same time trapping both the top two pieces of Bristle.

005

Whip over the Bristle and shank as shown at the same time as keeping everything tight.

006

Its all in the twiddling of the ngers, this is where a lot of people have problems, but once mastered its really easy. Ive tried to keep the turns loose so you can see them more easily, but you want to keep them tight.

I usually go for seven turns on a size 5 Stiff Riggerand eight turns on a size 4.

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008

Keeping the loop tight with my big nger, I then trap the knot turns between nger and thumb and then begin to tighten the knot by pulling the opposite end with the Bristle spool still attached. This is done downwards as shown in the next picture, as I think this helps reduce damage to the Bristle Filament. Obviously the knot is rst wetted before any tightening. Obviously as you tighten, the loop will become smaller. To avoid the loop from twisting round on itself, its best to keep your nger in the loop right until the very last moment as shown here.

As you can see, Im tightening with my left hand andrather thanpulling the knot tight in line with the hooks shank which creates a sort of S bend where the Bristle Filament travels through the hooks eye, Im instead tightening with a gentle downwards pull and this seems to create a kinder, less damaging angle on the Bristle Filament.

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010

011

Next bit is pretty important as well. Rather than risking damage by pulling the knot down to the eye with the Bristle Filament, I tease the knot down to the eye with my ngernails.

012

Once the turns have been slid down to the hooks eye, its time to tighten fully. This is easiest with a baiting needle.

Pass a rig ring onto the tag end before you pass it back through the eye of the hook.

013

D E H S I N I F T KNO

Blob and then cool with the end of the lighter.

014

I think the end result is a much neater knot without the last wrap crossing all the turns as it does with a Knotless Knot. As a plus, its also a tighter, more secure feeling knot.Once the pop-up is tiedon, its easier totwist/ set the loopat the correct position and there it stays no matter how faryoure casting. The downside: its denitely more trickyto teach somebody how to tie compared with the Knotless Knot.

015

025

T A WH ? G I R
FEATURING
028 THE TAKE-ANYWHERE RIG 030 THE MULTI RIG 032 THE CLAW RIG 034 THE KD RIG 036 THE STIFF COMBI RIG 038 THE MAG-ALIGNER 040 THE CORN-ALIGNER 042 TIGER NUT PLUGGING 044 MULTI HAIR RIG 046 THE BLOW BACK RIG 048 THE CHOD RIG 050 THE AGGRESSIVE CHOD RIG 051 THE BREAKAWAY CHOD RIG 052 THE HINGED STIFF LINK 054 THE WITHY POOL RIG 056 THE SIT UP AND BEG RIG 058 THE PVA BAG SET-UP 062 THE ADJUSTABLE ZIG RIG

027

WHAT RIG...

TAKE-ANYWHERE-RIG

AS THE HEADLINE SUGGESTS FROM THE CAR PARK LAKE TO THORPE LEA

Although this rig is very unlikely to tangle, adding a small PVA bag or stringer will help combat this even more. The added weight keeps the rig and main line/ leadcore/tubing apart during the ight and descent.

RIG TIP

028

ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

001

A coated hooklink, such as the one used here, will help you create a take-anywhere-andcatch-rig that wont tangle.

002

To start, either using your nails or a stripper tool, remove about three- to four-inches of the outer plastic-type coating.

Next you need to tie a simple Overhand Loop Knot in the exposed braided bit this is your Hair loop.

003

004

Before you attach the hook, thread on your hookbait and secure. By doing it this way ensures you get the Hair length correct.

005

Now take a 3mm length of either 0.5 or 0.7 (it depends how tight you want it) of silicone and pass it onto the hooklink material.

006

Taking a long-shank type hook, carefully pass the point through the silicone, making sure not to pierce it

007

With the hook point through the silicone, thread the tubing around the bend and onto the shank, nishing with it level with the point.

008

Its now that you can set the length of Hair you want to use. Ideally you want a Hair length of about half-an-inch to an inch.

To secure the hook, simply whip on using the everreliable Knotless Knot. Finally, you need to tie on a swivel.

009

029

WHAT RIG...

THE MULTI RIG

THINKING-ANGLER, LEWIS PORTER IS NO STRANGER TO CATCHING BIG CARP AND WHEN HE FEELS A POP-UP IS NEEDED TO FOOL ONE THEN HE WILL OFTEN PUT HIS FAITH IN ONE RIG AND THAT IS THE MULTI-RIG

THE MULTI RIG IS A STUNNING BIG FISH SET-UP, HAVING NAILED MANY OF THE UKS LARGEST CARP, BUT ITLL STILL WORK ON ALL MANNER OF WATERS 030

001

Above are all of the components that Lewis Porter uses to construct the Multi Rig.

002

Cut a 13-inch length of Coretex and tie a 1.5-inch Overhand Loop in one end.

Carefully thread the loop thread the front of the eye of an SR hook as shown here.

003

ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

TIE ON A POP-UP THE EASY WAY

Take a length (four- to veinches) of your bait oss and tie a simple Overhand Knot in it as shown.

HOW TO...

001

002 004
Next, thread an Oval Rig Ring onto the loop, as illustrated in this picture.

005

You will then need to pass the bend of the hook through the loop, like this.

Next, slowly pulling the two tag ends, teasing the loop that youve formed down to size.

003

Now place your chosen pop-up into the loop and carefully pull the loop down around the bait.

006

Create a D effect on the shank of the hook so you are left with this.

007

Tie your chosen 15mm pop-up onto the rig ring with some Bait Floss.

the puttuynin I mould pe aro tedan this sha t to creaect. the knoo eff anch red

To connect it to the rig ring, pass one end through the ring and then form another Overhand Loop. To secure, pull the tags end and watch the knot slide down towards the ring.

004

008

Remove 2cm of coating above the knot and then mould some Hi-SG Putty around it.

You should then be left with a highly effective rig that looks just like this beauty!

009

Pull tight and tie and couple of Granny Knots for extra security. Next, trim and carefully using a lighter, blob both ends of the bait oss to form small bulbs. Easy and it wont come off!

005

031

WHAT RIG...

THE CLAW RIG

THE CLAW RIG IS PERFECT FOR FISHING WITH STRAIGHTOUT-OF-THEBAG BOTTOM BAITS. THE PIECES OF SILICON POSITIONING THE HAIR AROUND THE HOOKS SHANK, COUPLED WITH THE SHRINK TUBING AND LARGE PIECE OF PUTTY MAKE THIS RIG EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE.

THE RIG TO BE ON WHEN IT COMES TO BOTTOM BAITS

001

This is all of the terminal tackle you need to create the Claw Rig the super effective bottom bait rig.

002

Now strip several inches of coating off so you are just left with the inner supple braid for your Hair.

Tie a Hair loop to attach your bait and then thread your bait onto a baiting needle and onto the Hair.

003

004

Once the bait is in position you need to secure it using a bait stop. You can then gauge the Hair length.

005

Cut two short pieces (5mm) of silicone tubing and thread it onto the hooklink material like so.

006

Take your hook, in this case a Korda Kaptor and remove the protective cap and discard it.

Pass the hook point through the two pieces of silicone (be careful not to split it) and pass the end through the eye.

007

008

Set the Hair length at an inch to twoinches and secure the hook using the Knotless Knot set-up.

Thread a 1.5cm piece of shrink tubing down the hooklink and position it over the eye of your hook.

009

SHOPPING LIST
032
ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

001 Size 6 Wide Gape hook 002 Atomic Tackle Jel-E-Wyre hooklink material

003 0.5mm silicon tube 004 Shrink tubing 005 Rig putty

ADAM PENNING ON WHY ADDING A LARGE LUMP OF PUTTY TO THIS RIG WILL INCREASE YOUR CATCH-RATE

RIG TIP

010

Very carefully shrink the tubing down by placing it in boiling water or using the steam from a kettle.

011

Now thread on a Korda Sinker to where the coating separates from the supple braided section.

012

Take a piece of rig putty, atten it between your ngers and hold it underneath the Korda Sinker.

Wrap the rig putty neatly and evenly around the Sinker, making sure it is really neat and balanced.

013

Trim the hooklink to the length you want and tie a Figure-OfEight-Loop Knot in the end like so.

014

And nally: make sure the silicon is right around the bend of the hook: it kicks over far quicker like this.

015

006 Korda Sinker 007 Baiting Needle 008 Scissors

009 Bait stops 010 Bottom baits 011 Stripping tool

Its something that I rst started adding to my rigs six years ago. On one particularly hard, low stock Oxford lake, I tried it and started catching tench that in itself was an eye-opener because any tench captures were very rare. A short while later I captured a carp that had gone uncaught for seven years and at just under 39lbs it was a very special capture indeed. That was in 2005 and I have used it to good effect ever since. The thinking behind it is simple enough: I wanted to use a fairly long hooklink and I was concerned that carp may not hook themselves properly. Basically I wanted to cause them problems independently of the lead coming into play. The idea was that with the hook and bait taken into the mouth, the lump of putty would provide small but constant downward pressure on the hook point, helping it to nd a hold and also helping it maintain a hold once the point had pricked the skin. I recall watching a carp nail itself when I was testing the rig in the margins of The Blue Pool I used a long curved length of shrink tube on the eye of the hook, a piece of silicone to trap the Hair well around the bend and a long combi rig where I had pinched a big shot just above the joining mini rig ring. The sh picked up the bait and started shaking its head but the lead didnt move that told me the rig caused them problems well before the lead was supposed to do its job. I started to increase the shot size and then changed to puttybecause it was more streamlined and neater. As a rule of thumb, mould the putty around a Sinker or rig ring about an inch-and-ahalf below the hook eye or the end of the shrink tube if you are using it. You can use a fair size lump too; maybe 10 x 5mm. Give it a go, it wont catch you any less carp, of that I am certain!

033

WHAT RIG...

THE KD RIG THE RIG THAT LOOKS TOTALLY WRONG BUT WORKS TOTALLY RIGHT
I rst used this rig over at Redesmere years ago, says Ali Hamidi, I thought it was my own secret rig! I then forgot about it until we started developing the new Kurv Shank hook; this pattern is ideal for this rig so when the rst batch of samples turned up, I got straight back on to it. It wasnt until Adam Penning saw me unhooking a sh that he said, Thats no secret rig, thats the KD Rig! KD actually stands for Kenny Dorsett the Essex carp legend. You know youre onto a winner if youre using a rig the same as his, chirps Hamidi. You need to use a balanced bottom bait with the KD Rig. With standard rigs which are shed with a balanced bait, youre making the heaviest part of the hook (the bend and point) the lightest part. Whereas on this rig, because the Hair is coming off the eye of the hook, youre making the lightest part (the eye) even lighter. Now the hook is going to hang down really aggressively and with the eye being lifted up its always trying to prick them in the bottom lip. Heres how to tie it 034

Q Because of the long Hair and the way it sits, theres every chance it could wrap around the shank of the cast, so make sure you PVA tape it or use two bits of dissolving foam to trap it.

RIG TIP

001

All you need to tie the rig is: a Kurv hook, Supernatural, a small pop-up and a split shot.

004

Push the tag end through the eye of the Kurv Shank hook like so. It works best with a Kurv.

007

You then need to hold the Hair out and begin to whip ve turns underneath it, like so.

ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

HOW TO MAKE A MUZZA HOOKBAIT AND HOW TO AVOID CRACKING

IT WHEN MAKING IT

[1]

002

First off, tie a Hair in the Supernatural braid by creating a simple Overhand Knot like so.

Slide a small pop-up, normally a 12mm version, onto the Hair and x in place with your Hair stop.

003

[2]

005

Judge the length Hair by measuring against the bend of the hook. It should measure up like this.

006

Begin to tie a Knotless Knot in the normal fashion but only whip over the Hair twice to start with.

[3]
The creation of the Muzza came from Kordas Tom Dove, but its James Armstrong whos come up with the perfect method to avoid cracking your hookbait when drilling it out a common problem we are all faced with. Take your boilie (ideally 18mm and over) and start by slowly drilling out the core of the boilie [1]. Next, pick around the circumference of the boilie, removing the surface [2]. The bevelled edge [3] prevents it cracking when inserting the cork stick.

008

Push the tag end back through the eye and balance with the appropriate split shot.

And heres all the proof youll need to see it works. Two French whackers in the net. Get in!

009

035

WHAT RIG...

THE STIFF COMBI LINK THE ADVANCED VERSION (I.E. BETTER) OF A COATED HOOKLINK MATERIAL
THE NICE THING ABOUT TYING UP A PROPER COMBI IS THAT YOU CAN DICTATE THE EXACT MATERIALS YOU WANT TO USE. FOR EXAMPLE, IF ITS OPEN WATER THEN 10 OR EVEN 8LB MONO AND A 12 OR 15LB BRAID IS BRILLIANT. IF THERES ANY SNAGS OR OLD DEAD WEED ABOUT THEN YOU CAN STEP IT UP A BIT. THE STIFF COMBI LINK IS SLIGHTLY HARDER TO TIE WHEN COMPARED TO A STANDARD COATED HOOKLINK MATERIAL, BUT THE END RESULT IS BETTER AND MORE REFINED. GIVE IT A GO, YOU WONT BE DISAPPOINTED.

001

Tie a loop knot and thread on your hookbait of choice.

002

Bait on, tie a mini ring off with a Double Overhand knot.

SHOPPING LIST

001 Korda IQ2 in 15 or 20lb 002 Korda Supernatural in 20lb 003 Long-shank hook 004 Medium-sized rig rings 005 Shrink tubing 006 Tungsten putty 007 Scissors 008 Bait stops

004

To secure the hook and Hair to the hooklink material, tie a standard Knotless Knot, making ve or six turns around the hook shank.

005

With the hook in place, now take your boom section material (the IQ2) and make a loop in the end like so.

007
036

When bedded down, the knot should look like this super neat, small and strong.
ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

008

Next, trim and blob the tags with a lighter and then slide a length of shrink tube on.

Shrink the tubing down over steam and then add a little blob of putty for your counter-balance.

009

TIE THE ALBRIGHT KNOT

HOW TO

001 003
Thread the rig ring onto the hook as shown here.

Firstly, double over your uorocarbon hooklink so that you have a neat loop.

002

Thread your supple braid through the middle of the uorocarbon loop.

Wrap the supple braid around the two pieces of uorocarbon eight times.

003

004

Now wrap the supple braid back down towards the loop six times.

006

Pass the braid through this loop, wrap around eight turns, then back over itself six and back through the loop. See panel on right...

005

Thread your braid back through the loop the opposite way from when you started.

006

Moisten the knot and gently pull all of the ends to tighten the knot down.

010

Voila! Rigs dont come much neater nor do they work better than this! Get on it!

007

Trim off any excess so that you are left with a neat and very strong knot.

008

Here is your nished knot ready to go! Awesome, and it wont let you down. 037

WHAT RIG...

THE MAG-ALIGNER RIG

THE MAG-ALIGNER WAS FIRST CREATED BY BIG FISH ANGLER, ROB MAYLIN. THE RIG IS VERY SIMPLE BUT IT PROVES EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL WHEN COMBINED WITH LARGE PVA BAGS OF MAGGOTS. ITS NORMALLY CONSTRUCTED USING SUPPLE HOOKLINK MATERIAL FOR ULTIMATE MOVEMENT.

IF YOURE THINKING ABOUT USING MAGGOTS, THIS IS THE RIG YOU NEED

001

SHOPPING LIST

This is all of the terminal tackle that you are going to need to tie the utterly devastating and effective Mag-Aligner Rig.

002

You are also going to need some maggots for the rig. Big PVA bags of the grubs are great when casting out.

001 Wide gape hook (size 10) 002 Supple braid hooklink material 003 Korda SafeZone Leader 004 PVA Funnel Web 005 Enterprise Tackle Imitation Maggots 006 Korda Helicopter Bead 007 Korda Size-8 Ring Swivel 008 Korda Tail Rubbers 009 Stick Clips 010 Maggots 011 Baiting needle 012 In-line lead

To start, cut off a long section of supple braid; this will give the rig lots more movement and will make the rig more effective.

003

004

Now attach the braid to your hook using a Grinner Knot. This can be found in the Knot Section of this rig guide.

005
038

Take a single imitation maggot (any colour) and pass the fat end of the maggot onto the hook as shown in the picture.
ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

006

Put the hook through almost all of the maggot, but exit at the last ridge and start to slide it around the bend of the hook.

007

Slide the maggot all of the way around the hook and position it over the hook eye, as shown here.

008

Take an in-line lead and cut the hard insert off where it meets the lead with a sharp pair of rig scissors.

Thread the inline lead onto a Korda SafeZone Leader and push the swivel into the end of the hard insert.

009

010

Take a pair of pliers and cut another ring swivel so that you can take the ring undamaged off the swivel.

011

Attach a Stick Clip onto the ring and slide it down the SafeZone Leader. Then slide on a helicopter bead to secure it.

012

Take a tail rubber and cut most of the thick end off with a sharp pair of scissors and then discard it.

Slide the tail rubber down your hooklink and attach it to the Stick Clip. Then slide the rubber back up the link.

013

Now slide the tail rubber fully over the Stick Clip. This will stop the hooklink coming off during a long ght.

014

Tie up a large PVA bag of maggots but leave a two-anda-half inch tail of PVA above the knot you have tied.

015

Tie the tag end of PVA to the rig at the bottom of the lead and then nick your hook into the side of the PVA bag. Done!

016

039

WHAT RIG...

THE CORN-ALIGNER

DEVASTATING OVER SPOD MIXES AND PARTICLE BAITS

WERE SURE MOST OF YOU WILL HAVE HEARD OF THE MAG-ALIGNER RIG. WELL, THIS IS AN ADAPTATION OF THAT DEVASTATING RIG. THE RIG UTILISES A PIECE FAKE CORN OVER THE EYE OF THE HOOK INSTEAD Take ten-inches OF A MAGGOT AND of a supple braid. IS PERFECT FOR USE Here we are using Korda OVER SPOD MIXES Supernatural, as its very OR WITH PVA STICKS. supple and versatile.

