Carp Catchers Blog

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

Running rigs are very over looked these days by the majority of carp anglers but if used correctly they can improve your catch rates in the right situation. They are advantageous in that they will give you indication as soon as the bait has moved rather than when the lead moves. Fished with slack lines the running rig setup will give you good indication before the line has even tightened. It also means that if your mainline breaks the lead will be released easily.

For this demonstration I used Korda Safe Zone Sinking Rig Tubing, Korda Safe Zone Run Rig Rubbers, Korda Size 8 Swivels, Korda Ring Clips, Korda Silicone Sleeves and a Korda Pear Lead.

Step 1.

Thread your mainline through your desired length of rig tubing.

Step 2.

Now thread your mainline through the ring on one of the Korda Ring Clips.

Step 3.

Then thread on the Korda Run Rig Rubber and push the rig tubing into the narrow end of the rubber.

Step 4.

With the tag end of you mainline tie a Palomar knot. Double over the tag end and pass it though the eye of a size 8 swivel.

Now tie an overhand knot with the doubled over section of your mainline.

Then pass the swivel through the loop created by doubling over the mainline.

Moisten the knot and tighten it down gently before trimming the tag end.

Step 5.

Pull the swivel inside the Run Rig Rubber.

Step 6.

Now push a silicone sleeve over the swivel of your choosen lead and hold it down so the top eye of the swivel is exposed.

Step 7.

Clip the lead onto the ring clip.

Step 8.

Now slide the silicone sleeve back up over the eye of the swivel and over the ring clip.

Notice how the eye of the swivel attached to the lead has been left exposed, this is to allow the setup to lie flat on the lake bed.

To change to lead all you have to do is slide the silicone sleeve back down and swap the leads.

All that is left to do is attach your rig by either using a Korda Kwik Link or tying it directly to the swivel.

Give it a go.

Dave

Glugging or dipping single hookbaits can improve their pulling power and increase the chances of a run when no free offerings are available. Most pop-ups have a matching dip/liquid to go with them which can be used to soak hookbaits in for increased attraction. Although that doesn’t mean to say that hookbaits have to be soaked in matching dips, you could always try something different and mix hookbaits with different liquids. Try dipping or glugging your singles and see how your results improve. Two of the more popular dips are the Richworth Impact Boilie Dips  and the Mainline Hookbait Enhancement System

Glugging or dipping baits can be messy business, there are items out there such as the Sixth Sense Stainless Steel Dipping Tool which makes the job far less messy.

Tight lines

Dave

 On a recent trip to Bluebell lakes, regular customer Ian Smith banked 4 carp from Sandmartin during a weekend session. Ian fished over silkweed in front of a thick weedbed at 70 yards to catch his fish. Using a mix of Sticky Baits Bloodworm Boilies and Dynamite Spicy Tuna and Sweet Chilli Boilies with Sticky Baits Bloodworm Pellets.  The setups Ian used were 4oz leads on  Nash Weed Safety  Leadclips with rigs consisting of Nash Triggalink to 50lb Korda Armourbraid with a size 6 Nash Fang Uni Hook and Sufix Camo Skin with a size 6  Gardner Mugga  Hook. The carp Ian landed weighed in at 14lb, 17lb 4oz, 25lb 14oz and 27lb 12oz. Well done again mate.

Tight Lines

Dave

Shop regular John Jones banked a 3o plus common on a new water recently. The fished weighed in at 35lb 2oz and was a fish caught a month earlier by Ian Smith at a similar weight. John tempted the fish back to the bank with a mixed bed of sticky baits boilies and a snowman hookbait. The set up John used was a Korda 4oz lead on a  Korda Safe Zone Safety Lead Clip  and Johns’ rig was tied with Kryston Super Mantis Green Hooklink and a size 6 Nash Fang X Hook. Well done again mate. Nice photo too.

