I thought I would tell you all about a couple of rigs that have served me well of late. I’ve not caught any unknown monsters on them however; they have been really consistent for me. One is a pop up rig and the other a bottom bait rig. As I type this piece from the bivvy with the rain hitting the roof and fish topping in my mates swim next door, I have all three rods on the bottom bait rig I’m going to describe!
I came about these rigs by chance really, because anyone who knows me will tell that I like to think of myself as a bit of a rig buff and over the years I’ve constructed all manner of carp catching contraptions, most successful, some not!
Several months back I was doing the odd night on a local reservoir, which is low stocked, weedy and silty and after setting up I soon realised I didn’t have any rigs tied up that were suitable for the swim and situation I was fishing. I needed something quick and easy to tie and it goes without saying that I needed to be confident with whatever I came up with. As darkness fell I quickly lashed together three rigs comprising of Covert Mugga hooks to which I knotless knotted some 15lb Sink Skin. I trimmed off the excess material next to the bottom of the knotless knot, effectively leaving no material to tie a hair. I placed a Covert Pop-up Hook Aligner over the top of the knotless knot including a Covert Rig Ring of course to attach a pop up. I then split the material the desired length (how high I wanted the pop up to sit off the bottom) above the hook leaving a small 5mm gap of exposed braid to aid movement and allow the pop up to sit up straight. The hookbait in question was a glugged 16mm Mainline pop up and this was fished in fairly deep silt with a scattering of freebies. The hooklink was fished on a drop off helicopter set up incorporating a Drop Out Safety Chod Clips. The set up worked a treat and I landed an absolutely cracking mirror carp just into the 20lb bracket, an unknown fish with which I was absolutely made up. I continued to use this rig in other situations and it’s been consistent to say the least with some superb hook holds.
On another session in similar circumstances, I needed bottom bait rigs due to fishing a much harder and cleaner bottom. I opted to use a size 6 Covert Incizor hook and 25lb Chod Skin hooklink material. For this rig I strip back a few inches of the outer coating to reveal the braid. I then tie a hair loop in the end and add a small piece of 0.5mm Covert Silicone Tube. The next bit requires a steady hand, slip the point of the hook between the silicone and the braid, so the braid is trapped against the hook shank. Next knotless knot the material including the outer coating to the hook, approximately 4 or 5 times will suffice. Break the Chod Skin around 10mm above the hook using A Peel and Pull Stripper Tool and expose around 5mm of braid. The short 10mm piece of coated material above the hook acts as shrink tube and helps the hook to turn and catch the bottom lip of the carp. The silicone needs to be opposite or just below the hook point to aid the turning of the hook. I fish this hooklink on a lead clip system over firm silt, baited up with lots of boilies and enjoyed lots of runs. My confidence has soared in this rig, so give it a crack!
A simple overhand loop tied is tied in the opposite end of each hook links, which finishes them off and they can then be neatly attached to the lead system. They are as simple and as quick as it gets, and I can assure you both are great hookers so if you want to keep your rigs quick and simple, give these a go because I know they work brilliantly!
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