001

002

Now attach the hooklink material to the hook eye with a simple Grinner Knot (nd this in the Knot Section.)

Pass a baiting needle through the corn. Pierce the thin end rst and only go through the top half as shown.

003

004

Take the end of your material and hook it onto the needle and thread the corn down to the hook.

005

Now position the corn over the eye of the hook; you want the eye to sit in the middle of the plastic bait.

006

Take a Large Korda Sinker and thread it down the hooklink material. This will pin it to the lakebed.

007

At the end of the hooklink material, you will now need to tie a simple Figure-Of-EightLoop Knot.

008
040

Take your in-line lead and tap out the hard insert from the centre; this can be discarded.

Replace this with a Korda Shockleader Sleeve. These are far safer and the soft inner-core houses the swivel better.

009

010

Thread your line through the lead, Shockleader Sleeve and tie to a swivel and then attach a Stik Clip.

011

Next, create a small PVA Stick and pass a baiting needle through it. You want to exit to the side of the top as shown.

ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

DRESS A HOOK LIKE JOE MORGAN

HOW TO

001 012
Attach the loop on your hooklink to your baiting needle and then slide the Stick down the hooklink. This is the reason you come out the side of the Stick, because the bait is attached to the hook, not a Hair.

Take some marabou feathers and hold them along the shank of the hook.

013

002

Whip your hooklink around the shank and feathers Knotless Knot style.

Now you need to thread a piece of silicon down your hooklink and attach the loop to the Stik Clip.

014

Having a ring and a Stik Clip will give the rig lots more movement and this gives a better hooking potential.

015

003

Thread down a piece of fake maize and push over the eye of the hook.

Push the silicon over the top of the Stik clip. This will stop the hooklink from coming off during a cast.

016

017

So there you have it, a nished CornAligner Rig. This is perfect over particles or casting to showing sh.

004 SHOPPING LIST

001 Braid hooklink 002 Size 10 Wide Gape 003 Enterprise Tackle Pop-Up Sweetcorn 004 Baiting needle

With the corn over the eye, trim off the feathers to the length you require.

005 Scissors 006 Korda Sinker 007 2mm silicon tube 008 PVA funnel web 009 Stick mix 041

WHAT RIG...

TIGER NUTS: UNPLUGGED ONE TIGER NUT. TWO PRESENTATIONS. LOADS MORE CARP. SOUND GOOD?
JUST ASK AVID CARPS MAT WOODS
Tiger nuts are one of those baits that I was always pretty suspicious of. I read about how anglers tore places apart on them, but for me they never made a lot of sense. They were too boring, too bland to be considered, but as Id done well in the past on peanuts, my concerns were a little hypocritical! But I subscribe to the cherry on the cake principle, so single hookbaits, to me, means bright and smelly. Now whilst a nice tiger nut thats been fermenting in sugary juices for a few days certainly smells the part, its never really looked the part for me. It needs to be more visual. Brighter in some way. For a while I tried skinning the tigers and that worked quite well, but it still wasnt the same as a yellow pop-up. Even when shing over hemp and tigers, a tiger nut wasnt as effective as a bright hookbait and I always thought this was because it was too cumbersome and too dull. A few years ago, I obtained one of those boilie-coring devices that were designed to remove plugs of bait so you could insert cork and foam. Because a tiger is so rm, you can use these to go all the way through the nut without compromising its structure. When nished, you get a tiger with a hole in it and a little pellet plug of juicy tiger inner. And both have great potential as a hookbait choice! Over bait, I use the tiger plugs in conjunction with an Avid Carp SIGHT STOP, 042
ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

which just happens to be the exact same diameter as my coring device! It looks the nuts (excuse the pun) and has caught me loads of sh in the last three or four years, especially over spod mix. Of course, I cant neglect the nut thats left behind, and foam soon makes its way into the void. I dont, however, attach it in the usual style, because I want a visual aspect from all angles. I attach the tiger lengthways, leaving the bright yellow foam exposed on two sides of the tiger. Pop a yellow Sight Stop on and youve got three little sight bobs on a tiger nut hookbait. Perfect! The nished hookbaits sink really slowly and you sometimes need a tiny shot on the Hair to get the right buoyancy, but the really slow sinkers are awesome as a single hookbait on a longer hooklink. My chosen rig for both hookbaits is mega simple. I have quite a long Hair, a little blowback ring and a beaked point hook to prevent the points turning over too easily. Because both hookbaits are quite light, a straight pointed hook can give you real headaches, especially as other nuisance sh come in over particle baited areas and move the water around a lot. So give the two presentations a whirl. Both will stay on the Hair for days on end and provide something a little bit different that's certainly helped me tag a few more whackers.

THE TIGER PLUG ITS A TIGER NUT PRESENTATION

WITH A MASSIVE DIFFERENCE

RE-PLUGGED TIGERS GIVE YOUR GROWLERS SOME COLOUR

AND SOME BUOYANCY

001

Using this coring device, Mat cores out a plug of tiger nut, leaving a neat hole through the middle of the nut.

002

Push the plunger down and it reveals this pukka little pellet of creamy nutty goodness. Awesome!

001

If youre using the Tiger Plugs, youll also get one of these left behind, perfect for balancing out.

002

Mat uses yellow foam to plug the gap in the tiger nut. Again, most available foam sticks t the hole perfectly.

Next, using a pair of sharp scissors, Mat trims one end of the plug down so that its as at as possible.

003

004

This is so an Avid Carp SIGHT STOP, which is the same diameter, ts neatly and perfectly on top.

Trim the foam down so it sits ush against the sides of the tiger, providing a lovely sight bob.

003

004

An Avid Carp SIGHT STOP provides another little sight bob, so you have one from all angles.

005

You can use any colour SIGHT STOP, but Mat prefers good old yellow the pantone carp seem to love.

006

Now tie on a Rig Ring, leaving a good 20-25mm gap from the hookbait itself. Whip on your hook and its job done.

005

The nished rig works wonders as a single hookbait or over baited spots as a slow sinking hookbait.

006

Mat with a stunning mirror caught using his clever Tiger Plug trick. Its deadly, so get on it now! 043

WHAT RIG

THE MULTI-HAIR RIG

IT IS PROVEN THAT CARP CAN FIND IT VERY EASY TO EJECT SINGLE HOOKBAITS. DOUBLE BAITS ARE SLIGHTLY HARDER, BUT WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU HAVE THREE SEPARATE HAIRS AND BAITS ON THE SAME HOOK? PURE DEVASTATION THATS WHAT!

THREE BAITS ARE BETTER THAN ONE

001

Here is all of the terminal tackle you are going to need to construct the Multi Hair Rig. The rig is devastating over particles and smaller baits.

002

Take a Korda Stripper Tool and place your coated hooklink into it. This tool strips coating off hooklinks easily and quickly.

Put the hooklink material through the gate and pull back. If you dont have a Strippa then simply use your teeth or ngernails.

003

004

Now take three lengths of supple braid, each somewhere in the region of 10cms and tie a Hair loop at the end of each of them.

001 Wide gape hook 002 Supple hooklink material 003 Coated hooklink material 004 0.5mm silicon tubing

SHOPPING LIST

005 Shrink tubing 006 Baiting needle 007 Hair stops 008 Scissors 009 Your chosen bait 010 Stripper tool

005

Take the three Hair lengths and pass them through the hook eye and whip them all at the same time to create a Knotless Knot.

006

Once youve whipped around the shank, pass the ends through the eye of the hook as shown. This may be ddly so take your time.

044

ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

Now take your hooklink material (which you stripped a section from earlier) and pass the uncoated section through the eye of the hook.

007

008

Again, whip the hooklink material around the shank of the hook and over the Hair braid as if you were tying a Knotless Knot.

With the knot now secure, take a pair of scissors and snip off the remaining hooklink material from the Hairs end as shown.

009

010

Take the scissors again and trim back the Hair braid. There is three in total so cut them off as shown in the picture very carefully.

011

Next cut yourself a piece of silicone tubing and pass it onto a splicing needle. This is an easy way of getting a piece of silicone onto the hook.

012

Now push the hook point through the silicone and be very careful not to push the point through the side of it during this process.

Get all of the Hair loops and lock them into the gate on the needle. Next pull the needle back through with all of the Hairs on.

013

This is what the rig should look like so far. All three Hairs should be underneath the silicon, however, we havent nished quite yet.

014

Next, cut off a piece of shrink tubing like so; this is going to go over the eye of the hook to make it ip quickly in the shs mouth.

015

Thread the tubing down the hooklink and over the eye and whipping of the knot and then dunk it for 10 seconds into boiling water.

016

017

There are many different baits that you can use on this rig, one type which proves extremely successful is tiger nuts.

The nished product: three baits to one hook! Not only seriously appealing, but a serious mouthful. Good luck, Mr. Carp!

018

045

WHAT RIG...

THE BLOWBACK RIG ONE OF THE ONLY RIGS THAT CAN TELL YOU EXACTLY WHATS BEEN
HAPPENING WHEN ITS OUT IN THE LAKE ALL THANKS TO A RIG RING OR A PIECE OF SILICONE

001
046

To start, cut off 12-inches of 25lb Gravel Missing Link and strip back ve-inches of the outer-coating.

002

First create a loop for the Hair and then a second Overhand Knot behind it to lock the bait in place.

Take two 15mm boilies and bite a third off each one. Mount them back-to-back and secure with a bait stop.

003

004

Slide 2mms of 0.5mm silicone onto the hooklink, followed by your hook with the point facing downwards.

ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

The original Blow-Out (Blowback Rig) Rig featured a ring tied to the Hair located on the bend, reveals the inventor, Kevin Nash. This was so on pricking, when the carp blew against the bait, the ring/Hair would slide down the shank leaving the bait behind the eye of the hook, preventing the carp from achieving the necessary angle to dislodge the point. This rig was devastating, and trust me, that is an understatement! Nonetheless, after a time I became paranoid that carp were still occasionally doing me. I was on a particularly high-pressured water and occasionally I would get one or two short, sharp beats or the rod tip would tremble. So I changed the ring for a small piece of silicone rubber that was purposely of a bore

that would grip the Hair sufficiently, but when pulling against, the Hair could slide down the shank. To my mind this is the signicant point about this tube version of the BlowOut Rig it is a telltale. So if a carp that is rigged up manages to eject this rig you always know, as if you check your rig you will nd the position of the silicone has changed from its correct position at the top of the bend to the blown out position where the silicone has slid down the shank and is jammed against the knot/eye of the hook. I would observe that after a blank session the majority of carp anglers gure there were no carp about, as they didnt get a bite. Certainly I have heard it said hundreds of times when an angler gets a couple of bleeps on his indicator they just say, line bite. It doesnt occur to

them that they may have had a carp rigged up that has sat there sucking and blowing without giving any or little indication and when ridding itself of the hook it has calmly swum off! If the water I am shing doesnt have large numbers of nuisance sh or craysh, I treat the smallest indication with suspicion and am not comfortable until I have checked the rig. After a couple of bleeps I will give it an amount of time until I have to wind that rig in and check. Also, whenever I wind my rods in, even though I have no indication, I always look at the positioning of the tube to see if it has slipped back and I have been done.

005

Push the silicone down to the bend and leave a 10mm gap between the bait and hook. Secure Knotless Knot style.

006

Next cut off 15mms of 0.5mm Diffusion Shrink Tubing and then cut one end at a 45-degree angle as shown.

007

Using a baiting needle, pierce the tubing below the angle and pull your hooklink through to create a Line-Aligner.

008

I always test the nished rig in the palm of my hand. If its correct, it should turn and grab hold straightaway. 047

WHAT RIG...

THE CHOD RIG

VERY POPULAR, YET VERY EFFECTIVE

Take your chosen lead, cut the swivel off and tie the leadcore onto the loop of the lead using a Two-Turn Blood Knot.

001

002

Thread on a threeand-a-half inch piece of 2.0mm silicon and position it over the loop of the lead.

003

Now thread on a short piece of 0.5mm silicon down the leadcore and position it just above the 2.0mm piece.

004

Next thread a 5mm bead onto a baiting needle and transfer it onto the leadcore. Then push it towards the silicon.

005

Once youve threaded it down to the silicon, moisten and push the bead over the top. Itll look like this.

006

Take a long 10-inch length of Korda Mouthtrap and a size 5 Stiff Rigger and pass through the hook eye.

007

Tie a Two-Turn Blood Knot or a Snell Knot (both shown in the Knot section) to the hook and tease it down.

008

Take a rig ring and pass it onto the tag end of hooklink material. Now push the tag back through the eye.

Take a lighter and very gently blob the end of the tag using the ame. Do this carefully and dont burn the hooklink.

009
048

010

Now take the other end of the hooklink, put it through the eye of a size-11 ring swivel and double it back.

011

Its time to tie a Three-Turn Blood Knot to the swivel. Wrap the tag around the hooklink three times and grip tightly.

012

Now push the tag back through the loop closest to the swivel, moisten and tease the knot down like so.

ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

ADVICE FROM THE PERSON WHO MAKES THE GEAR: ESPS DAVE ELLYATT ON HOW TO GET THE CHOD SECTION JUST RIGHT
DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS/ EDGES WHEN IT COMES TO HANDLING AND TYING THE STIFF BRISTLE FILAMENT? I cut off about a 12-inch length of Bristle Filament and then holding one end between my teeth, run my ngers down it quite vigorously to remove any twist, warm it up a bit and make it more manageable. You could also steam it to make it completely straight but I have never found this necessary. HOW MANY TURNS AROUND THE HOOK SHANK HAVE YOU FOUND BEST AND DOES THIS DIFFER DEPENDING ON THE HOOK SIZE? It depends on the size of D that you want, but remember the more turns around the hook, the heavier it becomes, which could affect the buoyancy of the pop-up. For a classic smallish D that looks right in relation to the size of the hook and the thickness of the Bristle Filament, I use eight turns on a size 4 Stiff Rigger (20lb Bristle Filament), seven on a size 5 (20lb) and six on a size 6 (15lb). AND FINALLY, HOW DO YOU BLOB THE TAG END? DO YOU MELT IT AND THEN TAP IT AGAINST THE LIGHTER TO FORM A FLAT EDGE OR DO YOU LEAVE IT SO YOUVE ACTUALLY GOT A BULB? I prefer to blob the tag end leaving the bulb untouched. Using a bait needle to shape the D, I pull the bulb back into the eye where it tends to nd an interference t due to the slightly tapered shape of the bulb. I have also used the lighter to atten the blob whilst it is still soft to create a nail head. This looks nice and neat and locates at up against the eye. Its all down to personal preference really and what you think looks right. You could argue that the bulb protrudes slightly from the eye, marginally reducing the gape of the hook but I dont think either method makes a difference to the performance of the rig. 049

RIG TIP

Take hold of the swivel between two ngers in one hand and the hook in the other and gently curve the hooklink.

013

Take a long length of ESP Super Floss; this is what youre going to use to attach the bait to the ring.

014

Now tie a simple Overhand Knot, followed by a second. This is the knot that will secure the pop-up to the oss.

015

Place the bait into the middle of the loop and gently tighten it down around the pop-up. Make sure it is central.

016

017

You now attach the pop-up to the rig ring. Use a double Overhand Knot and blob the ends with a lighter.

Finally, thread the Chod hooklink down the leadcore and then add another piece of silicon and another bead above it

018

WHAT RIG

SUPER CURVED CHOD RIGS

HOW TO TIE AN AGGRESSIVE CHOD RIG ALMOST WITHY POOL STYLEE!

So it seems every man and his dog have been engulfed into Chodmania with it being a very popular rig presentation. Fishing it differently to the norm with a super aggressive curve and a loop knot tied to the swivel may seem alien to many, but its a ploy that can be super effective and this is how you curve this devastating adaptation!

001

YOU SHOPPING NEED TOLIST KNOW

Some stiff hooklink material wed recommend either ESPs Stiff Bristle Filament or Kordas Mouthtrap which is very easy to work with. Chod style hooks. If you like beaked points, then go for Kordas Choddy hooks whereas if you prefer a straight point, then opt for either ESPs Stiff Riggers or Atomic Tackles Chodda hook. Like we mention in the stepby-step, opt for a larger rig ring over a smaller one this will allow for more movement. Solars Ball Bearing Swivels rotate so smoothly, it just makes them the perfect choice to go with this set-up.

Take a length of your Chod Rig material and hook and connect the hook using a Six-Turn Knotless Knot, leaving a short tag to form your D. Now take a large size rig ring and thread it onto the tag, passing it through the eye of the hook and blob with a lighter. The big rig ring allows lots of movement for your bait.

002

Next take a size 11 Ring Swivel (although Solars Ball Bearing Swivels are better as they rotate much smoother) and pass it onto the other end of the hooklink and tie a small Overhand Loop Knot and pull down tight. Now take your thumb and forenger and rub the hooklink material to warm it up slightly as shown.

003

With one hand, hold the knot (loop) that attaches your swivel and the other the whipping on the hook and slowly but gently ex the hooklink material into a curve. You want to start curving one end of the rig rst if you try doing the whole thing in one go itll kink and wont sit straight and neat.

004

Start the curve gradually and slowly ex it into a more aggressive angle. This will take time so dont rush it because like weve just mentioned, you will kink the Mouthtrap material, so take your time.

005

As you rub the rig, keep checking to make sure the curve is straight and not kicking the hook out at an aggressive angle. The hooklink material needs to be curved straight so it sits correctly.

006

Once your curve is aggressive and straight, tie on your chosen super buoyant pop-up. Make sure you not only check the sharpness of your hook after every cast but you also check the curve of your Chod.