Tight Lines

Dave

Carp are very wary creatures when put under angling pressure and they soon wise up and learn the tricks to avoid capture. One of which involves identifying anglers lines and avoiding the areas which they have identified as dangerous. There are a variety of methods anglers have at their disposal to try and eliminate these issues. These include back leads both flying and clip-on, tungsten putty to pin leaders and hooklinks down and now Korda have released their Sinkers. The Sinkers contain tungsten and are designed to pin down hooklinks.

Backleads have been around for years and have been used to good effect by many anglers in deceiving wary carp. The principle of a backlead is that they are attached to your line to pin it down to the bottom.

Clip-on back leads have been used for years and were first used with stones and paper clips. Nowadays there are many available on the market such as  Korda Intelligent Backleads (See picture below). The idea behind clip-on back leads is that once you’ve cast out you slacken off your line and clip on a small weight. Once clipped on you slide the backlead down your line into the margin. This pins it down out of the way of any passing fish, thus concealing the line from their ever wary nature. These also work well in preventing tangles when playing fish under the rod tip as they hold your other lines out of the way. The disadvantage of backleads is they can create unnatural line angles. These unatural line angles reduce indication of bites and can at times cause your line to sit awkwardly, especially in the presence of weed.

Flying back leads such as  Korda Safe Zone Flying Back Leads (See Picture Below) are attached to your line prior to casting out. They are shaped so that they fly back up your line towards the rod on the cast using air resistance. Flying back leads sit closer to your terminal tackle and pin your leader down more effectively than clip-ons. Unfortunately lying back leads also have a few disadvantages as they are affected by side winds, casting technique and also cause awkward line angles if used incorrectly.

Tungsten putty is reasonably new to the carp world but has been used to good effect since its appearance. It can be moulded on hooklinks and leaders to pin them to the lake bed. You can also rub tungsten putty up and down braided mainline or hooklinks further enhancing your presentation. Tungsten putty is incredibly heavy for the quantity you need and it works really well at pinning everything down to the bottom out of the way of wary carp. There are many brands on the market with a range of colours available including  Gardner Critical Mass Putty . (See Picture Below)

The newest product available to modern day carp anglers are the  Korda Sinkers which are tungsten hooklink weights. Korda Sinkers are easily threaded onto your hooklinks to keep them pinned to the lake bed. Sinkers are easy to attach, grip the line incredibly well and are fish friendly. (See Picture Below)

All these products will work to your advantage in the right situations. Give careful consideration to when and where to use them, as if used incorrectly they could hinder your chances of catching. Think about the make up of the lake bed, depth variations, weed growth and decide whether they will work to your advantage. Take these factors into account and you might find, one or a combination of a few of these products will help you put more fish on the bank. Give them a go and Pin It Down.

Tight Lines

Dave

As the river season opens this week I’d like to wish all of you river anglers out there good luck and tight swervy lines. If any of you have a decent catch or a nice specimen, email us a photo and a short report and I will feature you on the Carp Catchers Blog. Once again good luck to you all.

Best fishes,

John

Yes I know it’s not a carp but we feature all species on the Carp Catchers Blog. Regular contributor and customer went on a sea trip to catch some tope and boy did he. These two 30lb beauty’s were caught on dabs, caught earlier in the day. Rob reports that the sea was so rough he had to hold onto the gunnels with one hand as he was playing the fish. The skipper said that had the wind been one notch higher they would not have been able to go out. Rob has got his hands on a new syndicate ticket and is going on a French carp fishing trip soon so carpy reports and photos may be on their way in the near future.

Toothy critters aren’t they!!

Best fishes,

John

The best pike of the season by a Carp Catchers customer so far was reported to us recently by Tom Cox. Toms’ monster pike weighed 25lb 4oz and was caught on a legered roach from our deadbaits section. Tom has been tying his own traces using Drennan Barbed Carbon Trebles  , Drennan Slim Crimps and Drennan 7 Strand Pike Wire. Well done Tom that is one big, toothy pike.

Best fishes,

John

Oliver has been putting in a lot of time and effort into his pike fishing over the winter and it has paid off. Below is a nice clean pike of 11lb caught from the local canal, a decent size fish from a canal. Oliver caught his pike on a roach from our deadbait section. Nice one Oliver!

Best fishes,

John