Tom Stone and John Patterson take a look at rigs in the second installment of their Basic Carping Masterclass...
Basic Carping, Part 2 - Rigs | Angling Masterclass
Basic Carping, Part 2 - Rigs
Basic Carping Part 2 - Rigs
We left off last time with our main areas been selected with the marker float, during this part we will be looking at how we setup our end tackle.
Both John and myself have the same rule when setting up our end tackle, keep it simple! I mean why bother making things more complicated than they are all already? But saying that we also keep a good eye on detail, seeing how things look in the water, almost from the fish's eye.
There is no point having thought out the last 9 inches in detail if the next 6ft sits out like a sore thumb, so after threading the 15lb mainline though our 2.5lb test curve rods we both added 5ft of leadcore. Personaly I like using the ESP leadcore as it has a lovely dark colour which I feel hides on the bottom of the lake very well, to attach the leadcore leader I use the very simple Moor's knot, which is also easy to tie.
Tying A Moors Knot
First of all you take out about 30mm of the lead out of the centre at the end of the leadcore, then thread the splicing needle though the middle, sealing the end while on the needle with a cigarette lighter (I always turn the leadcore around whilst it is still melted so the end stays round instead of oval) then pull the line through on a loop and then make the loop larger and then thread the other end of the leadcore though 3 or 4 times and slowly pull the loops together, moistering the knot before it closes up, and there you have it, a lovely streamlined knot that wouldn't let you down as long as it is tied as above.
You can also use a short length of rubber tubing instead of the leadcore, which like the leadcore helps to cutdown on tangles during casting, helps to keep the line pinned down to the bottom of the lake, again keeping it away from the fish (hopefully!) and lastly it also helps to protect the fish during the fight from the line or braid getting under the scales and lifting them.
Lead Attachment
Our next choice is how we fit the lead onto the line. Well there are so many options.
The first one being either a free-running lead on a run-ring or the lead straight onto the mainline. Personally I prefer the lead on a run-ring as it can cut down the fiction on the mainline making it more 'free' running and more importantly it is also easier to come free if I do get a breakage making it far more fish safe, a point you should always think about while setting up any rig!
The next system is a semi fixed lead system using the leadclip that fits over your swivel and the better ones have a method to fix it to the swivel either by tying it on, fixing it in there as part of the clip or sticking a peg though the clip and the swivel so it is fixed, try and avoid systems that don't let you do the above. now why is that important you may ask? Well, it goes back to fish safety once again, allowing the lead to come free if you do get snnaged up and break the mainline so the fish is just towing around the mainline and not a 3oz lead, it can also help in weedy waters if setup right allowing you to lose the lead after a take and playing the fish much easier and giving you more of a chance of landing the beast.
Fixed Leads
The last system is the fixed lead which in all honesty is best used with a helicopter rig. The helicopter rig basically has the lead attached to the mainline (or leadcore in this case) instead of the hooklength and the hooklength on a large-eyed swivel sold in tackle shops as a helicopter swivel or a ring swivel and it is quite easy to make up. First you need to take out about 75mm of leadcore, then about 50mm down thread the splicing needle and pull the other 25mm through carefully forming a loop about 5mm in diameter.
Next tie a snaplink or other conector to the leadcore with a simple 2 turn water knot about 50mm down from the loop, then slide down a large bore RUBBER bead followed by your swivel and then by another large bore RUBBER bead.
Then thread the leadcore through the loop, put a length of rubber tubing over the snaplink thats long enough to cover the link and the loop on the lead and thats the rig set-up.
Lasty it is worth testing it afterwards to make sure the hooklength can pull off, although this can be said for whatever system you use.
Safety First
Just make sure the lead can be dicharged safely and with the running lead and helicopter make sure there is nothing up the line that can stop this, and with the leadclip system please please don't ram the tail rubber on if you are losing leads in a clear lake then maybe its time to look at other systems or clips. Fish safety should always always come first and should never be comprimsed for the sake of a few of quid!!!!
For our session we both went for the leadclips, John using the Nash versions which you tie though to secure and me having a play around with the new ESP versions with a fixing pin.
The next thing we looked at were the leads... and God there are so many out there!
Lead Selection
With so many different sizes, shapes and colours where on earth do you start?