050

ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

THE INVISIBLE BREAKAWAY CHOD RIG

MAIN LINE When shing into weed you need a hardcore main line something like Gardners GR60 or their HydroTUFF in 15 or 18lb breaking strains. Its very important not to put any lumps of putty up the line to help sink it. TWO SEMI-FIXED STOPS To hold the Chod Rig in place, you must use the Small Korda Sinkers. To ease with passing them up the main line, simply wet the line rst. To sit on top of the Sinkers, use Kordas 4mm Rubber Beads. THE DISTANCE To ensure the rig is shing in any depth of weed, position these stops right up the line anything up to eight or nine foot. STRONG RING For this rig to work effectively you need to lose the lead on the take. Take a pair of wire cutters and remove the ring from a exi-swivel and tie this to the end of your main line. ROTTEN BOTTOM This is the weak link that connects the lead to the main line. 3lb mono is the recommended breaking strain. You want to make this link about six-inches as itll snap quite easily on the take then. If youre casting longish distances, simply PVA tape this link to the ring. LIGHT(ISH) LEAD Use the lightest lead you can get away with. The less dense the lead the less it will penetrate into the weed.

THEY CANT SEE IT, YOUR HOOKBAIT IS PRESENTED PERFECTLY AND IT MAKES FISHING IN WEED CHILDS PLAY. AWESOME!

First off, you dont want to sh this with the Chod Rig running on the main line its meant to be semi-xed. On paper, its the simplest and most straightforward rig to construct. No leadcore, no tubing, no leader knots, no nothing for weed to clog and snag around. The lead can be ditched the moment you get a take and that of course means the sh hasnt got anything to help lose the hook against. You get 100% perfect presentation regardless of how much weed is out there and best of all, its almost totally invisible. Lets start with the basics. You want the Chod Rig xed up the line, as this will ensure it doesnt snag on the weed. The way you cast and sink the line is also very important too, as is the way you balance your pop-up. The nal part of the jigsaw is how you set your indicator: it must be on the deck so the line can be shed totally slack. Right, heres now to construct it

GETTING THE CAST RIGHT BECAUSE THIS MAKES A MASSIVE DIFFERENCE You want to make a light, controlled cast, which is feathered and plopped in generally. Sink the lead on a tight line and once it hits bottom, apply minimal amounts of pressure to pull the line under the surface as you want the Chod Rig to settle generally over the weed, not be pulled it into it.

051

WHAT RIG...

THE HINGED STIFF LINK DEVELOPED AND POPULARISED BY THE LEGEND THAT IS TERRY HEARN
(SEE PAGE 52), THE HINGED STIFF LINK RIG IS THE PERFECT POP-UP RIG FOR WHEN FISHING OVER A BED OF BOILIES

TYING ON HOOKBAITS Working on the percentage game? Then use a bait oss that matches the colour of your hookbait.

CUTTING To make the job of threading the Bristle Filament back through the eye of the hook, make sure you cut the end at an angle.

001

These are the components you will require to tie this fantastic rig.

STEAMING Bristle Filament can be a tricky material to tie. To improve it, hold the material over steam and pull it tight so it goes straight. Once youve tied the rig, repeat the process but this time start working the curve.

006

Whip the tag back down the shank, over the loop ve or six times.

011
052
ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

Carefully form an arc in the Bristle Filament and you will have formed a Chod Rig.

002

Snip off a section of stiff ESP Bristle Filament using Razorblades.

Tie on a size 11 Ring Swivel using a simple Two- or ThreeTurn Blood Knot.

003

004

Poke the other tag end through the eye of your Choddy hook, like so.

Double it back over so that the tag is now pointing towards the swivel. This will form a loop.

005

007

Now place the tag end back through the loop you have created as shown here.

008

Moisten and then pull everything down tightly using a dedicated Pulla.

Place a Rig Ring onto the tag end and then poke back through the eye of the hook.

009

010

Blob the tag end, as this will prevent the line from pulling back through the eye.

012

15lb IQ2 is great to form the boom section of the rig as its almost invisible.

Tie the boom section to the rig youve created using a trusted knot.

013

To pin down your pop-up and keep everything neat, roll some putty over the swivel.

014

Tie your pop-up on (p31), attach the rig to a lead system and youre ready to go.

015

053

WHAT RIG...

HOW TO TIE THE QUICK AND EASY WITHY POOL

THE WITHY POOL RIG: DEADLY BUT PREVIOUSLY A PAIN TO TIE. THANKS TO FOX, THOUGH, THATS NOW ALL CHANGED

001

Above are all of the components that you will need to tie the quick and easy Withy Pool Rig.

002

Start off by cutting a 10-inch length of Coretex and removing three-inches of the outercoating as weve done here.

Attach your hook to the braided section with a simple Three-Turn Blood Knot. Wet and then bed the knot down.

003

004

Next, carefully thread one of the new Fox Withy/Curve Shank Adaptor onto the Coretex hooklink like so.

005

Gently work the sleeve down the hooklink and into position over the eye of your chosen hook pattern.

006

The next step is to thread a Micro Hook Ring Swivel on to the shank of the hook, with the ring on the shank.

007
054

Now carefully thread a Rig Stop onto the bend of the hook as illustrated in this image.
ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

008

You will then take a six-inches length of Bait Floss, yellow is good if your hookbait is yellow!

Thread the oss through the top eye of the Hook Swivel so you have three-inches either side.

009

010

Now thread your chosen pop-up hookbait onto both lengths of Bait Floss as shown, and thread it down towards the swivel.

011

Keep sliding the hookbait down the bait oss until the Micro Swivel sits inside the hookbait like this.

012

Trim away the excess Bait Floss so you only have two small tags sticking out of the end youll use these to really secure it.

Take a lighter and carefully burn the remaining tag ends and then blob it against the hookbait. Its now secure.

013

014

The hookbait is now secured on the swivel this is a very fast and neat way of attaching your chosen hookbait!

Finally, mould some tungsten putty around the base of the Withy Adaptor to critically-balance your pop-up.

015

The Withy Pool Pop-Up Rig is now complete and should look just like this!

016

SHOPPING LIST

001 Fox Coretex hooklink material 002 Fox Withy/Curve Shank Adaptors 003 Fox Micro Hook Swivel Swivels 004 Fox Arma Point size 8 005 Fox Sliding Ring & Rig Stops 055

WHAT RIG...

THE SIT UP AND BEG RIG MAX COTTISS LATEST CREATION. IN A WORD: DEADLY!
A CREATION OF TOP CARPER, MAX COTTIS, THE SIT UP AND BEG RIG IS DESIGNED TO BE FISHED WITH A POPUP. THANKS TO THE LONG SWEEPING CURVE THATS CREATED FROM THE SHRINK TUBING, ITS A RIG THAT SPINS AND GRABS HOLD EXTREMELY QUICKLY AND EASILY.

001

Hooklink-wise, Max uses an eight-inch length of ACEs awesome Camo Core in 25lb.

002

First off, tie a Knotless Knot and then create a D-Rig leaving a three-inch tag end.

Thread two-inches of shrink tube down over both ends of hooklink and steam to create a curve.

003

004

Add an ACE Tungsten Bead to the tag end and then use a lighter to blob this down to secure it.

005
056
ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

The nished rig. The aggressive angle of the hook hugely helps the point to take hold when a carp picks up the bait. Theyre nailed!

006

And heres the proof that the Sit Up And Beg Rig is such a good carp-catcher. Fish pop-ups? Give this a go!

WHAT RIG

THE SHORTER I GO, THE MORE BITES I GET!

VERSATILE PRESSURED WATER ACE MARK BARTLETT REVEALS A RIG AND BAG SET-UP THATS RIPPING WATERS APART FOR HIM RIGHT NOW

PVA G BAGGIN

LEADCORE ACE Hard-On Leadcore, used between four-inches and 1ft long. Mark sees little need in using really long lengths, as it can stand out like a sore thumb on the lakebed.

HOOKBAITS Heres how to make Bartletts wafters Q 30% Mainline Polaris Pop-Up Mix Q 70% Sieved Mainline High Leakage Mix Q Baits are un-avoured when made, but soaked in the following: 10 drops N-Butyric Acid (yes, 10!) and 2ml Mainline Sweet-Ade

KNOTS To attach his rigs, Mark used the Figure-Of-Eight Loop Knot. This way he can have dozens of rigs pre-tied at exactly the same length. He learnt from match shing with Method feeders that 1cm longer or shorter is enough to make a difference.

PUTTY Mark uses Kryston Heavy Metal Extra. It binds itself to the braid much better than any other putty and doesnt even need to be wrapped around coils of lead wire.

058

ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

CONSTRUCT BARTLETTS WINNING BAG NAILER

HOW TO

001

Mark uses a light gauge hook with a small amount of shrink tubing as a kicker. The hookbait is a wafter loaded with N-Butyric acid. Smelly!

002

Note the tungsten putty rolled around the rig. This helps pin the braid to the lakebed, rather than it exiting too high from the lead.

An Avid Carp In-Line Groove Lead is used, shed drop-off style, with a short length of leadcore which is used as a leader material around the lead.

003

004

Its not revolutionary by rig inventing standards, but its certainly revolutionised Marks shing over the past few years. Get on it!

005

Mark has had a huge hand in developing these solid PVA bagging products this year. Hes sure its a major edge for him.

006

10mm wafters made with 30% pop-up mix. It creates a buoyancy where the hookbait itself still sits on the lakebed.

007

Note the longer set-up on the right. This was the type of thing Mark used before he cottoned on to using much shorter links.

008

A feeding carp doesnt have to move far to get nailed by this beauty, and as soon as it shakes its head, the leads gone. 059

WHAT RIG

BAGS FOR BRUTES

YES, YOU MIGHT THINK YOU CAN TIE A PVA BAG PERFECTLY, BUT DO YOURS LOOK LIKE THIS?

001

Mark uses smaller bags when targeting bigger carp. Note how hes nicked the hook point through the base of the Transfer bag.

002

An Avid Bag Loader helps Mark scoop his pellet mixture into the bag, whilst the groove on the loader holds the leadcore leader.

Once loaded, Mark removes the Bag Loader so he can begin patting the sides of the bag to compact the pellet mixture further.

003

004

Transfer PVA Tape is then used to tie off the bag. Hold the bag closed tight and wrap the tape around the top to keep the shape.

005

Mark keeps pinching the corners of the bag to create a little envelope fold. This helps streamline the bag when licking and sticking.

006

As you can see, the folds are large on Marks bags. This also provides added protection when the bag hits the lake surface at speed.

007

Any excess PVA at the top of the bag is trimmed away neatly. Twisting the PVA and licking it as some recommend isnt as neat.

008

The completed presentation: a solid bag thats solid as a rock and sure to have the alarms melting as quick as the PVA!

The Bag Loader will help anyone tie bags this neatly, grins Mark. This bag will now cast straighter and further.

009
060

010

This is how Mark expects the melted bag to look when broken down in water. Its certainly increased his catch-rate.

ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

WHAT RIG...

THE ADJUSTABLE ZIG RIG UNDERUSED, OVERLOOKED, MISUNDERSTOOD: ALL THESE WORDS ARE VERY
RELEVANT WHEN ZIG RIGS ARE DISCUSSED. THE METHOD IS OFTEN CONSIDERED TOO COMPLICATED, BUT WITH THE ADJUSTABLE ZIG RIG THAT ISNT THE CASE

001

These are the components you will require in order to tie the Zig-Float Rig.

002

Place a lead free running on the line. The bigger the oat the bigger the lead as a rule.

Follow the lead with a 4mm Rubber Bead. This is used to cushion the lead.

003

004

Next push your main line through the middle of a Sub-Float as shown here.

006

Your rig should now be looking like this almost nearly ready to go.

007

Create a Hair in the Double Strength and thread a sliver of yellow foam on.

008

Fix your piece of yellow foam in place with a dedicated Hair stop like we have here.

Place the tag end of your hooklength through a Korda Mixa Hook like we have done here.

009

011
062

Whip the Mixa Hook on using the tried and tested Knotless Knot method as shown.

012

After whipping down the shank, whip two turns back up it. This holds the knot tightly.

Place the tag back through the eye and tighten. It will now look like this.

013

Tie your hooklength, which should be around 3ft, to the Micro Rig Ring.

014

ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

005

Tie your main line to a Micro Rig Ring, like so using a trusted knot Grinner, Palomar.

BAIT TIPS HAMIDIS EDGES WHEN IT COMES TO ZIG HOOKBAITS

010

Your hookbait should be sitting as close as possible to the shank of the hook.

A A truly awesome Zig Bait is imitation boilies, and a good tip is to soak them in a avour for extra appeal - strawberry is a good one. B Another classic Zig Rig bait is foam. Its mega buoyant and will hold the hook up forever. Plus, it comes a massive selection of different colours. C You cant beat a mini pop-up. These mini ones from Mainline are proven winners!

Finally, hook on a PVA bag full of PVA nuggets. This will prevent it from tangling.

015

C
063

T A WH S G I R E H T S O R P . . . E S U
FEATURING
066 GAZ FAREHAM A RIG FOR A FIFTY 068 DUNCAN MACLEAN THE MULTI RIG WITH A DIFFERENCE 070 ADAM PENNING THE ULTIMATE SURFACE SET-UP 072 JON SHOES JONES THE STIFF HAIRED CHOD 074 NIGEL SHARP THE STIFF BOTTOM BAIT RIG 076 KEVIN NASH THE REVERSE CHOD RIG 078 MARTIN LOCKE THE WEED RIG 080 LEWIS READ THE FATAL RIG 082 IAN CHILLCOTT THE GO-ANYWHERE-RIG
065

PROS RIGS...

GAZ M A H E R A F

A RIG FOR A FIFTY

BIG FISH ANGLER AND ALL-ROUND NICE GUY, GAZ FAREHAM REVEALS HIS BLOW-BACK BALANCED SET-UP THE ONE THAT NAILED HEATHER THE LEATHER AT OVER FIFTY-POUNDS

Ive used the rig with a number of different hookbaits over the years but my two favourites are a balanced tiger nut or a balanced boilie. To be honest, you could use any hookbait with the rig, but I always balance, or counterbalance, my hookbaits out and rmly believe it is one of the major reasons why I get such consistent and positive hook holds. I use an old Fox Nut Drill and the ESP Cork Plugs to do my balancing. I simply drill out a carefully chosen nut until its almost all the way through, pop in the plug and snip off any excess neatly. The right buoyancy might seem like only a minor point, but is actually one of the most vital to the success of the rig. I like a decent length Hair, generally about three-quarters-of-an-inch and have found this to produce the best and most consistent hook holds, particularly with the balanced hookbaits and bigger sh. The separation that is achieved between the bait and hook by the ring and Hair length is vital. I use the tiny Korda Micro Rig Rings as I like the way it sits neatly and tight to the hook. I set my ring as

066

ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

far down the hook as it will go before sliding around the bend, this aids the turning potential of the hook but still sits at a critical point where it wont pivot the hook out on ejection once its pricked. The last key point that makes a small, but signicant difference to the effectiveness of the rig is that I tie two Overhand Knots to secure the ring in place. Aside from stopping it slipping, it also forces the ring to sit at a 90 angle to the hook, keeping everything

aligned and working as intended, rather than sitting all crooked and wonky like it does with just a single Overhand. A simple Knotless Knot nishes the simple set-up. I use predominantly a size 6 Wide Gape for this rig and I like the extra gape and hooking potential the 6 gives and when balancing your hookbaits out with some added buoyancy, the size of the hook becomes less relevant, as long as it is all balanced up nicely. As for the shrink tube extension, I

use Kordas Small gauge Shrink Tube in whichever colour suits the bottom. I personally think its the best shrink tube out there; it has nice thin walls, shrinks down easily to a small diameter and retains its shape excellently. I used to use quite long shrink tube extensions but have found that a neater, small one does the job just as well and is much less obtrusive and clumsy, especially with the smaller hookbaits like a tiger nut. I just cover the Knotless Knot and leave a few millimetres past the eye.

TIE GAZS BALANCED TIGER NUT SET-UP

HOW TO

001

Tiger nuts, drill and cork plugs: essential items for Gazs balance tiger nut rig.

002

Start off by drilling out three-quarters of a tiger nut like so.

Plug the end with a cork stick. It should sit almost ush like it does here.

003

004

Tie your Hair, mount the bait and then tie on a rig ring as shown.

005

The Hair length wants to be about three-quarters-ofan-inch.

006

Set the ring as far down the hook as it will go before sliding around the bend.

007

With the Hair secured via the Knotless Knot, add a piece of shrink tubing.

008

Shrink the tubing down and position at a slight angle and its ready to go. 067

PROS RIGS...

N A C N U D EAN MACL

DUNCANS VERSION OF THE MULTI RIG ONE OF THE COUNTRYS FINEST YOUNG TALENTS ONLY USES
A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT PRESENTATIONS AND HERES ONE OF THEM: HIS TAKE ON THE ULTRA EFFECTIVE MULTI RIG

068

ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

RIG TIP
Q Duncan always likes to create a large Figure-OfEight-Loop Knot at the end of his hooklengths, as this really helps to kick the rig away from the lead.

These are the components that Duncan uses for his version of the Multi Rig.

001

002

To start, form a loop of around 30mm in some 20lb N-Trap hooklink material.

Pass the loop through the front of the hooks eye Duncan uses Choddy hooks.

003

With the hook in place, now add a Small Rig Ring like weve done here.

004

005

Now pass the loop over the point and round onto the hook like shown.

Remove some of the coating from the tag end and attach a large shot to it.

006

007

Again, remove some coating from beneath the knot, this will add movement.

Set the D like this and attach a pop-up using your chosen method.

008

009

The rig should look like this, easy to change both the hook and the bait and a great carp-catcher. 069

PROS RIGS...

