Carp Catchers Blog

The Claw rig is a very effective bottom bait rig. With no shrink tube or rigs rings its also very simple to tie.

For the purpose of this demonstration I used the Korda Hybrid Stiff Coated Braid, a Korda Kurv Shank  Hook and a 3mm length of the Korda Silicone Tubing.

Step 1.

Remove roughly 4 inches of coating from the Korda Hybrid stiff hooklink and tie a small overhand loop in the stripped end.

Step 2.

Now thread a 3mm section of Silicone tubing onto the hooklink.

Step 3.

Then pass the hook point through the silicone tubing towards the loop tied in step 1. Make sure not the snag the hookpoint in the braid on the way through as this could damage the hooklink.

Step 4.

Thread the hooklink through the back of the eye and then thread your choosen hookbait onto the hair and secure it with a bait stop. Set the hair with about a 1cm gap between the hookbait and hook.

Step 5.

Now whip the hooklink up the shank of the hook 6 times before passing it through the back of the eye to create a knotless knot. 

Step 6.

Next thread two of the small Korda Sinkers onto the hooklink. It is easier the strip a small amount of coating off the end of hooklink as the coating makes it too thick to get the sinkers on.

Step 7.

Tie a figure of eight knot in the end of the hooklink.

Double over the end of the hooklink and create a loop like so….

Then pass the end of the doubled over loop through the loop just created….

And again….

Moisten the knot and pull it tight.

Step 8.

Position the Korda Sinkers evenly apart along the hooklink and gently steam it straight over a kettle.

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

Due to the stiffness and nature of this rig it is best fished over firm/hard lakes beds.

Tight Lines

Dave

Its getting to that time of year again when maggots are becoming more widely used due to them being such an effective winter bait. Have a go at tying this rig and see how you get on.

The components used in this demonstration were the Korda IQ2 Xtra Soft Fluorocarbon , Korda Wide Gape  hook size 8 and  Korda Micro Rig Swivel.

Step 1.

After cutting your required length of fluorocarbon tie on a Korda Wide Gape using a knotless knot making sure to whip round the shank twice on the way back down to the eye. 

Step 2.

Now thread a micro rig swivel onto the tag end above the hook.

Step 3.

Then pass the tag end through the back of the eye to the front and trim the tag end down to about 3-4mm. This will have created a D shape on the back of the shank for the swivel to move on.

Step 4.

Holding the hooklength out of the way slowly blob the tag end with a lighter to secure it in place. Make sure not to burn the hooklink as this will damage the fluorocarbon and increase the chance of it breaking. Also take care not to burn yourself.

Step 5.

To finish the rig tie a figure of eight knot in the other end setting the desired length of rig you require and trim the tag end.

The finished rig should look like this.

This rig works best with a large bunch of maggots and a couple of imitation pop-up maggots to help counter the weight of the hook. This rig isn’t strictly a maggot rig and can be used with other baits as well. 

The knots used in this demonstration can be found in previous blogs by using the search bar on the top right hand side of the page.

Give it a go.

Tight Lines

Dave

Tying a zig rig is simple, all you need is a good hooklink material like the Ultima Power Zig, a strong hook and a small section of silicone tubing.

The rig components used in this demonstration were Ultima Power Zig hooklink, ESP Big T Carp Hook and ESP Silicone Tube .

Step 1.

Cut the Ultima Power Zig to your desired length.

Step 2.

Now tie a small overhand loop in one end for your hair stop and thread on your desired choice of pop-up or foam followed by a bait stop.

Step 3.

Then cut a small section (2-3mm) of silicone tubing and thread it onto your zig hooklink.

Step 4.

Now thread the point of the hook through the silicone tubing heading towards the bait and set the hair length at about 2-3mm with the tubing sitting at the top of the shank.

Step 5.

Now tie a knotless knot and don’t forget to whip the hooklink back round the knot once on the way towards the eye to prevent it from slipping.

Step 6.

To finish the zig rig off tie a figure of eight knot at the other end.

The zig rig is now finished and ready to use.

If you are not sure about any of the knots use the Carp Catchers Blog search bar to navigate to the relevant knot

Tight lines

Dave

The Figure Of Eight or Double Overhand Loop Knot is an extremely strong loop knot with many applications. Below is a step by step photographic sequence showing you how to tie it.

Step1

Choose your hooklink material and cut the desired length. I have chosen Sufix Camfusion 15lb for this demonstration.

Step 2

Double the hooklink over and form loop to the approximate size that you require for your rig.

Step 3

Form another loop in the doubled over hooklink material

Step 4

Thread the end of the first loop through the second loop

Step 5

Thread the end of the first loop through the second loop again

Step 6

Gentley tease the knot down, this is the figure of eight

Step 7

Moisten the knot with saliva and bed down then trim off the tag end. The finished Figure Of Eight Or Double Overhand Loop Knot.

Hope this is of use, any comments would be welcomed and appreciated.

Best fishes,

John