Carp Catchers Blog

The New Korda Chod-It Tool is a unique tool purposely designed to make tying chod and stiff rigs easier. It has been machine made with aluminium and a hard anodised coating. The Chod-It has several key features designed the make the perfect ‘D’ on stiff rigs and form perfect loops in boom sections while the special mushroom cap is ideal for tensioning ring swivels.

Get yourself a Korda Chod-It and make stiff rig tying a piece of cake.

Tight Lines

Dave

I fished a low stock Nene Valley gravel pit a few months back and on my first session I managed a cracking 28lb 12oz Common within hours of finding a few fish and casting a few baits at them. The fish fell to CC Moore Odyssey XXX Freezer baits with a corkball hookbait presented on a Hinged Stiff rig incorporating ESP Stiff Rigger Hooks, Gardner Trip Wire and GLT Green Stiffy.

Tight Lines

Dave

I did another overnighter recently at Elsons on the Stanwick Lakes Fisheries and had a result in the form of 5 fish. I turned up to find the lakes quieter than expected due to the bad weather and after a quick walk round I had found a few fish and decided to setup in the nearest swim. Three hinged stiff rigs with CC Moore Odyssey xxx corkball pop ups were soon cast out towards the showing fish followed by a light spread of Odyssey xxx freezer baits. I didn’t have to wait long for the first take which resulted in a 16lb 4oz Common, shortly after I landed a stunning 21lb 8oz Mirror which was the result of reeling in a rod and casting a single at the group of showing fish in the next swim. Through the night I had a further 2 takes including a 20lb 8oz Common and finished up with a 16lb 12oz Common and a 6lb Tench just before packing up.

Hows your spring fishing going? Send us any photos and catch reports to carp@carpcatchers.biz and we will add them to the blog and our facebook page.

Tight Lines

Dave

I recently did a quick overnighter on Elsons Lake at the Stanwick Lakes Fisheries. I set up on the toilet bank after finding the bulk of the fish and set about getting some baits in the water with everything set it was time to sit back and take in the atmosphere of this historic water. About 11.30pm I had a take on the right hand rod which resulted in a 15 minute fight out in the lake. I caught a glimpse of the fish 5 minutes in so had a good idea of what I was connected to. The fish was soon in the net after a few tense moments, it was Swanny, one of the lakes larger residents. Although down in weight at 31lb 4oz I was over the moon, the weight is irrelevant as I’ve always wanted to land this fish since the first day I saw the photos. The fish was followed up by 2 more on the right hand rod weighing 17lb 4oz and 21lb 10oz, both of which were commons. All the fish were landed using CC Moore Odyssey XXX freezer baits and corkball pop ups on hinged stiff rigs, incorporating GLT Green Stiffy booms, ESP Uni Link Swivels, Gardner Trip Wire and ESP Stiff Rigger Hooks.

Tight lines

Dave

We now have the Solar Weed Effect Range in stock. First up we have The Solar Weed Effect Hooklink which looks and feels like weed. The Weed Effect Hooklink is tied with a size 6 Longshank Hook, but has a unique system which makes hooks interchangable, so any size or pattern of hook can be used. The soft feel anti tangle fibres will absorb dips and flavours or lake bed odours for either increased attraction or concealment. For more information or to purchase please click on the above link. The Solar Weed Effect Leadcore Leader has the same realistic soft touch anti tangle weed effect fibres and comes in 35lb B.S. 1 metre lengths with spliced loops at each end. The Solar Weed Effect Leads have colour coded tags attached to the swivel to differentiate between sizes and feature the same fibres as the above products. For more information or to purchase please click on the above links.

A lot of carp anglers struggle to tie chod rigs, so ESP have done something about it. The ESP Chod Rigs are tied with ESP Stiff Rigger Hooks, Bristle Filament and a smooth Japanese Uni Link Ring Swivel. These look really well tied and uniform guys and you get three in a pack at a decent price. To check them out or to buy please click on the above link.

                                     Solar Weed Effect Hooklink

                                Solar Weed Effect Leadcore Leader

                                     Solar Weed Effect Leads

                                                ESP Chod Rigs

Best Fishes,

John

Triggalink is a revolutionary hooklink braid. It is woven with PVA which once in water it melts drawing in the braid and becomes an elasticated, self hooking rig. Carp do not know how to deal with Triggalink due to the elasticity which makes it hard for them to use the weight of the lead to throw the hook. The elasticity in the braid doesn’t allow them to make contact with the lead without the hook penetrating and taking hold. Triggalink is proven to enhance hook holds, especially when fishing barbless hooks and in weed.

To tie this rig I used Nash Triggalink, Nash The Missing Link, a Nash Safety Bolt Bead Ring Swivel and a Nash Fang Gaper Hook.

Step 1.

Strip 8 inches of Missing Link and tie a small hair loop in one end.

Step 2.

Now thread your choosen bait onto the hair with a baiting needle and secure it in place with a bait stop. 

Step 3.

Pass the other end of the missing link through the back of the eye and set a gap of about 6mm between the top of the hook and the bait.

Step 4.

Whip the missing link up the shank of the hook 5-6 times…..

….Before passing the tag end through the back of the eye again.

Step 5.

Now cut 12 inches of Triggalink off the spool and hold it along side the tag end of the missing link with your hook and bait attached to.

Step 6.

While continuing to hold the two along side each other create a loop with the triggalink.

Step 7.

Take the shorter end of the Triggalink and pass it round the Missing link and through the loop created 4 times.

Step 8.

Now create a loop with the Missing link along side the Triggalink.

Step 9.

Pass the tag end of the Missing link around the Triggalink and through the loop 4 times.

Step 10.