ADAMING PENN

ADAMS FLOATER SET-UP ADAM PENNING: EXCEPTIONAL ALL-ROUND ANGLER, BUT HE

REALLY EXCELS WHEN IT COMES TO SURFACE FISHING. HERES HIS VERY CLEVER YET VERY SIMPLE CONTROLLER SET-UP

BUT FIRST... HOW TO SPOD MIXERS SOMETIMES THE FISH WILL BE OUT OF CATAPULT RANGE SO HERES THE
METHOD TO GETTING YOUR FREE FLOATING BAITS OUT TO THEM

Firstly you need to three-quarter ll your spod with your chosen surface bait whether thats good old Chum Mixers or purposedesigned oating carp pellets. If you ll it to the top, the Mixers will spill out of the rocket in ight.

001

002

Dunk the spod quickly into the water to lubricate the Mixers, as this will help them stick a bit better in the spod and minimise any spod spill. If you are using a spod that doesnt feature any holes this will also add casting weight for maximised distance.

003

Cast the spod as you would normally and just before the spod hits the surface, feather it and then nally stop the line with your nger to make the spod lay down quietly on the surface. Doing it this way, it stops the spod from bombing in.

004

As soon as it hits the water, pull back hard and quickly, this will make the spod somersault in the air chucking the Mixers out the top of the spod over your spot, it is best to do it two or three times to empty the entire contents of the spod.

070

ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

If the line starts sinking, run it through a lipsil to grease it Q Colour your Interceptors white with Tip-Ex for added visibility Q Fish as ne as you can Q Take bulk cheap feed for the birds

RIG TIPS

You want to start off by taking an 5-8ft length of N-Gauge line, as shown here.

001

002

Whip the Hair tight to the shank, making turns above and below the Hair.

Add a piece of silicone to the hook eye; this will open up the gape and aid in hooking.

003

Now start to trim the sides of a chosen pop-up to create your hookbait.

004

005

Cut a groove into the bait; this will help the bait sit nicely against the shank of the hook.

006

What Adam is showing you here is what you are aiming to achieve with the groove.

007

Attach the hookbait to your Hair. It should sit like this the hook tight to the shank.

Using a stick of bait stops will make it easier to get the Hair stop through the Hair loop.

008

009

And there it is the nished rig should look like this perfect for oater shing.

Now attach your oat today Adam is using the Interceptors most of the time.

010

Tie on a size-11 ring swivel. Thread the oat onto the main line and attach the hooklength.

011

The swivel is then plugged into the bottom of the controller and its now ready to cast out.

012

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JON S HAIR RAISING IDEAS SHOE JONES

Chods. Suffice to say, there are probably more anglers using this little set-up than any other at the moment. Rather than trying to nd a clear spot, its often a better idea to nd the sh and bang a few Chods out, but with every angler shing the rig in a similar way, what can you do to throw a spanner in the works for carp? Go old school, says Jon Shoes Jones. In fact, the Avid Carp chief believes the original version of the rig is much better than using a D set-up. Im not giving the carp loads of credit here, but its true that they can learn by association and with every man and his dog using Choddies youve got to consider some sort of personal tweak if youre serious about catching big sh from tricky waters, he explains. The set-up, as it was then, was semixed up the line between two beads, only 1cm apart. You knew the rig would settle wherever you set it from the lead, and when the carp picked it up, theyd feel the full forces of lead, the weight of the line or leader, and tension between lead and rod tip. The Stiff Hair is just a confuser. If they want the bait, the hooks got to come with it, and in their mouth it just seems to bamboozle them. Shoes also uses a lasso attachment so he doesnt have to pierce his baits. Using 20lb Amnesia in Clear, he ties a hangmans noose (aka a Grinner Knot) around his hookbaits, which are usually something extremely buoyant. The buoyancy in a Chod or Short Rig is essential, because you want the two forces of nature pulling against each other to create tension in the rig, which will ultimately help it spin 360 degrees to nail a carp in the bottom lip, he says. So how does he set the lead arrange072

OLD SCHOOL OR NEW SCHOOL? IF WERE TALKING CHODDIES, THEN AVID HEAD HONCHO JON SHOES JONES SAYS YOU MIGHT NEED TO LOOK AT THE 1980S FOR INSPIRATION

ment up? I use the Avid Chod Beads, of course, because I prefer the rig to be semi-xed rather than ying, he tells us. I will use a ying version for areas of mixed weed and Im testing and developing new products that suit this style of shing at the moment, but for most instances simply threading a Chod Bead onto my main line is enough.

ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

TIE SHOES STIFF HAIRED CHOD RIG

HOW TO

YOU NEED

Q Stiff hooklink material, Q Hookbait: Shoes recommends Avid something like ESPs Stiff Bristle Carps HIGHLITES. Filament or Kordas Mouthtrap. Q Chod Beads: super safe and easy to use. Q Your choice of Chod hook ESPs Q Chod Buffer: Again, by Avid and a lovely Stiff Riggers or Kordas Chodda Hooks little product for covering the swivel/ both come highly recommended. quick-change link at the lead end. It just neatens everything up. Q Some size 11 ring swivels.

001

Here are the components you need for Shoes Stiff Haired Chod Rigs.

002

Start by tying a Grinner Knot in some heavy uorocarbon or Amnesia.

This lassos around the buoyant 10mm HIGHLITE hookbait, like this.

003

004

Tie your favourite Chod hook on with a standard Knotless Knot as shown.

005

Using a Two- or Three-Turn Blood Knot, attach a size11 ring swivel.

006

Shoes likes using proper length Choddies, with a slight curve in the material.

007

These revised Avid Chod Beads are now grippier, perfect for naked Chods.

008

Thread the safe end of the bead directly onto your main line as so.

This is followed by your rig and then the grippier part of the Chod Bead.

009

010

You can pre-set these Chod Beads as far from the lead as you like.

011

This Chod Buffer is then threaded onto the line to go over the lead.

012

A Distance Swivel lead nishes off the set-up perfectly. Get em on it! 073

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L E IN G T I R N A M E P R K A C O H L S
What can you say about Nigel Sharp that hasnt been said before? The man is a carpcatching machine, who has played a massive role in the development of the Hinged Stiff Link and Chod Rig. And although he does like his pop-up shing, Nige does sh hard-on-the-deck from time-to-time and when he does, this rig is his rst port of call.

STIFF BOTTOM D-RIG

ITS NIGEL SHARPS BOTTOM BAIT PRESENTATION!

RIG TIP
If Im shing over machinegun-gravel in gin clear water, use Clear Amnesia or uorocarbon for my Stiff Bottom D-Rig, as it blends in better thanthe black version.
Q

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001

You dont actually require a lot to tie up Nigels Stiff Bottom D-Rig. Amnesia, Stiff Rigger Hooks, rig rings, lighter and some bait oss.

002

Take a length of Amnesia and pass it through the eye of your chosen hook (it must have an out-turned eye) like so.

003

To secure the hook to the hooklink material, you want to use a standard Knotless Knot. Make six or seven turns around the shank.

004

Now thread on a small rig ring to the tag end of the hooklink material and pass it back through the eye of the hook like so.

Just as you do with your Chod Rigs, use a lighter to blob the end of the tag which will create a bulb and stop it pulling back through.

005

006

And there you have it we said it was simple! To this you need to mount your bottom bait and you do this with bait oss.

007

Thread your hookbait onto a baiting needle and then take a length of bait oss, double it over and attach it to the needle.

008

Pull your hookbait from the baiting needle and onto the length of bait oss. Secure the bait with a Hair stop.

Now all you need to do is simply tie the two ends of the bait oss to the rig ring using a couple of Granny Knots. Job done!

009

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KEVIN NASH

THE REVERSE CHOD RIG

PUTTING A NEW ANGLE ON THE WORLDS MOST-LOVED RIG

Kevin Nash: a big sh legend and the man who invented the Blowback Rig. Now hes come up with his version of the Chod Rig one which incorporates his companys amazing Twister hook which actually opens the gape up, offering far superior hooking capabilities. Heres how you tie it

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001

Start off by taking a length of your Chod hooklink material and pass one end through the back of a Nash Twister.

002

Next, whip around the hook shank (in Knotless Knot style) 14 times or as many turns so youre level with the hooks point.

Now whip back up the hook shank three times and pass the tag end through the front of the eye not the back.

003

004

Take the tag end of the Chod material, pass on a small rig ring and pass the end back through the hooks eye.

005

To secure the tag end and to stop the rig ring coming off, use a lighter to blob the end and to create a small bulb.

006

On the other end, take a small exi-ring swivel and pass this on and then double the hooklink material back on itself.

007

Make a loop in the hooklink material and tie an Overhand Loop Knot this adds movement and exibility to the rig.

008

And heres the nished set-up. Thanks to the way the hook is whipped on, it creates a lovely big, wide gape.

Kevin has used this style of Chod Rig for the last couple of years and has had some truly stunning carp on it.

009

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IN MARTE LOCK

THE WEEDEFFECT MULTI RIG

OFFICIALLY THE WORLDS MOST CAMO RIG!

Martin Locke has changed the world of end tackle camouage thanks to his Weedeffect collection. Where previously we had Silt Black or Weedy Green, now we have what looks like the real thing and better still, you can actually buy the same rig Lockie uses! Its a 100% camo version of the Multi Rig a perfect set-up which means you dont ever have to tie up a new rig again! Thanks to a clever method of mounting the hook, it means you can switch between hook shape and size with total ease and heres how

001
078

To remove the hook, simply slide the silicone sleeve up off the hook eye.
ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

002

Pull the loop down and pass over the hook and off through the eye.

003
the eye.

To replace it, use a thin boilie needle, pull the loop through

If youre using a bottom bait, then make the D larger. By doing so, the hook will sit straighter and the top of the bait will be positioned on the bend of the hook. When shing with a popup, you want the bait to be held nearer to the eye of the hook than the bend and to achieve this simply make the loop smaller.

RIG TIP

004

Once youve threaded on your chosen hook, replace the Hair ring.

005

Pass the hook through the loop and adjust to the required position.

006

Now all you need to do is mount your chosen hookbait and get it out there! 079

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LEWIS READ

THE FATAL RIG

ITS LEWIS READS TAKE ON THE AWESOME 360 RIG

Lewis Read: capturer of some of the nest carp to swim in this land Heather The Leather, The Royal 40 and a real tinkerer when it comes to rigs. Alongside the Chod Rig, this is currently Lewis favourite popup presentation, and although it might look a little cumbersome with all the swivels and rig rings, it is in actual fact these components that make this rig so damn effective.

001
080

Here are the components youll need to tie Lewiss deadly Fatal Rig: hooks, hook beads, rings and putty.

002

Take a Mugga hook and pass the swivel end of a size 12 Flexi-Ring Swivel over the hook point.

With the swivel on, he stops this from coming off the hook by threading on a Gardner Hook Stop.

003

004

Next, pass over the hook point a Gardner Tackle (Small) Rig Ring. You will be mounting your hookbait to this.

ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

005

And nally, to lock this onto the hook shank and stop it coming off, thread on another Hook Stop.

006

To the ring thats attached to the swivel, tie on your chosen hooklink material in Lewis case, Chod Skin.

007

Because this rig is shed with a buoyant bait, Lewis uses tungsten putty to counterbalance the pop-up.

008

At the other end, he ties a FigureOf-Eight-Loop Knot and then attaches it via a quickchange link. 081

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Y L L I H C

IAN CHILLCOTTS SIMPLE BALANCED RIG LEADING CARP ANGLER, IAN CHILLY CHILLCOTT REVEALS A
TRIED AND TRUSTED RIG THAT COULDNT BE SIMPLER TO TIE BUT HAS CAUGHT HIM STACKS OF IMPRESSIVE CARP

001

Above are all of the components that Chilly uses to construct this go-anywhere rig set-up.

002

Start by cutting seven- to eightinches of Coretex and strip three-inches of the coating.

You will then need to tie a small Overhand Loop Knot in the exposed braid.

003

004

Thread a 14mm bottom bait, followed by a grain of plastic corn and secure.

005

Next, thread on your SSC hook and secure it in place with a Knotless Knot as shown.

006

Now cut a 1.5cm length of shrink tube and place it over the eye into the position shown.

007

Carefully hold the shrink tube over a steaming kettle until it shrinks down

008

and then create a nice progressive curve in it as illustrated in the above picture.

Chilly then likes to add a couple of blobs of Hi-SG Putty onto the rig to help pin it down.

009
082

010

Need to tie a small Overhand Loop in the end of the rig for use with quick change devices.

011

An anti-tangle sleeve is then threaded onto the rig to help prevent tangles on the cast.

012

The rig is now complete and should sit like this on the lakebed simply devine.

ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

LONG READS...

ON THE DECK

WORLD RENOWNED FOR HIS HINGED STIFF LINK AND CHOD RIG, TERRY FINALLY REVEALS ALL ABOUT THIS BOTTOM BAIT PRESENTATION

HOOKLINK MATERIAL Terry uses a removable outer-coating hooklink material in 20lb BS. This breaking strain means the hooklink is stiff enough to imitate his old school mono hooklinks, but is much, much more robust.

SILICONE HOLDER The short length of silicone tubing is positioned around on the bend of the hook this, when combined with the weight of an 18mm+ boilie, helps kick the rig over.

SHRINK KICKER This isnt set-up linealigner, but simply kicked off slightly when shrunk down over steam. Note this isnt a big kicker around 5mm in length.

HAIR LENGTH Keeping the hook and bait apart is essential, and Tel will have a minimum of 5mm, normally though its around 10mm from the top of the bait to the bend of the hook.

Words Terry Hearn Photography Terry Hearn and CARPology

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MAKING CHANGES In the previous chapter I talked about shing with pop-ups and detailed how I go about tying up my favourite presentations: the Hinged Stiff Link and the Chod Rig. When it comes to shing popped-up boilies these are the rigs youre most likely to nd me using, particularly when Im targeting a particular big un, as I have so much condence in their hooking and holding power. Both presentations are pretty butch, with nice tough hooklink materials and big strong hooks and you only have to look at them to see that theres a good chance of anything hooked ending up in the net. So, Im more than happy with my pop-up rigs, and Ive got to say that if I can get away with using them, then I will. However, what about when I want to sh a bait tight to the deck? What sort of rigs do I go for then? Though nowadays Im very happy with my bottom bait rigs, its not always been the case and so for this chapter Im going to go back, way back, as for sure its my bottom bait presentations that have seen the most changes over the years. THE OLD DAYS The bottom bait rigs that friends and I used to use whilst shing the shallow, silty lakes in the Royal Parks were ever so simple and were generally formed from around 18-inches of 7lb Sylcast with a size 8 Drennan Super Specialist hook tied on to the end with a Whipping Knot. The left over tag of line was then passed back through the eye, with a small loop tied in the end for a Hair. Nice and simple and shing them with our little one-ounce leads it used to work a treat. We caught loads like it and so thats pretty much how my bottom bait presentation stayed for sometime. We thought our rigs were great and being as we were using nice chemically etched hooks they probably were pretty good for the time, as this was way before there was such a large abundance of decent hooks on the market. Back then, if you werent on a Drennan or a Kamatsu hook then you were quite

Back in the day! Caught using my trusted mono hooklinks A golden mid-thirty taken on my modernday bottom bait presentation

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How my bottom bait rig looks today: a coated hooklink material, shrink tubing over the eye and a piece of silicone on the hook shank to trap the Hair

It caught this one out!

likely to be using something that was blunt in comparison and so without really realising it we were already onto an edge. If we were shing somewhere that required stronger tackle then wed just step everything up a bit, going for a size 6 Super Specialist tied to a length of 11lb Sylcast, which back then was seen as absolute brute tactics. My, how things have changed! It was sometime before I got into shing with shorter hooklinks and I remember that at the same time as I started shortening my hooklinks, I also started using the rotary rig (helicopter), with the backstop placed a few inches back up the line. Most of the places I was shing back then were shallow and silty, which is why in the past wed always taken the light lead and long hooklink approach, but looking at the way the rotary rig worked we thought it would be ideal. The way it worked meant that there was no need for a long hooklink anymore, as the hooklink was able to slide up the main line, resting on top 086
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of the silt rather than being dragged down into it. Around the same time I started using another hook from the Drennan stable, the faithful old Carbon Specimens in either an 8 or a 6 and just for a little extra holding power I used to bend the eyes in slightly with a pair of pliers. This wasnt done to make the hook turn better, but of course thats exactly what it achieved and coupled with the shorter hooklinks, which by now were down to around six-inches, it proved to be a very good rig. I even used to slide a small piece of 0.5mm silicone tubing over the eye and knot and although I only ever did this to tidy the rig up, again this slight extension no doubt helped the hook to ip over in the carps mouth. Of course we werent using leadcore leaders back then and so there was always the problem of whatever youd tied the hooklink on to damaging the main line just above the lead, especially during a long ght. Originally we started off using

swivel beads, i.e. a swivel with a plastic bead moulded around one end, but these were still a bit on the dodgy side and it wasnt long before we were looking for an alternative. In the end it was a small hard plastic bead with another hole moulded on to the side of it that we found ideal for the job. I know thats a bit vague but I just cant remember what they were called. Those beads were only made from plastic, but seeing as we were only ever tying light mono hooklinks to them we never ever had them fail on us. If you tried to tie a braided hooklink to them then theyd cut through every time, but with the stretchy mono they were ne. In fact, I carried on using those same rigs right up until my days at Yateley, which is where I rst started to get problems with my usual bottom bait rigs, as all of a sudden I was shing for carp in a whole new set of environments. Basically, my nice subtle rigs with newired hooks and mono hooklinks were no longer up to the job. One of the rst sh I ever hooked on them was

BACK TO BASICS THREADING SILICONE

A rig without a piece of silicone on the shank to hold the Hair in position? Preposterous. Some would call it the rig of Satan. In an era when rig renement is everything, having that little bit of rubberised material on the shank just ensures all is laying correctly when your lead hits the lakebed and the fact it helps the hook turn quicker and offers you the blow-back effect. Theres a couple of problems with silicone tube, says Joe Morgan. First youve got to thread it onto your hooklink material. Then, if you somehow manage that, youve got to get your hook point through it without tearing the side. Its a nightmare. Cue: Joes very clever method

001

Take your piece of silicone and pass it onto a splicing needle.