First you have to think about what the lead has to do. The lead has a few uses, the first being to get your rig to the desired spot. If you have to cast a long way then a pointed oval shape lead might be ideal as it will cast further, then it has to be able to hold the bottom with undertow and then there is the lake bottom to think about; does it need to hold on a side of a bar? If that was the case a flat lead or gripper lead would hold better than say a round shape.
It is also helpful in making the rig work and giving the fish a slight prick that will hopefully give you the take so a round or flat lead would be the best choice as it has a pivoting point. Also, a 1oz lead might not set the rig well and a 4oz lead might help the fish to shed the hook.
Lastly is the case of a highly coloured lead might help to attract the fish down to your bait. A lot to think about here.
There are also two different types of leads, one with a loop onto which a swivel is normally placed, or an inline lead which threads onto your line. Personally I prefer to use the former as I am not over keen on the way the in-line leads move about whilst you are playing a fish. Other anglers will disagree with me here but that's angling!
A lot to think about and really knowing what lead to use is something that comes with experience and will depend on what waters you are fishing.
On this session funnily enough John and I used the same lead, a Korda flat pear 3oz for our bottom rigs. This is simply because the Blue Pool at Burghfield is a small lake and we don't need to cast far, as well as the flat edge being able to cope with the small bars we were fishing. It is also an ideal size to help with pricking the fish and I use a 3oz flat lead for about 80% of my fishing - it is just a great allrounder!
As for the colour of lead I used have a look at the photo and have a guess! Hooklengths
Now we are onto the hooklengths themselves and this is where we both differed. With the water fairly clear I like to use a fluorocarbon hooklength on the clear gravel areas and Stealth Skin in green anywhere near weed, once again hopefully hiding my hooklength on the bottom of the lake.
I set up both my bottom rigs with one on each rod, both with the knotless knot which is one of the easiest to tie and one of the most effective to use.
Cut 30cm of hooklengh material, tie a loop one end, put on your bait of choice (in this case a single boilie) and then using a straight eyed hook thread the line through the top of the eye of the hook. Then pull through until you have your bait in the position (normally I have mine about 3-5mm off the bend of the hook). Grip hold of the hook and line firmly in one hand then with your other hand get hold of the other end of hooklengh material and wind it around the shank of the hook at least 5 turns (i personally prefer 10 as it gives you a far stiffer hair) or until you are opposite the point of the hook. Then give a couple of turns back up over the other turns and then back though the top of the eye of the hook. Straighten the hooklengh either through your fingers or carefully over the kettle (which should be on most of the time!) then tie to your swivel and job done. A nice simple rig and one that will catch you hundreds of carp from most waters in the UK.
If you are using a coated braid like Stealth Skin you can break the skins covering about 25mm from the hook and then push it back up towards the eye of the hook until you are level with the hookpoint once again. This can give you another good hook placement inside the mouth and is a good fish-safe verison of the old bent hook rig. John's bottom bait rig was set up similar to mine apart from he was using Kryston Gold Mantis on both bottom rigs as well as the Line-Aligner rig which is tied the same way as the one I was using apart from he had stripped about 6 " off a longer hooklength of 18 " and after the Knotless knot had been tied he had threaded on a 12mm of 1.5-0.5mm shrink tubing on to the hooklength with the last 3mm with the help of a needle is pushed though the tubing so it is on the outside its then pushed down onto the hook so the line thats coming though the tubing is in the same line as the bend of the hook, then steamed down again.
It is another simple but effective setup and if you would like to test how good your hook set up is, just pull it over the back of your hand and it should only move about 75mm before turning over and pulling in. If in 6 pulls it doesn't do it it's worth changing the length of your hair or playing around with it until it starts to work.
Well that's our rigs sorted out and in the next piece we will look at the methods we use to set our traps for Mr carpy.
Until the next part, tight lines and hopefully you will have caught a few!
Tom Stone and John Patterson
How the basic helicopter rig looks while its being put together
The finished helicopter rig with the hooklength being pulled free
The different leads starting bottom left; the zipp lead or distance lead, the Korda swivel distance lead, the dumpy lead, the gripper lead, the flat pear. Top row are all in-line leads
hmm... which one would you choose?
The top rig is the Knotless knot rig. Bottom two are the Line-Aligners.