Now moisten both knots and tighten them down gently before butting them up together. Then trim the tag ends and blob them with a lighter.

Step 11.

Pass the tag end of the Triggalink through the ring on the ring swivel.

Step 12.

Create a loop with the tag end alongside the length of Triggalink tied to the Missing link.

Step 13.

Pass the tag end around the Trigga link and through the loop 5 times.

Step 14.

Moisten the knot and tighten gently, then trim the tag end.

The rig is now complete.

The length of the Triggalink when the rig is complete measures approximately 6 1/2 inches.

Once wet the PVA in the Triggalink melts and contracts the braid. Shortening it to approximately 5 1/2 inches.

This is worth baring in mind when tying a rig with Triggalink as it will always end up shorter once wet. This rig is known as a Combi-Link Rig and can be used with either bottom or pop up hookbaits. If you wish to use a pop up, mould some tungsten putty, such as Kryston Heavy Metal Plus , around the knot in the two hooklinks.

Tight Lines

Dave

This is an alternative to the previous Carp Catchers Blog on how to tie The Shot On The Hair Rig. It is tied in exactly the same way except the hair is lengthened by 10mm and the shot is placed halfway along the hair rather than directly next to the bait.

Setting the rig like this means the bait sits up off the lake bed by about 10mm if using a pop up hookbait. It allows the hook to lay flat on the lake bed alway from the bait, making it less obvious to wary carp. This alternate Shot On The Hair Rig  provides good bait separation and ensures the rig is hook heavy, making it more likely to catch in the carps mouth.  Though more effective with pop up hookbaits, a bottom bait can be used and the rig will still be very effective as it is still hook heavy.

Tight Lines

Dave

The Shot On The Hair Rig is basically a bottom bait rig with a small shot added to the hair to allow a pop-up hookbait to be used. This completely alters how the rig to reacts to how it would with a bottom bait. The hookbait is allowed to move more naturally due to it’s bouyancy and the length of the hair. The shot on the hair allows you to either critically balance or overweight the pop up hookbait.  The nature of supple braid allows the hookbait to be picked up with minimal resistance and the pattern of the hook means the point hangs low below the hookbait helping it to grab hold. The simplicity of The Shot On The Hair Rig makes it easy to tie and it minimises the bulky components such as shrink tubing used on some rigs.

For the purpose of this demonstration I used the Korda Supernatural Hooklink, a Korda Kurv Shank Hook and a No.4 split shot. The shot size is determined by the size and bouyancy of your choosen pop-up, the bigger and more bouyant the pop-up the larger the shot. I found a No.4 shot to work perfectly with a 14mm Richworth Pineapple Hawaiian Pop Ups  although it varies between different makes and types of pop-ups.

Step 1.

Cut 14″ of Korda Supernatural from the spool and tie a small overhand loop knot in one end.

Step 2.

Thread on your choosen pop-up and secure in place with a bait stop.

Step 3.

For this version of the rig pinch the shot onto the hooklink below the pop-up. This will give you a slow sinking hookbait which is almost critically balanced. We will show you an alternative version of this rig, which has  the shot positioned differently, soon.

Step 4.

Thread the Korda Kurv Shank Hook onto the hooklink passing the braid though the back of the eye to the front and position the bait about 6mm from the top of the hook.

Step 5.

Now whip the hooklink up the shank of the hook 6-7 times and then pass the hooklink through the back of the eye to the front to finish the knot.

Step 6.

Double over the other end of the hooklink.

Step 7.

Then form a loop with the doubled over section of the hooklink.

Step 8.

Now pass the end of the doubled over section around the bottom and through the back of the loop created in step 7.

This creates the figure of eight, if you get this eight shape then you have done it right.

If you struggle with tying the knot then try this method. Alternative Figure of Eight Loop Knot.

Step 9.

Now gently tighten down the knot and trim the tag end.

The rig is now complete and ready to be attached to your lead setup.

The rig is best fished of with a small Dynamite Stick or PVA Mesh Bag thread down the hooklink over the hook to avoid tangles.

Tight Lines

Dave

Here’s a nice 35lb 2oz mirror carp I had recently. It led me a right dance as it got into a massive weed bed and even though the lead had dropped on the take I had to go out in the boat to free it. It was well hooked though and it was never going to come off. I used half a kilo of scattered 18mm Mainline Activ-8  boilies as bait and the hookbait was a snowman with a 10mm Mainline Hi Visual  Milky Toffee pop up. The rig was tied D rig style with a size 6 Gardner Longshank Incizor  hook  and a 30lb GLT No Can See Fluorocarbon Hooklink .

Best Fishes,

John

Single hookbaits are a good approach all year round although they come into their own during the winter when bites definately slow. Single hookbaits are many anglers favourite approach during the colder months because of their effectiveness at picking off fish in their winter mode which otherwise probably would not have been caught if a bed of bait was used.

There are a wide range of baits out there which work particularly well as single hookbaits. I prefer to use glugged pop-ups for singles but most high attraction baits are suitable. Some anglers prefer high viz baits where others prefer high attraction food baits. My favourites are white pop-ups such as the Baitcraft Snowball, yellow pineapple pop-ups such as Mainline Hi-Visual Pineapple Juice and food bait pop-ups such as Dynamite Baits The Source. This gives me a good enough range to try.

My tips would be to make note of any fish you see show during the winter months this year and in previous years if you know the water well and use these areas as starting points each session. Bear in mind on some waters the fish could well be at range so use simple pop-up rigs that are less likely to tangle and don’t over complicate things too much. And remember if you see fish show it might be worth a cast at them as fish are less likely to move much during the winter so the closer you can get a bait to the fish the better chance of a run.

Tight Lines

Dave