002

Next carefully pass your hook point through the silicone.

003

Attach your Hair loop to the gate on the splicing needle.

004

Pull the needle and Hair back through the silicone. Job done.

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LONG READS...

in The Pig Swim on The Copse Lake and within seconds I was reeling in a hook that looked more like a baiting needle and so it wasnt long before I was having a rethink. HOOK POINTS Obviously the hooks needed to be stronger, but also the mono that I was forming my rigs from also had to be changed for something stronger and more abrasion resistant. I nished up using Kryston Silkworm and Owner Cutting Points for a while and though it all looked good and I caught sh, it could never match the effectiveness of my old mono rigs with my bent Carbon Specimen hooks. At the time this was largely put down to the fact that everything was being made from less subtle components, but really I think the main reason that mono was as good as it was because of its inherent stiffness and the way it left the eye of the hook, at an angle, just as wed make sure it was doing today with the aid of shrink tubing. 088
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Of course, as the range of hooks and hooklink materials available grew in number, I tried loads of different combinations, but mono was a nono, as it just wasnt up to the job and I always steered clear of tubing as I thought it made my bottom bait rigs look too cluttered. If I did use it, then it was generally just a little piece of silicone covering the knot, but it was clear that the longer shanked hooks with an in-turned eye always seemed that much more effective. The use of the relatively newcoated braids also helped a lot, making tangles more a thing of the past and Im sure their stiffness added to my bottom bait rigs effectiveness. The braid though was still supple where it left the hook eye, which knowing what I know now, made my bottom bait rigs far easier for the carp to deal with. Im sure that the main reason I still enjoyed fair success with my bottom bait presentations was because of how fussy I am with my hook points.

Im sure that others are nowhere near as fussy and thats a serious edge in itself. Even today I can guarantee that if I were to walk around a lake asking people to reel in Id nd that many of them were casting out hooks that arent sharp enough. I know that may sound a little mad but believe me, its the truth. Every so often Ive come across a batch of hooks that are nice and consistent with virtually everyone out the packet being usable, but Ive got to tell you thats pretty rare and for the most part Im looking at throwing at least a couple away out of every packet. In fact, with one of my most favourite hooks of all, I used to be looking at around fty percent sharp and fty percent dulled, which means if I wasnt fussy enough to check them I would have been cutting my chances down by half. If you want to do that then just take the one rod with you. Ive said it over and over again, but to a carp angler the hook point should be the number one concern.

TODAYS PRESENTATION Thankfully Im glad to say that Im very happy with my bottom bait presentation today and over the past couple of years Ive made sure to include a small piece of shrink tubing shrunk down to create an angle at the hooks eye. As well as this shrink tube, I also trap the Hair right round on the bend with a small piece of 0.5mm silicone tubing, which I believe to be just as important as an aid in helping the hook to ip over and take hold, even more so with the added weight of a bottom bait on the Hair. Friends had been telling me to try shing my bottom bait rigs in this way for a long, long time before I eventually gave in and in the end it was at one of the angling shows, chatting to Danny and Damo from Korda that made me sit up and take notice. We were doing a talk and they were showing their bottom bait rigs to the punters, but they werent the only ones impressed with how well the hook turned and I made my mind up there and then that Id have it on my own rods next trip out. Funny enough, someone else whod been telling me to add a nice piece of shrink tubing on to my hooks was Alan Welch, the main inuence behind the Stiff Links, and so that was three good anglers all telling me I needed to make some changes. I was shing Pingewood near Reading at the time and the rst time I added a piece of shrink tubing to my rigs I hooked and landed three in a single sitting. Next trip out and more of the same. In fact, over the following few weeks I went on to land pretty much everything I hooked. Suddenly my condence in my bottom bait boilie presentation had grown to that of the Stiff Links and since then Ive kept them exactly the same, using either ESP Big Ts or, if the bottoms gravelly, the beaked pointed Korda Wide Gapes, both in the 6s. I can honestly say that nowadays Im as happy with my bottom bait presentation as I am with my pop-ups, and that really means a lot, as in the past Ive often held back from using bottom baits just because of the worry of poor hook holds. All in the past now Im glad to say, so thanks to Danny, Damo and Al for convincing me to make the changes. Terry Hearn

SHRINKING YOUR SHRINK TUBE

THE OLD FASHIONED WAY OF SHRINKING DOWN SHRINK TUBE ONTO A HOOK OR SWIVEL WAS TO HOLD IT WITH FORCEPS OVER THE SPOUT OF A STEAMING KETTLE. THIS WORKS, BUT CAN BE A BIT FIDDLY, AS YOU HAVE TO ROTATE IT TO MAKE SURE ALL THE TUBE GETS AN EVEN AMOUNT OF STEAM. THERE IS ALSO THE RISK OF THE HOOKLINK GETTING SINGED BY THE FLAMES FROM THE STOVE BELOW, WHICH WOULD MEAN STARTING ALL OVER AGAIN. ESPS DAVE ELLYATT HAS A BETTER WAY. I HAVE FOUND THE QUICKEST AND MOST EFFICIENT WAY OF SHRINKING SHRINK TUBE IS TO DUNK THE HOOK OR SWIVEL STRAIGHT INTO A BUBBLING KETTLE FOR ABOUT 10 SECONDS. THIS ENSURES EVEN COVERAGE OF THE TUBE. THEN TAKE IT OUT AND MANIPULATE THE TUBE INTO THE DESIRED SHAPE BEFORE IT COOLS. THERE IS ALSO LESS RISK OF BURNING THE HOOKLINK THIS WAY.

ANGLING BUSHCRAFT

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LONG READS...

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HINGED STIFF LINK

FROM THE MAN WHO TOOK IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL AND USED IT TO CATCH BRUTES SUCH AS HEATHER THE LEATHER, TWO-TONE AND THE MIGHTY MARY, TERRY HEARN EXPLAINS HOW YOU CAN CASH-IN ON THE HINGES SUCCESS

Words Terry Hearn Photography Terry Hearn and CARPology

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THE EARLY VERSIONS The rst early versions of the Stiff Link that I saw were shown to me by a couple of friends, Alan Welch and Andy Kidd. This was during the summer of 95 when I was still chasing the monsters of The Car Park Lake. Both Alan and Andy had been using this pretty mad looking rig to great effect over the previous couple of years and Alan in particular made a real point of telling me how big an edge he felt it had been to his shing. Alan had been shing a small water not too far from Staines, one that contained some pretty nice carp, not just good lookers, but also sizeable sh for that period of time, with the best being around the mid-thirty mark. There were some unusual ones, with names like The Banana Fish, The Purple Fish, The Ghost and so on. Anyway, being a small water they could always be found, but catching them was never easy and Alan said how difficult the shing could be, with long periods with next to nothing getting caught. In comes the Stiff Link. Using what nowadays we would look at as being pretty high pop-ups, Al went on to nail many of the lakes better residents, many of which fell to a baited trap in the margins. He said how it was strange, but hed often get the feeling that the hookbait was amongst the rst to go, whereas in the past it was always left till last. He was positive the Stiff Links were providing him with a serious edge

and together with Andy they went on to catch a number of sh from another easier water in Aldershot during the winter months, further adding to their condence in what at the time was a very different presentation. If my memory serves me right, Andy also nailed one of the big uns from Silvermere that winter, another water that wed all shed in the past, a sh known as Whitescale at 26lbs, at the time its biggest ever weight. Two small white lightning pop-ups shed on a stiff link, the bait positioned a good four-inches off the deck. BACK TO 1995 Anyway, back to 95. Both Alan and Andy started shing The Car Park Lake at Yateley around this time and so I was lucky enough to see the Stiff Link pretty early on. Listening to their tales of Stiff Link successes over the previous couple of years I couldnt help but take notice and it was that autumn that I rst started using it myself. My Stiff Links back then were really long, with the boom probably close to twelve-inches and the pop-up section set at around three- or four-inches. Though Al and Andy were on the smoother feeling black Amnesia from the off, to begin with I couldnt get my head around its thickness and colour, and so instead I went for the transparent gear, back then in 25lb breaking strain. Our boom sections were otherwise identical, with nice big loops at each end and nice chunky large eye swivels so the link could

rotate around the leadcore with ease. Uni-link swivels werent out back then, though in all honesty even since their arrival I still prefer the freedom of movement achieved with a loop. At the pop-up end I used a medium sized Drennan Ring, as Im sure both Al and Andy did too, but it was the actual pop-up section where we differed. We were both using Amnesia for this bit, but they were using a pretty long, straight-shanked hook, with a straight point and an in-turned eye. I cant be sure what they were, but something similar to the same shape as the ESP G4s or a Korda Long Shank, though they were being tied directly to the eye, with an additional supple Hair whipped up the shank. The microwave type pop-ups were then simply pierced and threaded on to the supple Hair. Without doubt it was a very effective rig, but I was already well into using pop-ups made from corkballs by this time and so I wanted a different way of attaching my pop-ups. Also, I had my own ideas on hooks and to me an old favourite, the Continental Boilie Hook, tied up whipping style looked bang on, the reversed eye causing the pop-up section to leave the hook at the perfect angle. It was whilst playing around with the rig round at Lewiss house that Lew come up with the lighter blobbing trick. After our previous

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successes using rigs incorporating sliding rings, The D Rig was the obvious way to nish off our pop-up sections, but at this point nobody used to use a lighter to blob the left over tag of Amnesia, everyone used to use glue, so Lew suddenly having that simple little brain wave really was a Godsend, and its something weve used in other presentations lots since. The rst rig to go into the sink had a whacking great size 2 Continental Boilie Hook on and we angled the pop-up section so that the hook was just swinging around beneath the pop-up, which from the off were in 15mm size and made with 12mm corkballs. It looked like a big claw just hanging there, ready to whip out and grab one by the jaw as it swims past, as good old Al would say. And so we were on our way. It still took some condence to chuck it out, especially in a lake as difficult as The Car Park, but it looked so good in the sink and Id been more than convinced it was worth a try. I tied several rigs up, a couple with the size 2 hooks, but in the end I thought the size 4s were more suited to the 15mm bait size and they balanced out much better as well. FIRST TRY First night I ever used them I caught a tench from The Beach Swim in the early hours of the morning. It was actually on a quick overnighter when I was working at Coopermans Place in Hook, and I cant remember why but I spent that night curled up in a ball beneath a bush. For the life of me I cant remember why I was sleeping on the oor, but I was. Anyway, I dont think Ive ever paid so much attention to a hook hold on a tench before, but I was well happy to see that it was well and truly nailed in the bottom lip. The next bite I got on it was just a few days later from The Bars Swim and it turned out to be none other than Heather The Leather at 43lbs. My condence in the rig went through the roof and since that day Ive rarely looked back. Of course, as with all rigs, its undergone a few changes, a little tweaking here and there and its these small changes that Ill detail next, as for certain they have made all the difference. FIFTEEN YEARS ON Almost fteen years on from when I was rst shown the rig, my boom section stays the same, albeit a little shorter, and I still use Alans original choice, the faithful old Amnesia. More often than not in the black gear, as for some reason or other it has a softer feel than the clear, and also I nd it easier to smooth out any kinks or twists, an occasional problem after a link has tangled around the lead in ight. Its worth saying at this point that I never use a Stiff Link with an in-line lead and only ever sh it with a rotary type presentation. The reasons for this are pretty obvious and you only have to drop them both in the edge a few times to see which settles best. With an in-line lead its possible that youll end up with your hooklink poking skywards, especially on a soft bottom, whereas with a rotary type lead, the hooklink is free to ride up the leadcore leader and then settle on top of any bottom debris. And so my condence in the presentation just grew, and armed with the stiffies I was soon venturing off to pastures new. The Pads Lake, Wraysbury, The Mere and The Brook, it seemed to be doing the business everywhere I took it and it was crystal clear that both Alan and Andy were right: The Stiff Link was obviously something a bit special. PROBLEMS Then, sometime in 98, I started having problems with my hooks and after losing what felt like a very good sh over on Elstow 2 and becoming more and more concerned that I was having to go through untold Boilie hooks just to nd one that had a half decent point. I decided it was time to put the stiffies on the back shelf for a while. It was obvious that the latest batch of hooks werent up to

MY CURRENT VERSION
Terry T erry H err Hearn earn S Stiff ff rig rig: g F Fig g1
Se t on ( Section (A): A : 2 inches nches of of ESP ESP Bristle B i t filament fi ament Se t on ( Section (B): B): 7 inches inches of of Amnesia Amnes a
Section S c i (A) A A e (C) Area C

Hook E Hook: ESP SP S Stiff t ff rigger igg gger - Size S ze 6

Treatments: T reatments: eatments

areas Fini h a Finish area eas (C) C &( (D) D &( (E) E by m by melting e t ng the he line ine to to form form a securing ecur n globule g bu e

Critical C tc M Mass a P ty Putty

Ar (D) Area D

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scratch, not in my book anyway, and once it becomes an effort to nd a truly sharp one, all youre doing is choosing the best from a bad batch. Where hooks are concerned Im exceptionally fussy and I want to be choosing the best from a good batch, and so, as disappointed as I was, that was the end of the stiffies for quite some time. Then ESP came up trumps, introducing The Stiff Riggers into the range and not only in the highly necessary 4s and 6s, but also in the in-between sizes, which Id suggested to them just a few weeks before the launch. When I think back to that extra little enquiry at the end of my letter to Adam Penning, asking why it was that hooks werent available in the in-between sizes, I can only smile, as it was from this that the size 5s were born; in my opinion the best one in the range and absolutely made for 15mm sized corkball pop-ups. The slight reverse on the eye is absolutely bang-on and the long needle points are as good as youre going to get. The Stiff Riggers were formed from the already successful Continental Boilie Hooks. The only difference being the point and instead of the overly exaggerated beaked points present on the Boilie Hooks, they now had a lovely straight

point, which is clearly far better suited to hooking. With a size 5 ESP Stiff Rigger you need to be using a 15mm pop-up made from a 12mm corkball. Dont think you can compromise and go for a normal shop bought pop-up in the same size, you cant, believe me Ive tried the lot. To achieve maximum efficiency it must be a corkball popup. When it comes to the smaller and lighter size 6 Stiff Riggers, which I often use either in winter, or where the venues not too snaggy or weedy, you can get away with some of the 15mm shop bought pop-ups, particularly on shorter day sessions where extended buoyancy isnt so necessary. For me this is an easy one and whenever I use the 6s I go for the Dynamite Source cork-dust pop-ups, which are bang on and well suited to this type of presentation, as the high levels of cork-dust make sure they remain buoyant for long periods of time. The Source ones come un-glugged, so its possible to avour them with your own combination of attractors if you want, always handy if youre using a similarly coloured Robin Red type bait, whichever company its from. BRISTLE FILAMENT The other thing that has undoubtedly added to the Stiff Links efficiency is Bristle Filament, a wiry type of

BACK TO BASICS HOW TO TIE THE

TWO-TURN BLOOD KNOT

01

Pass the end of the material through the eye of the swivel.

02

Take the free end and pass it around the material two times.

Now thread the material back through the loop you formed.

03

04

Wet and gently pull together. Blob with a lighter for extra security.

