Blow back rigs essentially utilise a hair that’s held loosely in position with a shank mounted rig ring. Obviously, this arrangement has been used extremely successfully for many years now.

There is little doubt that the use of the hair/rig ring combination genuinely enhances the way in which the hook is free to twist aggressively (unimpeded) and can truly elevate the effectiveness of many carp rigs.

By reducing the potential for any unnecessary resistance that could impede the hooks free movement, by using a conventional fixed hair, you’re actually allowing the hook to react quicker ensuring the rig reacts positively the instant that a carp inhales the hookbait.

Essentially, this means that the weight of the hook and (crucially) the design of the hook pattern’s natural propensity to work effectively is enhanced and elevated. Ultimately this forces the hook point to drop down into the ideal position to prick and take a good firm hold in the carps mouth. That means more fish hooked and a higher proportion of fish landed too… Happy days!

The reaction time of the rig is also helped by the fact that the rig ring and hair is free to move from it’s set point (roughly opposite the barb with bottom bait rigs) back towards the eye of the hook. If the fish tries to blow the hook bait out this blow back action effectively extends the hair length and giving the hook a fraction of a second longer to take hold.

This is absolutely key in understanding the effectiveness of many rigs; as most carp react quite violently when they realise something is not right with their last mouthful, so the faster the rig reacts the better, as the fish has less time to react in a controlled manner.

Blow back arrangements can be incorporated on most basic hair style hookbait presentations, especially those using braided or skinned hooklinks, as the continuation soft material that is commonly used for the hair and hooklink allows the movement of the hook.

The reaction speed and aggressive manner in which it twists can often be enhanced by extending the hook shank with a Covert Hook Aligner or angled piece of Supa Shrink tubing. The mechanics of this is that the hook hinges further inside the fishes mouth as the end of the tube touches the mouth and also more aggressively thanks to the flipping action these kickers create.

If you’re using a pop up rig it’s worth moving the position of the rig ring further down the hook shank, towards the hook eye (opposite the point instead of opposite the barb) as the finished rig will sit nicely with the hookbait closer to the back of the shank. That was the hook will be free to ‘claw’ and take hold faster and in the correct orientation.

Of course there are occasions when a hair trapped with a bit of silicone would be a better option – normally when there are hoards of small fish attacking your freebies and hookbait; and in this scenario a blow back rig may be compromised if the hair is twisted and tangled due to the excessive attentions of silvers pecking and trashing your traps.

This style of hair can be used with most patterns of hooks. Stick to a size and shape that you have confidence in and your can rest assured that the additional detail will help you snare a few extra fish as the rigs will perform more efficiently.