<B> There are many baits and rigs used to catch carp and catfish. Obviously, when using a single hook, you need to maximize your hooks potential for hooking fish, every way you can, to get most ‘takes' converted from every ‘pick-up!'</B>

You can start off in a very conventional way by using a ‘side hooked boilie' or pop-up bait. Or use a ball of dough paste on the hook, but this is not a particularly efficient fish hooking method especially at range!

Some of the ideas here may be simple or familiar but the aim is to creatively help yourself have a correct option for when fish get tricky on very conventional or over-used rigs which have lost their 'edge.'

An edge here is the ability of the rig to allow the hook and bait to both enter the mouth and hook the fish despite its best efforts to aviod this! Many anglers seem to over-look just how much the refinement of a rig can make a difference to results. For instance, many anglers 'critically balance' the weight and bouyancy of their hook bait, counter-acting the weight of the hook and changing the movement of the bait in water and in the fishs' mouth.

I've been known to use 3 foot long hooklinks at range (coiled-up in 'PVA' string) for bottom and bouyant bait purposes and is very effective too. Sometimes a rig of just 3 inches can work very well in some situations, particularly in winter when fish refuse to move any distance to conserve energy.

The 'fashion' these days appears to be a rig which is about 6 to 12 inches in length on a 'helicopter,' 'semi-fixed' or' running lead' rig along with any of numerous leads weight. 'Self-hooking rigs' are what people want. It may be that in order to pass further stimulating molecules through the receptors areas and in order to 'respire' carp need to move ot least like to move as opposed to 'sit motionless' when aroused by baits. Many very pressured fish act completely different to un-pressured fish and will be tuned-in to anything they 'associate' from prior experience with danger. In this case from anglers hooks, lines etc. Hence camoflaged leads, hooks, tubing, lines etc.

One 'edge' I found years ago was to hammer into a flat shape cheap sea-fishing leads and adapt them for use with rig-tube to eliminate tangles. My rigs have gone well beyond this now. Saying that sophisticated rigs that take hours to make-up are usually used only where absolutely needed these days; simple is often best. There's no substitute to a using truly sharp hook. I actually sharpen mine after passing them through PVA material etc, so the point is as true and evenly sharp and straight as it is designed to be and more. Yes I've over-done it with the sharpening fixation I have, but would I have 'hooked' those lost fish without such a sharp hook? (Watching more than one forty back tantalisingly away from your landing net and slowly sink out of sight because your hook point bent out due to excess close range pressure over marginal 'mini-lilies' etc, makes you far more accurate at sharpening...

I used to fish 'fluted' long triangular shaped leads from Rod Hutchinson shaped a bit like those 'lifter' style sea-fishing leads which lift immediately off the bottom and bottom snags.

I noticed the difference between using these in the heaviest weight possible and sea-fishing watch leads (all the fashion now) compared to ordinary 'Arlesey bomb' oval rounded distance or pear-shaped leads. The ability of a lead to adhere to the lake bed while effecting the initial 'pricking' and light hooking of a fish really made a difference in deep hooking capabilities leading to efficient hook-holds instead of hooks pulling-out mid fight. (Hook pulls used to be the bain of fishing for what were soft mouthed fish in a clay reservoir called 'Shotgate.' I believe the fishing columnist Joe morgan may fish there these days like Gary Lewis used to. (AKA the 'Milky-bar kid.')

Where everyone else does this on a water, obviously it can really pay to do something different; like adding shot to the bait hair and extra tungsten putty to your rig or hook to make it drop faster into the bottom of the mouth or bottom lip. I love to use 2 hairs with different bouyancy baits on becuse it is very rare for this rig to be exploited today. (It is a great edge on hard waters in winter to...)

‘Hair rigs' were developed to maximize the 'mechanical' hooking potential of your rig and prevent fish from more easily identifying bait as having a hook attached. They are actually thoussands of years old in principle as sea-faring Egyptians and country-dwelling Chinese (and even modern Hong-Kong fishermen) use variations of a bait separate to the hook. There are very numerous types to get around different carp and catfish feeding behaviours and fishing situations. But for most fishermen, simple is best, and risk of tangles, or time consuming tying of rigs is a potential drawback of many more advanced rigs, although they can easily out-fish conventional simple rigs in many situations!