Ar a (E) ( ) Area

Section S ec ion ( (B) )

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Early Hinge Stiff Rig success

ANGLING BUSHCRAFT STORING HINGED STIFF LINKS

STORING THE HOOKING SECTIONS FOR A HINGED STIFF LINK OR A STANDARD CHOD RIG IS A TRICKY AFFAIR. WITH THE SWIVEL TIED ON YOU CAN USE A NASH CHOD BOX OR FOX STEAM & STORE CHOD/ WITHY BIN, BUT WHAT IF YOU LIKE TO SET THE LENGTH OF THE CHOD WHILST OUT ANGLING? (1) GET AN OLD FUNNEL TUB, SOME CAMO TAPE AND A PAIR OF SCISSORS. CUT THE TUB TO THE LENGTH YOU WANT AND THEN RUN TWO LENGTHS OF TAPE DOWN BOTH SIDES; IT GIVES IT THE CARPY LOOK. (2) TIE UP RIGS WITHOUT SWIVELS AND PLACE THEM IN THE TUB. JOB DONE. 094
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clear nylon introduced to the ESP range at the same time as the Stiff Riggers. To begin with the Bristle Filaments wiry feel makes it tricky to work with, but once the art of tying up your hook sections is mastered you will never look back. It really is the business and a properly tied pop-up section can be neatly curved, so adding a stiff but transparent shank to the hook. I know that many people nd it easier to use a simple Knotless Knot when it comes to tying up their hook sections, but Ive got to say that a properly tied Snell Knot looks and sits far neater. Weve put together a step-by-step sequence of how to tie the Snell Knot in this rig guide and youll nd it on page 24. At the bottom of this pop-up section I now use a small swivel, generally a size ten, again in the ESP range, as these are the smoothest Ive ever played around with, and the pop-up section is tied to this with nothing more than a simple Two-Turn Blood Knot. Remember now that its only possible to get away with this knot when using Bristle Filament, as Amnesia or any normal mono is highly likely to slip and then break. If youve ever made up wire traces for pike youll know that

its possible to thread on a swivel and just by twisting the wire round and round a few times its actually strong enough to hold. Obviously Bristle Filaments not quite wire, but its not mono either, its more like a cross between the two and because of this you can get away with nothing more than a Two-Turn Blood Knot. This makes tying the pop-up section to the swivel much simpler, with less, if any damage, and its also easier to get the pop-ups length right. That last bit is where so many people go wrong and they attempt to tie their neat little hook sections to the swivel with a Grinner Knot, which unless youre very good, results in a damaged hook section. With a Two-Turn Blood Knot the couple of inches of Bristle Filament between the swivel and hook is left unmarked, all ready to curve into shape with your thumb and forenger. You may think some of this sounds like Im plugging, which is one reason I rarely do the technical pieces, as theres so many people ready to jump on your back, but what Im recommending here are the exact components I use and have complete faith in genuinely! UP TO DATE So, thats our up to date version of

The mighty Two-Tone

It worked on some of the countrys biggest carp

Another stunner, this time getting nailed on a Chod Rig

the Hinged Stiff Link pretty much well covered, which I suppose just leaves me with that master of chuck it and chance it: The Chod Rig. Setting up this one is very similar to the rotary rig, the only couple of differences being the fact that we dont use a boom section and of course the backstop, which is slid further back up the leadcore, generally around 14-18-inches away from the lead. Instead, the pop-up section is tied directly to a small Uni-link swivel, my favoured size being an 11. Strong, but small, and as inconspicuous as possible. Something worth adding to the leads loop is a small length of 2mm silicone tubing, normally around an inch or two, just enough to cause the short curved hook section to sit slightly higher up the leader, rather then swinging precariously beneath the base of the lead, ready to dig in and render a cast useless. The main advantage of The Chod Rig is that you can chuck it out to areas that are otherwise difficult to present a bait in, and because of this, when it comes to shing single hookbaits blind, its my number one choice. I tell you what, now Ive started Ive realised that I could go on forever about both the Hinged Stiff Links and the Choddies, with lots of stories about how effective theyve been for myself and friends, but I think thats enough for now next up Ive got my bottom bait rig to talk about Terry Hearn 095

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THE TOOLS OF EFFICIENT RIGS

THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT ASPECTS THAT NEED TO BE CONSIDERED WHEN THINKING ABOUT MODERN-DAY RIG DESIGN ARE THESE TWO FACTORS: BUOYANCY AND GRAVITY. THESE TWO INFLUENCES ARE THE MAJOR PLAYERS IN WHAT DETERMINES A SUCCESSFUL RIG. WHEN A FISH SUCKS BAIT INTO ITS MOUTH, THERE ARE A WHOLE HOST OF THINGS THAT NEED TO BE CONSIDERED, AND TO BE HONEST, WE CAN ONLY GUESS WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING AND GOING ON WITH THE RIG AND BAIT WHEN INSIDE THE CARPS CLOSED MOUTH.

Words Jason Hayward Photographs Jason Hayward Illustrations Mark Smith

Y C N A Y O BU

Y T I V A R G

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uessing is not something I really like doing, but in this instance we dont really have a choice, although we can draw a wealth of information that can be gleaned from analyzing the position and type of hook hold and also what we know from the laws of physics. What we are looking for is best set out in a list of requirements; these are set out in no particular order of importance.

The hook ideally should always be point down and as sharp as physically possible. Simple but very important.

001 002 003 004

The bait and rig should enter the mouth cleanly without intrusion.

Ideally the hook should drop away and separate from the bait onto the oor of the carps mouth.

The bait should be able to be ejected by the carp, without the hook, or at least with the hook exiting the mouth eye rst with the point following behind. The rig must be able to reset itself in the swim should it be successfully ejected or moved about by nuisance or other feeding sh.

005

006

Ideally the rig should be able to hook efficiently or achieve a good hook hold regardless if the rig is used with bottom baits or pop-ups. The last on the list of requirements (006) is probably the hardest to achieve as even the most bog

standard basic pop-up rig holds the hook in the most efficient position possible, with it hanging below the bait, just begging to catch a hold. This is very difficult to emulate with an unaltered bottom bait rig as the hook naturally drags behind without hanging down in that oh so effective claw like manner. LETS ESTABLISH A FEW FACTS If you can imagine a carp feeding and slowly browsing an area and picking up baits, whether that be particles or boilies it doesnt matter, the carp will gently suck at the food items and some of these will nd their way into the mouth, the ones that dont may well be sucked in again if the carp remains in EXACTLY the same position (and senses it has food in front of it). But if the carp moves, even fractionally in any direction, this will inhibit the food item (or hookbait) from entering the mouth due to the suck from the carp no longer being strong enough to move the item in question. This is the main reason for arguing the case to always put out a good mixture of sizes of bait within a swim to stop the carp from regulating its suck towards a particular size of bait, hopefully disguising the weight of the hook. DOES THIS WORK? Well, to a certain extent it must, but try this: set up the test tank with some baits of different sizes on the bottom. Using a tube, place your hand over the end and try sucking up the baits. What you will nd is that ALL the

baits nd their way up inside the tube (mouth) despite their weight. Now glue a hook directly onto a bait and try again. Again, you nd that the bait ies up inside the tube no problem. So if the carp are regulating their suck it would be fair to assume that the harder the carp have to suck (the heavy hookbait) the greater the volume of water is also taken into the mouth cavity. It would also be right to assume that the greater volume of water present in that instance, the easier it would be for the carp to eject the bait. Now put the same bait onto a rig with a Hair about an inch long and do the same experiment as above again. What you will see this time, is the bait will go up inside, albeit slower, but the hook will drag behind and if you have positioned the tube far enough away from the bait, the hook will not even make it to the very outside edge of the tube. This is because the weight of the hook is greatly amplied the further you move it away from the initial rst point at where the carp aimed its suck, which in a shing situation will mean you dont get a take or to use a much used phrase, youve been done! This is exactly what happens when a carp is feeding cautiously, the sh will gently mouth at the bait, as if sipping and as the hook is a separate weight to the bait, it will not be taken into the mouth, or if a short Hair is used, a very tentative hook hold would be the result.

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EXPLANATION IN ILLUSTRATIONS

001
Heres an example of a standard bottom bait with hook dragging behind when its sucked in by the carp

002
This is my tweaked version with the small piece of foam in position. The hook is ready and waiting 098
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003
The foam adds buoyancy and a larger surface area, making it far more likely to be taken into the mouth

004
The critically balanced hook always remains point down and goes into the mouth far easier. Deadly 099

LONG READS...
SO WHAT DO WE DO? The rst thing most inexperienced anglers would say is shorten the Hair but ask any rig buff and they will tell you that efficient separation between the hook and the bait is absolutely crucial to a good rigs effectiveness. The closer the hook is to the bait, the easier and more likely it is to be ejected without nding a hold. This is due to the hook following the same exit path as the bait, but bend rst, which is never going to hook anything. BLOW BACK RIGS? So blow back rigs are the answer then? No, sorry, not for me. Whilst blow back rigs are without doubt effective, I am convinced that their effectiveness is NOT because of the ring being able to slide the centimeter or so up the shank of the hook. Dont believe me? Tie one up and put a bait on the end. Hold the bait and move it in such a way to mimic it being ejected by a carp. You will see that the hook always follows the bait, just like any other rig unless it is ejected EXACTLY at the same angle as the ring on the shank of the hook, which obviously cannot be guaranteed. SO WHY ARE THEY SO EFFECTIVE? I honestly believe the success of blow back rigs is simply due to the fact that the hook can swivel far easier so that the point ends up in a downward position, such as you would nd on the standard pop-up rig talked about earlier. INCREASING BOTTOM BAIT HOOKING EFFICIENCY The blow back rig is obviously a good alternative to the standard set-up of a small piece of silicon tubing on the shank, but this rig still has the poor characteristics of the hook dragging behind the bait, so can still be improved upon from a hooking potential point of view. I have touched on this rig before but I really dont think the full impact of the rig was realised. What we are trying to do, is keep the hook in the same plane (point down) as it would be on a pop100
ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

up rig, but also help the hook to enter the mouth with the minimum of suck without it dragging behind the bait and hindering the rigs effectiveness, as a standard bottom bait rig with a decent length of Hair would. CRITICALLY BALANCED HOOKS Looking at this rig, it really appears just far too simple, but as with most good ideas, thats the beauty of it. When the original Hair rig was used, it was in conjunction with very small hooks to allow the hook to pass into the mouth with as little hindrance as possible. Now, the Hair rig, as Im sure youre aware, was just about the most effective rig we have ever had, BUT things were different back in the early 80s, as far as most waters were not totally weed infested as they are now. Now Im a fan of big hooks and I just couldnt start using small hooks, as Im convinced that they pull out easier, so I started balancing my (big) hooks with a piece of foam onto the shank to completely negate the hooks weight. At rst I honestly thought it was just the fact that the hooks were ying back further into the carps mouth when they picked up my bait, but after thinking about it, it became very obvious that there was more to it and the hook being held in a point down position had to be a large part of the answer. One other aspect is also at play here if you think about it, and thats the surface area of a hook, which

is very minimal when compared to say that of a boilie. However, by putting a piece of foam on the hook you are increasing the surface area dramatically, therefore you are not just making the hook more buoyant, but the now increased surface area also makes it far easier for the hook to be inuenced by the volume of water sucked up into the carps mouth. The rig is best described by diagrams, although to be honest its just a standard rig with a piece of foam on the hook, but DO NOT underestimate the foams importance. What we are trying to achieve is a hook that only just sinks. The only other adjustments I make to the rig is the addition of a small piece of rig putty, approximately two-and-a-halfinches from the eye of the hook. The difference the addition this little piece of foam can make is astonishing. Balance and position it on the hook shank so that the hook sits up off the deck with the point and eye in contact with the bottom. The type and brand of foam that is used can make a big difference to the buoyancy, as some are better than others. Im not going to mention any brands, as this is a rig article not an advert, but have a play around with the many brands available, or your favourite one and Im sure you will nd one youre happy with (well, you dont want it all on a plate do you?). Happy rig thinking and good hunting. Jason Hayward

BALANCE YOUR HOOK HAYWARD STYLE

HOW TO

001

To start off, tie a standard rig using a Knotless Knot to secure your chosen hook.

002

Cut a small piece of foam and using a baiting needle, thread it onto the Hair.

003

Next thread on a 5mm section of silicone tubing (it needs to be tight enough to grip the hook shank).

Finally, pass the hook point through the silicone and around onto the hook. This will lock the foam in place. Simple, but deadly! 101

004

LEAD SET-UPS...

LEAD CLIP SET-UPS

Choosing the correct lead system for the conditions you are shing in is extremely important. Lead clips can be used in all shing situations because they are a very versatile lead system and can be set-up and shed in many different ways. They can be set to drop the lead on the take right through to shing them as a running lead set-up. Here we are going to show you how and when to set-up your lead clip differently to give you the best chance of landing every bite. And remember that saying by Kevin Nash before you complain about the lead dropping off: You moan about losing a 1.60 lead, but if someone said you could catch a 20lb carp for 1.60 youd bite their arm off wouldnt you.

THE LEAD CLIP IS NOT ONLY THE MOST POPULAR LEAD SET-UP, BUT ITS ALSO THE WORLDS MOST VERSATILE LEAD SYSTEM AND IF USED CORRECTLY WILL LAND YOU MORE CARP

WEEDY SITUATION In weedy venues it is imperative you dump the lead on the take. This means the carp will rise up higher in the water so its easier to play them through the weed. To do this, snip a small piece off the clip arm and only just push the rubber over the end of the clip. Its also worth noting you need to wet the clip serrations and arm before pushing the tail rubber over them.

DOS AND DONTS

WHAT YOU SHOULD AND SHOULDNT DO WITH LEAD CLIPS Q The swivel to which the rig is tied must be located rmly in the clip barrel and this is either by using a pin lock or when the swivel clicks into the self-locking part. Q Always check your tail rubber for damage, i.e. splitting. Q The clip and rubber need to be moist for the system to work efficiently. Q Do not be tempted to superglue the tail rubber to the lead clip. This is just suicidal and totally unfair to the sh and is a blatant death rig in the making. 104
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SNAGGY SITUATION In snaggy venues where you are often shing against overhanging trees, lilies and submerged branches, you need to lose the lead quickly. This minimises the chance of anything catching on the snags which could cause a tethered sh. Once again, cut the clip down, moisten the rubber and push it on very lightly. This will dump the lead as soon as the carp shakes his head on the take.

SNAG-FREE SITUATION When shing on venues where there is no weed or snags, you can push the rubber tail well down the clip and theres no need to trim the clip arm back either. As there is nothing to get snagged on, there is no need to dump the lead on the take. This will not only save you a bit of money on leads, but it means the lakebed is not unnecessarily littered with leads.

FREE-RUNNING SITUATION This is another set-up for totally snag-free venues where there is no chance of the lead and rig getting snagged. This is a lead clip set-up with a slight difference and was thought up by Danny Fairbrass. Firstly, take a pair of pliers and gently nip the swivel end of the lead clip so its more of an oval-shape. Next, instead of using a swivel, use a quick-change clip to push just inside the clip housing as you would the swivel. This creates a semi-xed set-up and will turn into a running rig when the carp shakes its head. 105

LEAD SET-UPS...

THE ULTIMATE DROP-OFF IN-LINE LEAD SET-UP

For years Ive used a drop-off in-line lead system when Im shing with solid PVA Bags, states PVA bagging expert, Jon Finch. The thinking behind having your leader or main line running around the outside of the lead is so it can be ditched on the take or should it become snagged. This is especially useful when shing with very short hooklinks, like in a PVA bag scenario, as the lead could bounce the hook out of the shs mouth. However, there have always been a couple of problems with this set-up. (1) It can damage the main line and (2) its not always very neat. Thanks to the new system from Avid Carp, though, theyve managed to overcome both of these issues. The new Groove Leads have a dedicated groove that runs around the lead and that stops your main line or leader getting damaged. Whats more, Jon Shoes Jones and myself designed a drop-off insert thats been created especially for this style of lead set-up. Its a small plastic insert that slides inside the in-line lead, to make dropoff in-line shing much neater. Because of the ring, your leader and hooklink sit much more ush and ditching the lead is a lot simpler. Previously we had to squeeze swivels down with pliers to make a drop-off set-up safe, but now with this insert theres no need.

THE PERFECT LEAD SET-UP FOR WHEN YOURE FISHING WITH SOLID PVA BAGS OR NEED TO DITCH A HEAVY LEAD THATS FISHED WITH A SHORT HOOKLINK

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PUT TOGETHER THE RIG THAT WENT STRAIGHT TO THE TOP OF THE PRESENTATION LEADER BOARD

HOW TO

001

This is an Avid Carp Drop-Off Insert, which has been purpose-designed for anglers wanting to ditch in-line leads.

002

This In-Line Groove Lead is also purpose-designed for wrapping leadcore over and around for drop-off lead shing too.

The Insert ts inside in-line leads, leaving just a heavyduty ring poking out to attach your hooklink too. Neat!

003

004

Finchy splices on a short length of leadcore to the ring, wrapping it over the lead within the groove.

005

Jon then slides an ultrasoft tail rubber down the leadcore. This goes over the stem on the in-line lead.

006

The tail rubber xes into place nicely. Note how much camouage is used on all products here. 107

LEAD SET-UPS...

THE HELICOPTER RIG

THE HELICOPTER RIG, OR AS ITS ALSO COMMONLY KNOWN, THE ROTARY RIG, IS VERY EFFECTIVE IN SILTY CONDITIONS. THE LEAD WILL PENETRATE INTO THE LAKEBED LEAVING YOUR HOOKLINK TO MOVE UP THE LEADER AND STAY CLEAR OF THE SILT, GIVING YOU A PERFECT PRESENTATION. THIS RIG HAS MASSES OF ADVANTAGES OVER LEAD CLIPS AND IN-LINE SETUPS, HOWEVER, IF IT ISNT CONSTRUCTED CORRECTLY, IT CAN BECOME A DEATH RIG, SO FOLLOW THE STEP-BY-STEP CAREFULLY.

THIS IS THE KIDDY FOR USE IN SILTY AREAS

001

First of all, take your spool of leadcore and start to unravel a good length (6ft) off the spool dispenser as shown.

002

Slide back veinches of sheath and cut the inner lead off from inside using a pair of scissors and then discard it.

Slide the sheath back along so you are left with a ve-inch supple section of just the outer sheath.

003

004

Take a splicing needle and poke the end into the middle of the empty sheath, where it meets the inner lead.

005

Start to slide the needle along the middle of the hollow sheath, up towards the end of the leadcore.

006

When you get halfway, double the sheath back as shown in the picture. This ensures you have a small loop.

SHOPPING LIST
001 Leadcore 002 Splicing needle 003 0.5mm silicon tube 004 2.0mm silicon tube 005 5mm rubber bead 006 2mm rubber bead 007 Size-8 ring swivel 008 A lead 009 Scissors 010 Quick-change clip 108

007

Push the needle out of the middle of the sheath and hook on the end and gently pull it back through.

008

Put your needle through the loop to make it perfectly round and neat. Then trim off the excess tag.

This is what the nished spliced loop should look like. You will tie your main line to this loop.

009

ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

010

Now take a 5mm ESP bead and thread it onto your needle. Ensure the big bore is closest to the handle.

011

Take a small piece of 0.5mm silicon tube and thread it onto a baiting needle and pass this onto the leadcore.

012

Slide the silicone down and push the small 5mm bead over said silicone. Make sure you moisten it rst.

Now take a size 8 ring swivel and slide this onto the leadcore and let it sit down by the bead thats on the leadcore.

013

Then take a slightly smaller bead and slide this down; the swivel should have a bead either side of it.

014

Take a pair of scissors and cut a three-inch section of 2mm silicon tubing and slide this on next.

015

At the other end do the same as you did originally pull out a ve-inch length of lead wire and discard it.

016

017

Splice the loop as before but this time slide on a quick-change clip before pulling the tag back back through.

Take your chosen lead and cut the swivel off using a pair of pliers. Dont use scissor itll blunt them.

