Silt Rigs

[Paylor]

Hello there everyone. Im about to join a sydicate which has many rich rewards but there is a big problem and that is the silt. Ive being told that it is 20ft+ in places and presentation is almost imposible. Boats are allowed on the water?? any ideas on how to combat the silt problem????????

[jimshelley]

hi mate,
iam keeping it simple,time of night sorry.if i use nylon hook lenghs in silt i personally use very small leads .but if iam using heavy leads in hard silt where you get a donk down i use braid as my hook lengh.
jim shelley
keeping it real,"E.C.H.O.".
ps ,hope that helps mate.

[Lofte]

Hi Paylor how about trting some solar rig foam!

Lofte
Made in England
/images/forum/icons/smile.gif/images/forum/icons/smile.gif/images/forum/icons/smile.gif/images/forum/icons/smile.gif/images/forum/icons/smile.gif/images/forum/icons/smile.gif/images/forum/icons/smile.gif/images/forum/icons/smile.gif/images/forum/icons/smile.gif

[Paulm]

Normally when fishing in silt i'll fish a pop up straight off the lead, just above the silt. Normally mono hooklink. To get the depth of the silt i'll wrap some wool/cotton (white) around the lead going up the mainline. This will take on the colour of the silt showing its depth, but as you can use a boat it will be easier for you.

Paulm /images/forum/icons/wink.gif

[bazza]

rig foam won't stop a 3oz lead from sinking into silt.

think about the situation you are fishing to - light leads, long hooklings and buoyant bait if you have any doubts...

[bigfoot2]

Having fished all the lakes on the patshull estate for quite a few years (which are very silty) i might be able to offer a few pointers . Fishing in silt is a lot like fishing in weed , a lot of it is down to having the confidence to fish in it.virtually all carp feeding in silt do so with their head buried in the stuff sucking in great mouthfulls and sorting out the food when it is in their mouth.The vast majority of my fish have been caught on bottom baits on top of or actually buried in the silt .If carp can find individual bloodworm buried in silt they will have no trouble finding your hookbaits. pop-ups were almost a waste of time, i would only start catching one or two on pop-ups during the winter. i have also tried many different rigs over the years but have always done better fishing with 1 1/2 oz to 2 oz leads fished helicopter style. i've not noticed much of a difference between hooklink materials but when fish are feeding confidently in silt i don't think it makes much difference specially with all the debris generally on the bottom. Also i think it pays to scale down the strength of the main line to around 10lb maximum obvously you will have to take into account the nature of the lake you are fishing (snags.etc.)but generally speaking silty lakes don't have much in the way of weed. It still pays to have a cast around with the marker even if you think you know the swim well. On many occasions ive found areas of lighter silt or even hard bottoms newly created where carp have been repeatedly feeding on one spot. find these spots and you could be in for a red letter day.
Don't forget though whatever lake you fish carp are carp and they will allways be attracted to features (reed beds,marginal shelves etc).
hope i've been of some help.
good luck
craig.

[jimshelley]

hi bazza,
pva bags will help a big lead.try a nice blatant pop up that works well.
jim shelley
keeping it british,"E.C.H.O.".

[Paylor]

Cheers lads thanx for the advice. Ill let you know how i get on.

[Paylor]

I was recently speaking to some of the guys from carp R us and they told me about there new rig that they have come out with that will help to use heavy leads in silt fished helicopter style. They called it the U.S.R and its the first rig that I have ever seen that 110% guarentees that you can fish a safe rig when using leadcore. I believe that I had seen the rig a couple of years earlier marketed under another company but i believe that Carp R Us brought the rights. The rig works buy setting the hooklengh a couple more inches up the leadcore or line than the depth of the silt. Its a good concept ask or ring them about it.??? It is 100% fish friendly way of using leadcore leaders

[Smarts]

If the silt is the nice brown stuff,carp will bury their heads in it looking for grub.If it's the stinky black stuff then keep away as this normally just holds dead and rotting matter,(hence the smell!).
Normal tactics can be used in silt with a bit of thought.Just think about the type of lead you are using.If you have a variety of types and sizes and drop them in the edge,(one that isn't deeper then your arm!),you will see they all act in a different many when falling through the water and hitting the silt.
Most leads are made for distance so all the weight is at the front......this means that when they hit the water they rocket through the depths with great momentum and then deep into the silt.They are made like this to gain distance in the same manner by pushing themselves through the air.
Unless you are going for distance use trilobe leads,terrapins etc....you will see that they lose their pace when they hit the water and therefore do not plunge into the silt in the same manner.

Smarts

[Crispy]

If it's very deep and very soft try a PVA bag as usual with a light lead but with the addition of some locke foam in the bag as well as on the hook, pierce the bag so water can get in and it'll sink so slowly that the lead won't bury.