Rigs




Hair rigs are the most popular and successful type of rig to use when fishing for carp of all types and sizes, excepting maybe the crucian carp. The basic hair rig is easy to tie and offers secure bait holding properties. It is a rig that all fishermen can master because many of the more sophisticated and complicated rigs now in use are based upon the principle of the basic hair rig.

How To Tie A Basic Hair Rig

First cut the required amount of hook length material from its spool (8-24") and then tie a standard overhand knot into one end and trim off the excess leaving a very small tab. Some prefer to go through the loop twice for a more secure knot, but it is a personal preference. Next you can put a boilie or other bait onto this knot using a boilie stop, this is to avoid any guess-work as to the length of the hair when the hook is tied on. Be sure to put the bait on that you will be using this rig for, there is no point in tying a hair rig of perfect length for 16mm boilie then using this rig for a single grain of corn.
Next, thread on a small piece of silicon tube and pass the point of the hook through it, this is not essential, but it does keep the hook and bait in a straight line, lay the line along the back of the shank of the hook and thread the free end of your line through the BACK of the eye. Set the bait to the desired length from the hook, a goog guide is whatever the bait size, it is equal to the gap betweeen the bait and the hook. Now wrap the line from the bottom of the eye, down the shank five or six times, then feed the loose end, again, through the BACK of the hook, wet it, and gently pull everything tight. Some then super glue this knot and some do not, the preferrence is yours. Now, tie the loose end of the rig to your chosen swivel.

     

The Bolt Rig

When using the bolt rig, generally use a supple hook length material of between 10 - 20 inches which allows the carp the freedom to move away after it has taken the bait into its mouth. When the carp moves away the hook length tightens up to the weight/lead causing the hook to prick the carps mouth, making the carp panic as it feels this prick and bolt off at speed, dragging the weight/lead along with it, consequently this drives the hook home and the carps own power against the weight/lead has caused the carp to hook itself. The easiest and safest way to use the Bolt Rig is to incorporate a semi-fixed lead set up using lead clips and rubbers. This ensures that in the event of your main line snapping when playing a carp, the carp can free itself from the weight/lead. The other way is to make sure your hook length is of a lesser braking poundage than your mainline so in the event of line snap the fish should be able to carry on without draging the weight. Using the bolt rig produces such ferocious runs, without the use of a reel with a baitrunner or freespool facility, you could well end up losing all your gear including the rod to the unexpected savage run of a powerful carp.