018

019

Once the swivel has been cut off you then need to attach the lead to the quick-change clip on the leadcore.

020

Now slide the silicon over the quick clip and lead loop, then push the bead into the silicone as shown.

021

All you need to do now is tie your hooklink onto the swivel and you are ready to cast out and bag up. 109

LEAD SET-UPS...

ONE-STOP LEAD SET-UP SHOP T N INSTA ONS! SOLUTI

LEAD SET-UP
RUNNING IN-LINE LEAD SEMI-FIXED IN-LINE RUNNING PENDANT

UNSURE WHERE TO START WHEN IT COMES TO PICKING THE RIGHT LEAD FOR THE RIGHT SITUATION? SAVE TIME AND GET IT RIGHT EVERY TIME WITH OUR AT-A-GLANCE GUIDE

SEMI-FIXED PENDANT

HELICOPTER SET-UP

LAKE BOTTOM

In-line leads are generally shed over a rmer lakebed such as gravel and clay. This lead set-up is very good for highlypressured carp. If everybody on your lake is shing with the conventional semixed in-line set-up, then by using it running can give you a real edge. If you are presenting your set-up inside a solid PVA bag then a short, soft braided hooklink works best. If youre shing over a harder lakebed then use a stiffer hooklink. Remove the hard insert from the lead, thread the lead onto your main line and follow this with an Anti-Tangle Sleeve. Tie on your rig as normal and then pull the AntiTangle Sleeve down onto the swivel.

This is best suited for a harder lakebed, such as gravel or clay. Its also the ideal lead/ set-up for a solid PVA bag approach.

Running pendants can be shed from hard gravel features to silty areas. This style of lead set-up shouldnt be shed into weed though, as the lead can jam.. This lead set-up is being seen less and less, so if anglers on your lake are continually using semi-xed lead setups, then a running pendant could be an edge. The type of hooklink on this setup is very versatile dependent of the lakebed. If shed onto a hard area, go for a stiff hooklink, whereas on a silty bottom go for braid. The key to an effective running lead set-up is to make the loop that the line runs through as frictionless as possible. Nash Tackles Anti-Tangle Run Beads are perfect, as are Kordas Run Ring Rubbers.

Semi-xed pendants can be used on gravel, in silt and around weed because the lead is able to discharge.

Generally shed over soft areas, such as silt which is covered in debris and would cause problems with other lead set-ups.

ANGLING PRESSURE

If used with a PVA bag, it means you can present a hookbait stealthily without causing unneeded commotion of nding a clear area with a marker oat. Again, if shed in a solid PVA bag, a short, soft, braided hooklink works best. This allows it to t inside the bag and allows lots of movement for good hook holds. To set up an effective, tanglefree, semi-xed lead set-up, you need to make everything as streamlined as possible. Make sure you use a rubber tail on the back of the lead as this does exactly that.

Look at what other anglers on your lake are using and use a different set-up. For example, if people are using heavy semi-xed leads then use a light one. The hooklink that you are using can vary dependent on the lakebed. The harder the lakebed, the stiffer the hooklink, which has very good hooking properties. There are many companies that produce lead clips, all differing in quality, from how they dump the lead through to user-ability.

A lot of people all use Chod Rigs with the helicopter set-up over silt and bottom debris. Try using bottom baits instead.

TYPE OF HOOKLINK

Softer hooklinks are suited more to this presentation. This allows the hooklink to follow the contours of the lakebed.

RECOMMENDATIONS

If youre unsure of how to construct a safe helicopter rig, then opt for one of the many readytied, ready-to-use versions that are out there. ESPs Helicopter Rig Leadcore Leaders or ACEs Leadcore Helicopter/Chod Rig set-up.

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Leadcore

40lb Unleaded Leader

Solars new Unleaded is a super-heavyweight, super-soft, memory free braided hooklink and leader material. Its as good as undetectable gets. Unleaded looks like leadcore, but certainly doesnt feel like it. It sinks like a stone and lays dead on the bottom, hugging the contours tightly, unlike its wirey predecessor. Unleaded comes as a 15 & 25lb hooklink on 20m spools and a 40 & 80lb splicable leader material on 10m spools, as well as ready-tied looped leaders. And theres only one colour required, Sediment Black, cos thats exactly where Unleaded will be laying!.. Theres even a range of coordinated beads and rubbers to match your Unleaded. Once you get your hands on Unleaded you will NEVER use leadcore again. Solar Unleaded... Taking presentation to new lows! Want to know more? click www.solartackle.co.uk and well sharpen you up there.

New Website Coming Soon...www.solartackle.co.uk The tackle,the blogs,the info,the knowledge,the inside lane...
For the Sharper Carper.

GUIDE TO...

A GUIDE TO HOOKS EVERYTHING YOU WILL EVER NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HOOKS WHATS AVAILABLE?

WIDE GAPE HOOKS

Wide gape hooks are one of the most popular patterns in modern-day carp angling. The long and sweeping shank coupled with an often-beaked point gives very secure hooking abilities. This style point keeps the hook sharper a tad longer than straight pointed hooks because when reeling in, the hook point has less chance of making clean contact with debris on the lakebed. These are often used for bottom bait, pop-up and surface presentations. WHAT RIG AND SITUATION? They lend themselves perfectly to all bottom bait rigs including Claw Rigs, Blowback Rigs, Knotless Knots, Mag-Aligners etc. and they are also commonly used with simple pop-up presentations and also surface and Zig Rig shing. Some companies do the hooks in a stronger wire gauge for use in snaggy and weedy conditions, for example Korda Wide Gape Xs.

LONG SHANK HOOKS

Another very popular hook pattern. The long shank coupled with the straight point gives secure hook holds and lends itself nicely to hook-and-hold situations where you really need to tussle with strong sh. The straight and very sharp point penetrates the shs bottom lip with ease and is normally used on bottom bait presentations and sometimes pop-up rigs. WHAT RIG AND SITUATION? Most commonly used with bottom bait presentations and are perfect for use on Blowback and Claw Rig setups. They are rarely used in pop-up rigs, but some people do use them to good effect. They are not very good with stiff hooklink materials because of the in-turned eye.

CURVE SHANK HOOKS

The curve shank hook is a pattern a lot of the top anglers use in todays shing. The pattern features a long and sweeping shank which gives awesome hooking properties without the need for added rings, shrink tubing and silicone. The shape lends itself nicely to a wide array of rigs, which include bottom bait presentations, pop-up rigs and also KD Rig set-ups. WHAT RIG AND SITUATION? This pattern works very well with basic Knotless Knots to being whipped KD style, right down to adding rig rings and pieces of silicone to help kick the hook over in the shs mouth. They are also more than suitable for snag and weed shing, as long as you use a bigger size of the pattern.

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LEARN THE LINGO NOVICE TO KNOWLEDGE

IN TWO MINUTES FLAT
TEFLON Teon is a dull grey nished coating that improves the overall performance of a hook. It helps keep the point sharp, aids penetration because of the slick surface and that dull colour makes it a lot less reective. MICRO BARB The advantage of this style over conventional ones is that the point is far more likely to penetrate past the barb in the initial stages of the sh picking the bait up. TEMPERED This is a process the hook goes through to achieve optimum strength from the steel without it being brittle or soft. THE GAPE The measurement from the point of the hook to the shank. Gape size varies depending on the style of the hook.

CHODDY HOOKS
Chod style hooks are essential for a lot of presentations, which feature a stiff hooklink material. The out-turned eye means the hook still sits straight against the stiff material instead of kicking out at an awkward angle. This shape features different cosmetics dependent on different manufacturers, so you can nd a hook that you have total condence in. As its title suggests, its designed for use with rigs like the Chod Rig, Hinged Stiff Link and also stiff bottom bait presentations. WHAT RIG AND SITUATION? The unique out-turned eye allows the hook to sit straight even when used with the stiffest of materials. These hooks therefore lend themselves perfectly to Chod, Hinged Stiff Link and stiff bottom bait presentations. Chod-style hooks are often manufactured with a thick wire so they can be used in the snaggest and weediest of situations.

360-DEGREE HOOKS
360-degree hooks are also known as Long Curve Shank hooks. The hooks are designed for use with rigs such as the 360 Rig in conjunction with a pop-up or on blowback bottom bait presentations. WHAT RIG AND SITUATION? Mainly used for 360 Rigs, the very long and sweeping shank gives very good hooking potential. Used with a rig ring trapped in-between two shank stops, the bait is then attached to the rig ring. Pop-ups are generally used with this presentation.

FLAT FORGED The hook is attened on both sides to add strength without increasing the weight. Flat metal is stronger than circular.

TEMPERED TEFLON

MICRO BARB

THE GAPE

FLAT FORGED

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GUIDE TO...

WHAT THE PROS USE 001

MAT WOODS The JRC 360 Connection hook has been very reliable for me and similar patterns have continually produced sh for me anywhere Ive ever been.

leverage will be much more intensied, possibly pinging the hook hold out. LEON BARTROPP The Fox Arma-point SSC pattern is my favourite. Why? Well, the range is the sharpest Ive found. I have caught multiple sh on the same hook many times without having to change it and also the SSC is so versatile you can use it on a blowback rig, pop-up rig and KD Rig to name a few permutations. They also are very, very strong.

NUMBER OF HOOKS USED IN A YEAR 300+

006

NUMBER OF HOOKS USED IN A YEAR 500+

002
2

LEWIS PORTER My favourite hook pattern is Fox Arma-Point XSC in size 6. Why? Its the strongest, sharpest and most versatile hook pattern on the market.

NUMBER OF HOOKS USED IN A YEAR 200

003
3

LEWIS READ My favourite hooks are the Covert Mugga in size 8. These hooks are simply awesome! It gives hook holds second-to-none, good balance between strength and weight, nice long straight point and the good shape ensures it penetrates easily. The shape and in-turned eye makes it a vicious little bugger that nails em! VERY versatile and can be used on most rigs.

NUMBER OF HOOKS USED IN A YEAR 500+

007

NUMBER OF HOOKS USED IN A YEAR 200

KEVIN NASH My favourite hook is the Twister. I use size 8 for bottom baits and size 7 for pop-ups and Chod Rigs for most of my shing, but there are times when I go smaller or larger. Why the Twister? It is quite simply. In my opinion, the best hook in the universe. When a Twister goes in, it stays in and goes in easier than any other hook Ive ever used.

MARTIN LOCKE My favourite hook pattern is the Long Shank Solar Strong Hold sizes 4 and 6 for most of my bottom bait shing. Tied with the Hair coming out near to the eye so that the hook point is hanging down. This will go in backwards as the sh sucks in the bait, but it will grab on the way out as they try to eject it. Also, with this pattern having a straight point you get less bounce outs and maximum hooking efficiency.

004

NUMBER OF HOOKS USED IN A YEAR 100

008

NUMBER OF HOOKS USED IN A YEAR 200

005
6

GARY BAYES My favourite hook pattern is the Fang Twister in size 10 and 8, depending on bait size. The unique squareish bend transfers the pressure further around to the shank of the hook, this makes a much stronger hook hold and a near straight pull on the shank when playing a sh, rather than on the bend of the hook where the

SHAUN HARRISON I have used Ashima C310s/ Smart Point SP310s for over 15 years now for just about all of my carp shing other than oater shing, so I guess I have tested them quite well. Obviously I have had brief irtations with other patterns but still I end up with what has rarely let me down. There is no official hook sizing here in the UK, so sizes on the packets can be a little misleading. The two sizes I use are 6 and 4s although I have seen plenty of patterns where the 8 is as big as the 4 printed on the packs I use.

NUMBER OF HOOKS USED IN A YEAR 150

ELLIOTT GRAY My favourite hook pattern is almost certainly the size 6 Wide Gape. Its the one hook I have used for years and has almost never let me down. On occasions any hook will let you

009

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SHARPENING A HOOK LIKE JASON HAYWARD

HOW TO

ESSENTIAL GEAR
VICE JAG SP Vice (An essential item; itll make the job so much easier.) FILE JAG SP Max File (You want to start off with this le. Its the best one Ive used.) STONE JAG SP Stone (You want to use this to touch up the hook after youve led.) EYEPIECE JAG Ultra Eye (If you havent got good eyes, then this is essential.)

HOW ITS DONE

10

001

Start by working your le on one side of the hook, from the barb up to the point, and make four or ve upward strokes with the le.

002

After youve made your ve upward strokes to the hook, inspect the point using your eyeglass. Happy? Look sharp? Then move onto point 3.

down, thats shing, but on the whole this pattern has been near on faultless. My hook holds have always been secure and I couldnt ask for more from a hook. I use pop-ups a lot so the Choddy hooks play a big part in my shing but tell me to pick a favourite and it would be the size 6 Wide Gape an all time great in my opinion.

NUMBER OF HOOKS USED IN A YEAR LOTS!

010

ROB HUGHES My favourite hooks are the Fox Arma Point SSBPs in size 6. They are super sharp and very durable.

NUMBER OF HOOKS USED IN A YEAR 200+

Now repeat the process on the opposite side of the hook (four or ve upwards strokes like you did on the other side of the hook).

003

004

Finally, do the same on the front (top) of the hook, checking with the eyeglass all the time until a ne point is achieved. Job done! 115

GUIDE TO...

A GUIDE TO LEADS MAKE THE PERFECT LEAD CHOICE EVERY TIME FROM NOW ONWARDS WHATS AVAILABLE?
FLAT PEAR LEADS
Flat pear leads are very similar to the standard pear lead but there are two at faces opposite each other on the lead. The two at sides come in very useful for many situations where pear leads and other lead styles dont t the bill. They are available in many different styles and coatings. USE IN WHAT SITUATION A very good lead for gripping onto surfaces and holding there. Good for casting up to 7080yds but after that you will need to step-up to a distance style lead.

SQUARE PEAR LEADS

Square pear leads are very compact which gives awesome hooking abilities. The lead features four at sides, which is perfect for when you dont want the lead to move i.e. when shing on the side of a bar or river. The leads are perfect for many situations including the use on marker rods. USE IN WHAT SITUATION Very good at hooking carp, as the weight is very concentrated which means it really pulls the hook home. They are also very good for use on marker rods because they feel the lakebed well.

PEAR LEADS

PEAR LEADS ARE AN ADAPTATION FROM THE ORIGINAL BALL LEAD, BEING A SLIGHTLY MORE ELONGATED VERSION AND THIS IS BENEFICIAL BECAUSE THE ORIGINAL BALL LEADS HAD A TENDENCY TO TANGLE. THEY COME SUPPLIED WITH A LARGE-EYED SWIVEL, WHICH MAKES THEM PERFECT FOR CLIPS AND RUNNING PRESENTATIONS. USE IN WHAT SITUATION A good all-rounder but really come into their own when shing in silty and choddy conditions. The round shape also makes them fairly good for casting.

FLAT PEAR IN-LINE

The at pear in-line lead has roughly the same shape as the swivel at pear but instead there is a hard plastic insert through the middle of the lead. The user then simply threads the line through the middle of the insert and attach it to a swivel. This means the lead is shed on the line. USE IN WHAT SITUATION A very good all-round inline lead. They can be used on gravel, clay and also rmer silt and come in a vast array of sizes to suit all situations.

SQUARE PEAR IN-LINE

The square pear in-line is very similar to the swivel square pear, featuring four at sides that condenses the weight into a smaller surface area. The square pear in-line features a hard insert through the middle of the lead so it can be shed on the main line. USE IN WHAT SITUATION A devastating lead for closerange shing, especially stalking. They are also ideal for gripping onto features such as gravel bars, plateaux, gravel humps and marginal ledges.

DISTANCE IN-LINE
The distance in-line features a longer body with the majority of the weight concentrated in the nose of the lead. This lead is very aerodynamic which makes it perfect for longerrange shing. Its a personal favourite of big sh angler, Darrell Peck. USE IN WHAT SITUATIONDistance in-lines are the ones you want to be on for longer casts with an inline-style lead. These are not ideal for shing on steep gravel bars or marginal ledges because it can easily roll.

STONE LEADS
Stone leads have been designed and manufactured to look like stones. These give them very good camouage properties on the lakebed. They come in a vast array of colours, shapes and sizes so that you can make the perfect choice for any given situation. USE IN WHAT SITUATION These are very good for use in shallow and clear water. One downside about this style of lead is that they cannot be cast at any distance so they are best for close-range only.

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GRIPPER LEADS

DISTANCE LEADS
Distance leads are very good for getting the extra range which other leads cannot give you. The long and tapered lead has the majority of its weight at the nose and this gives you the aerodynamic properties to punch a lead in excess of 100yds. This shape is one of the most popular today. USE IN WHAT SITUATION With the majority of the weight concentrated in the noseend, it means that the lead is very stable in ight so it doesnt wobble and curve off on long chucks.

ZIP LEADS
Zip leads are what the tournament casters use for their casts. The long and aerodynamic shape makes this lead the ultimate for extremerange shing. Another added bonus is that if used at close-range in smaller sizes, the lead enters the water with a minimal of disturbance. USE IN WHAT SITUATION The long and pointed-nosed lead is good in small sizes at short- to medium-range because they enter the water quietly, hardly making a sound. Obviously great for distance work.

GRIPPER LEADS CAME ORIGINALLY FROM SEA FISHING. THE LEAD HAS ITS WEIGHT SPREAD OUT WITH A HOLE IN THE MIDDLE. THERE ARE ALSO LITTLE RAISED DIMPLES AROUND THE EXTERIOR OF THE LEAD. THESE LEADS LEND THEMSELVES PERFECTLY FOR GRIPPING AND HOLDING MARGINAL SHELVES. USE IN WHAT SITUATION Their main use is for holding onto the side of bars or margins. The hole in the middle combined with the little dimples spaced out across the exterior makes it perfect for holding the deck securely.

DUNG/CAMO LEADS

PVA BAG LEAD

PVA bag leads are very at and small in-line leads which have been designed for use in PVA bags. The small and at shape means they take up a minimum of space inside of a PVA bag so that you can still put the maximum of feed into it. Both Nash Tackle and Avid Carp make good examples. USE IN WHAT SITUATION With the lead being very small and at, it means they take up the minimum of space so that even more feed can be packed into the bag. Brilliant hookers.

CLEAR LEADS

CLEAR LEADS ARE MADE OUT OF A SEETHROUGH MATERIAL SO THAT THEY CAN BLEND IN OVER ANY GIVEN LAKEBED. THEY COME IN A VAST ARRAY OF SHAPES AND WEIGHTS SO THAT YOU CAN SELECT IT FOR ANY SITUATION. THE ONLY DOWNSIDE WITH THESE LEADS IS THAT IN SHALLOW AND CLEAR WATER THEY HAVE A TENDENCY TO GLOW AND SHIMMER. USE IN WHAT SITUATIONClear leads are very well-disguised on the lakebed because you are able to see the lakebed through the lead. They come in several shapes and sizes so they can be used in most situations and distances

Camo leads have been designed to incorporate real pieces of camouage around the exterior of the lead. The leads can be made to look silty/choddy and also gravelly or sandy. There are many different styles on the market in loads of different shapes and sizes. USE IN WHAT SITUATION Perfect for when you really want your lead to blend in with any lakebed debris especially light weed or hard silt. A serious edge on highly pressured venues.

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HOW TO...

R P M I

7 1 O R MIC

HOW TO
001

GET THE MOST FROM RIG TUBING

Before you even attempt to thread your main line through the tubing, here are a couple of necessaries. Always cut both the end of your main line and the one end of the tubing at an angle. By doing so, (a) the line will pass through easier and (b) the end of the tubing will push and hold better inside the rubber tail.

W THATG S O OW T ANGLIN H E L SIMP AID YOUR

S T N E M E OV
ILL

002

Some tubings are easier than others to thread a line through. If youre struggling, then hold either end and pull. This will remove any kinks that are stopping the line from coming through.

Now whilst it might seem the in thing to use a long length of leadcore or tubing, it isnt actually necessary 90% of the time. Tubing can be a nightmare at times, especially if youre using braid, so just use a short length but make sure it is at least three-inches longer than your hooklink to avoid tangles.

003

004

Instead of using one straight length of tubing, try cutting it up into four- or ve-inch sections and having three, four or ve of these up the line. This will break up the outline of the tubing, but still offer all the anti-tangle, sh care and pin down properties a length of tubing does.

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HOW TO...

TIE AN ADJUSTABLE SOFT HAIR

CLIP UP YOUR LINE WITHOUT DAMAGING IT

HOW TO

001

Take your braid, tie a Hair loop, thread on your hookbait bait and then a small piece of silicone, before threading onto the hook shank.

002

Hold the braid along the shank. Pass your mono through the eye of the hook and whip around (Knotless Knot) the shank and braid.

001

Take a bait band and lay it across the line like so.

002
Pass the end of the mono back through the eye in the normal manner to secure. Pull tight to bed down and then trim the mono tag.

Then using a baiting needle, pull one side back on itself.

003

004

At this point you can now adjust the length of the Hair by simply pulling it either way to increase or decrease the length.

003

It should end up looking like this one does in the photo.

005

Once youre happy with the length, simply tie an Overhand Knot. This will stop the Hair being pulled back through the whipping.

006

Finished. Note how the line is kicked out helping to create a lovely angle. Adjust the position of the silicone to help with turning.

004

And nally, place the band into the clip and you are ready 119

HOW TO...

HOW TO

SPREAD THE WEIGHT OF PUTTY

001

To warm up your putty, simply pull it about like a piece of chewing gum, this ensures its warm and sticky.

002

Spread a piece out and push your line into it. With braided rigs you can actually rub this stuff into the bres.

003

Mould it into the required shape and have little bits up the line Who needs leadcore, eh?!

004

By twiddling it with your ngers you can work a small layer along a few inches of line, helping to spread its weight.

HOW TO...
001

MAKE ULTRA BUOYANT POP-UPS OUT OF NORMAL ONES I.E. SO THEYRE PERFECT FOR CHOD RIGS

Take your pop-up and drill two-thirds of the way through it.

002

Clean the hole and then insert a cork stick as shown in the picture.

Tie on as usual making sure the oss goes around the cork.

003

004

Now simply tie the oss to the rig ring on your Chod Rig

HOW TO
001 002 003 004

CHECK A HOOK POINT

After removing a hook from the packet, hold it up to the light to see if the point looks perfectly formed to the naked eye. Next, run your nger along the inside and outside of the point to feel for any burrs or abnormalities along the hooks surface. Finally, prick the hook into the pad of a nger. If it penetrates easily, its fairly safe to say its sharp! Another method is to put the point onto your nail and lightly scrape the point back. If it grabs hold and doesnt move, its sharp. 120
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HOW TO...

HOW TO

MESH UP HALIBUT PELLETS

001

You need: baiting needle, drill, bait mesh, bait oss, lighter, bait stops, scissors and pellets.

002

Dynamite Baits do some awesome pellets; anything over 12mm is the perfect size.

Now take your pellet drill and start drilling a hole through the middle of the pellet.

003

004

It should look like this. If its cracked then throw it away and start again with a fresh pellet.

005

To secure the mesh with the oss, were going to use a Grinner Knot. Make a loop...

006

Go through the loop ve times; this will make the knot strong with no chance of slipping.

007

Once youve been through ve times, slowly pull it down until you form a neat knot.

008

Take a piece of your bait mesh and wrap it around the pellet. Leave room at the bottom.

HOW TO...
USE COATED HOOKLINK MATERIALS

Although we all steam the hooklink after tying to straighten it out, try dipping it in boiling water before you start. Itll make the material (especially the coily type ones) much easier to work with, which in turn will make your rig tying session a lot less stressful.

001

002

If you use Krystons Drop Em (a type of putty thats been specically designed to be used on hooklinks to help them sink), then once youve placed it onto the hooklink, hold it over steam for a split second. Itll almost look like it has melted, but in fact it has set hard to the material its sitting on.

003

Next time, instead of stripping back the last inch before the hook, try something slightly different. A coated hooklink is a coated hooklink, but it is the way you use it that makes it different to the next. Try a Broken Back, Stiff Rig, Hinge Rig

004

If you dont like bits of putty on the hooklink material, then simply place the rig in boiling water for a second before drying and then rub your block of putty up and down it. The heat helps the hooklink hold the putty better and you will not need to use blobs up your hooklink.

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Grab hold of the excess mesh from the bottom and twist it hard around the pellet like so.

009

010

Here you can see the hole you drilled earlier, keep holding tightly to the mesh near the pellet.

011

Right, grab your oss loop and pass it onto the tag end of the mesh and pull very tight.

012

Once you have really tightened it down, take a pair of scissors and trim off the excess.

If it looks like this, youve got it right! It isnt nished just yet theres still a few more touches.

013

Now take your lighter and slowly melt the mesh down. This will add extra security.

014

Take your baiting needle and pass it through the hole you drilled out at the start to attach it.

015

This is what the nished product looks like. This will stop your pellet from falling off.

016

HOW TO
LOOK AFTER CHOD RIGS
To keep your Chod Rig in perfect condition prior to casting out, simply pass the lead through the butt eye as shown. This way the lovely curve of the rig isnt straightened out like it would be if you attached the hook to your rod eye. 123

HOW TO...

HOW TO

STOP THE BIRDS GETTING YOUR FOOD

HOW TO
LEADCORE ADVICE
A cheap and easy way to store your readytied leadcore leaders is to place them in a lm canister.

001

First, scald some oating pellets. Next, ll your spod up threequarters with your chosen boilie or particle concoction.

001

002

With the scalded oating pellets now soft, rmly plug the end of the spod like so and then make your cast.

The pellets will stop spod spill and the birds will eat the oating pellets instead of your boilies or particles.

003

002

HOW TO

PUT ON DISSOLVABLE FOAM

Stretch your leadcore leader out before casting. Hold the lead in one hand and the end of the leader in the other and then pull.

003 004

If you break the lead cleanly i.e. with a pair of scissors, the lead wont poke through the side of the leadcore sheath. After catching a sh, always check to see if any of the outer-coating is frayed. If it is, redo it and tie a new leader. Dont go mental with the length of leader use one youre happy casting with. ESPs Nigel Sharp uses 6ft ones.

001

This method ensures it doesnt come off on impact with the water and your Hair cant tangle. Cut a single piece of dissolvable rig foam lengthways, almost in half, but not quite.

002

Take your hook and lay it inside the cut you have just made. This will ensure your Hair cannot tangle during the cast something than can happen if you just hook the foam on.

Now moisten the inside of the dissolving foam and hold it together for a few seconds. The two sides will now stick together. And nally, trim the foam down to make it more aerodynamic.

003

005

STOP ANYTHING MOVING AT THE HOOK END DURING A LONG CAST

HOW TO

006

Always leave your leader in the margin for a few minutes before casting out. Itll darken it off nicely.

001
124

When shing at long-range, to stop the boilies splitting on the cast, use two Hair stops crossed like this to spread the load.

002

Use two bits of shrink tube to increase the pressure to hold the Hair in place. Shrink one bit, then thread another on and shrink.

Finish the hook section with a piece of shrink tubing over the eye. Note where the Hair is exiting on the bend of the hook.

003

ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

HOW TO...
001

BALANCE A HOOKBAIT

HOW TO
001

HOW TO

MARK YOUR LINE

LOOK AFTER YOUR LINE

To ensure your line is in top condition, keep on top of line twist. To eradicate line twists use a Gardner Spin Doctor.

Off-the-shelf popups are ideal for making balanced hookbaits.

002

Firstly, pierce the hookbait to get the hole central to the bait.

001

Take ve-inches of your marking material (either pole elastic or marker braid such as Foxs Magic Marker) and make a loop against the main line.

002
Then use the very tip of your nut drill to make a tiny hole.

003

004

Re-insert the needle; it will be exactly central now.

Occasionally clean the line by reeling in after a long chuck through a damp cloth to clean the excess particulate matter off.

002

Take the tag end and pass it through the large loop youve created four times. This will pull down nicely and wont be bulky or move.

003 005 001 002 003 004 005

Thread on the bait and pinch a shot on just below the bait.

006

Pull the hookbait down onto the shot and voila!

HOW TO

LOAD A SPOOL

Remove the last rod length of line whenever it starts looking coiled. This will improve your presentation on the lakebed.

Firstly you will need to soak your spool of line in water for 24hrs before loading the spool. Next attach your line to the spool using a spool knot (this can be found in the knots section. Leave the spool of line in the water whilst you wind it onto the reel; this keeps the line wet.

004
Extreme temperatures and prolonged exposure to sunlight may affect lines. Keep the product in a dark place out of the sun.

After passing the tag end through four times, pull each end of the material to close the knot together. Moisten well before bedding it down.

003

Wind the line through a dry cloth onto the reel to keep the correct amount of tension. As you reel keep checking if the line is twisting, if it is you will need to turn the spool around.

004

With the knot pulled together, trim the two tag ends. You want to leave about a centimetre at each end. 125

INSIDE INFO...

ESSENTIAL GADGETRY

WHAT THE PROS CANT GO WITHOUT!

SHAUN HARRISON

001 LATEX GLOVES

DAVE IAN MAGALHAES RUSSELL

001 ATOMIC CLAWS
AND GAMAKATSU G-POINTS In my opinion, the sharpest and strongest hooks on the market and perfect for a bottom bait rig. CHODDAS AND 20LB ESP BRISTLE FILAMENT The only combo for a Choddy Rig set-up. SCISSORS Have you ever gone shing and left your scissors at home? Its a nightmare! 002 AVID MAGGOT STOPS Theyre buoyant, realistic and perfect for tipping 10mm boilies. If you dont have any, get some! 003 SWEPT-SHANK HOOKS I use this pattern of hook for the majority of my bottom bait shing because they ip and turn quickly in the carps mouth. They are a cracking all-round hook. 004 AVID FLAT LEAD CLIPS These are designed to take Speed Links, so they allow you to change your rigs in a matter of seconds. They have a at prole and blend well on all lake bottoms. 005 AVID MARKER ELASTIC Fishing accurately certainly catches you more carp. This stuff allows me to get my rods back on the spot accurately every time Plus, its really soft so it doesnt catch and it comes off easily too.

To stop my hands getting tainted with oily or rusty shery locks and chains or if I need to ll with fuel. For marking my line EVERY cast so as to be able to duplicate the situation should I be lucky enough to hook a sh.

001 SHARP

002 POLE ELASTIC

002 ATOMIC

Aside from the usual essentials such as hooks and hooklink materials there are certain items that are absolute musthaves and can really handicap my angling if I have forgotten them.

DAVE ELLYATT

003 LINE COUNTER 004 POLARISED

To check the distance after hooking a sh in a new spot. GLASSES Essential for procient sh-spotting.

001 ESP BRAID SCISSORS I would be lost without them; you cant bite through braid or Bristle Filament! 002 LIGHTER
For blobbing Bristle Filament and oss.

003 PRESTON

POWERLINE The only hooklink to use if you are Zigging or oater shing.

005 BINOCULAR

I need to be able to see further than my eyes can see effectively on their own. It is amazing how often you can spot bubblers at relatively close range through binoculars that you wouldnt have seen otherwise and they also double up used in reverse to check the state of your hook point.

004 NASH 5MM BORE BEADS AND ATOMIC LEADCORE The leadcore is very thin and strong and the beads are the only ones that t perfectly without having to go through the side or add silicone. 005 ATOMIC
DUNG LEADS The best leads available to trick a carp.

003 A VARIETY OF BAIT NEEDLES AND DRILLS Drennan needle for shaping the D on Chod Rigs and creating nice round loops on hooklinks by tensioning them around the handle. 004 TUNGSTEN PUTTY AND BEADS The putty is an obvious one but I am getting into using the little tungsten beads for balancing rigs. Very handy! 005 ESP SUPER FLOSS The absolute don for tying on pop-ups, nothing else comes close.

006 MOBILE

TELEPHONE Multi-uses from weather reports to ordering food to pick-up on my way home. I would be lost without it. 126

006 KORDA

SUPERNATURAL AND ATOMIC JEL-E-WYRE The best braid and coated braid available!

ULTIMATE RIG GUIDE

NIGEL SHARP

001 SMALL
WIRE CUTTERS For cutting swivels off leads, Bristle Filament etc.

001 GARDNER
COVERT CHOD HOOKS (SIZE 6 BARBED) Great dull nish and a pattern that is totally reliable for Chodding and the good old Hinged Stiff Link. If only there was a size 5 [cough].

LEWIS READ

002 HOOKLINK
MATERIALS Four different types: Coated braid, Amnesia, Double Strength and Bristle Filament.

003 CLAMSHELL
BOX It has six sections; housing swivels, lead wire, rings, etc.

002 SPOOL 20LB

GARDNER TRIP WIRE Where would we be without a stiffy?! Easy to use, but not accid like some.

004 FORCEPS
To bend and tweak eyes on hooks.

005 FLOATS
You never know when a stalking opportunity might come along.

006 RAZOR BLADE

You can make minor trims to baits to balance them.

003 COVERT MUGGA HOOKS Please dont restrict me to only one size 12s for Zigs and Mag-Aligners and the rest for almost anything from pop-ups to blow back rigs Muggas rule! 004 15LB GARDNER
CHOD SKIN The skin colour blends perfectly with any scruffy lakebed you can think of and its totally reliable.

007 BIG-EYED
SWIVELS Berkleys 60lb versions: perfect for Hinged Stiff Links at the leadcore end.

008 THINKING
ANGLERS Hook Ring Swivels: the next component to improving Chod Rigs.

009 SPARE LIGHTER Essential for blobbing rigs.

005 SIZE 12 COVERT KWIK-LOK FLEXI RING SWIVELS Now we can change from conventional rigs on a helicopter, to looped Chods, to Mugga-liner All in a matter of seconds.

After only a short time of using them, they already tick all the boxes when I need to ditch the lead on the take. 002 CRIMPS I never use a Choddy without one now. They add weight and make tying super short Chods a piece of cake. 003 JAG HOOK SHARPENERS Even after a sh, all hooks can be tweaked to be sticky sharp again, that way you get more use from them. Plus, as we all know, a super sharp, sticky-pointed hook will get you more bites. Get on it! 004 ESP STIFF RIGGERS Super sharp Chod hook with a straight point; a rm favourite of mine, as I believe you get more bites with a straight-pointed hook. Very reliable and havent ever let me down. 005 ACE LEADCORE Lovely contrasting colours and mega, mega heavy on the weight front. Very easy to splice too, which again is a bonus. Im really impressed with the stuff.

001 ACE LEAD CLIPS

IAIN JON SHOES MACMILLAN JONES

001 PROTOTYPE AVID HOOKLINK The new hooklink is great and Ive already caught my fair share of carp using it. Its strong, supple and comes in a matt green colour that disappears on all lake bottoms. 002 SUPER-STIFF SHRINK TUBING Normal shrink tubing is a bit too exible so I use this stuff. It doesnt lose its shape and the hook holds are always spot-on. 003 AVID FLOATING CORN STOPS Not only do they add a eck of colour to my hookbait, they also allow me to balance bottom baits. 004 AVID HIGH-LITES I dont think theres a better hookbait for Zig Rigs. Theyre super-buoyant so will keep the longest of hooklink super straight in the water-column and come in a range of colours. 005 AVID CHOD BEADS These beads allow me to sh a Chod Rig on my standard main line. They are safe, easy to use and very inconspicuous.
127

... and now you have the knowledge, you can make every carp look like this!

The

A CARPOLOGY AND MAXIMUM CARP PUBLICATION