I have been known to catch very good fish on 'multi-stranded line' of around 70 LB (total combined strength) in certain situations. My location skills, fishing confidence levels and quality suitable baits are obviously very major parts of the equation, but it's funny how rig changes can produce fish the way they do! However, such a rig has the actual diameter of 1 pound monofilament or less because the individual fibres spread out and distribute in water, even flattening completely when a carp feels the line. It also has the propery of 'soaking-up' bottom silt and other materials, which in the correct situations make the rig effectively invisible and 'un-feelable!' (Very crafty on sand and clear weedy waters too!)

Where semi-fixed 'bolt-rigs' using heavy leads of 3-5 ounces for instance are used, carp often use the lead as a 'fulcrum' to eject the hook. This may happen immediately, or be problem they deal with over time, but they do it very much more than we anglers like to think. I've seen fish turn upside down repeatedly shaking its head while looking hard at the lead / line near its head - believe me, the eyes follow it. (Very adaptable our carp are in the UK unfortunately!) One edge is to make the rig-tubing slide inside the lead if is an in-line one, so that as it lifts up as a hooked fish rises in the water, the line and tube follow it so preventing the leverage of the lead... (There are many variations on this theme.)

Using unusually shaped baits and baits that release attraction more effectively than 'whole baits' are good edges. Getting takes on 'whole' round boilies can be very difficult on some waters where they have been 'sussed.' You can use a single or half or two halves of a boilie on your ‘hair.' Or use two or three boilies on a longer length hair. You could use a hair with 4 or 6 half boilies on it.(I've done very well on rigs like this inspired by big fish hooked in cooler water where a round PVA 'stringer' has failed to melt free from the vicinity of the hook.)

Mixing up different boilies of different types on the same hair, perhaps including some ‘pop-up bait' halves to help negate the weight of the hook for the shyer feeding fish is standard now. How many anglers use dissolving baits in bags or actually on a hair next to a real or 'fake' bait? Putting an oddly shaped trimmed bait alongside a trimmed pop-up bait enclosed in paste of a totally different variety can often trip up warier fish.

The same goes for different kinds of pellets; how many anglers do you know mix different pellets on their hook or hair or even on multiple hairs on their hooks? Pellets have such diversity in key things such as the natural feeding triggers they contain, nutritional profiles, oil contents, proportions and levels of soluble and less soluble ingredients etc. The oil quality and content can really affect things too. Bouyancy and permeability to water another. Many pellets and other baits have betaine hydrochloride, salts and other electrolyte type ingredients and granular additives etc, which might affect not only how the water is 'charged' to a degree around the bait, but also affect water absorbing properties and attraction leak-off rates.

Using mixed pellets on a rig can be very effective, for instance fishing two 12 millimeter marine pellets over a bed of crushed 21 millimeter ones (with added betaine...) The imagination boggles with possibilities!

Following the current fashion in bait use and hook rigs can often result you miss out on loads more fish by not using more 'alternative' methods. See what the ‘average fisherman on your water is doing, assess his bait, and rigs attributes, dimensions and method of working, and do yours differently. This way your catches will stand out from the crowd. You could design your 'method mix' or 'stick mix' or ground bait to specifically attract natural food organisms like shrimps and snails etc. The attraction of a bait camoflaged by 'naturals is obvious as is the effect on inducing more natural feeding in such a baited swim or spot in a swim.

You could try the one big dough paste bait on a hair wrapped around a pellet or boilie. (I like to wrap paste over the hook way up past the eye and even onto the line so the fish fished it far more difficult to sort out where the hook is before it is too late.)
You could try one big boilie bait of perhaps 30 millimetres in diameter, or even 2 baits of this size on a hair where smaller fish are not your aim. Not many anglers tend to do this; so why not use it - it works! (It can be nerve-wracking when you just know the only 'takes' will come from potentially only the biggest fish in a water.) Perhaps try a bigger hook, like a 4 or a size 2 and not 6, 8, 10 (or even 12.) This hook has a larger gape and more weight to drop and hook the bottom lip.

In timesgone by, obviously some waters have been so pressured that using monofilament lines very much less than the modern age '15 pound standard' can be essential to produce bites, but with the incredible wealth of refined hook-link materials and designs, using a low hook-link strength is now totally unnecessary. Using even 60 pound sea fishing lines curved by pressure or heat into more effective hooking curves, certainly catch fish in the right situations as in chod rigs.

Non-memory 'Amnesia' style rigs and those utilising modern monofilament components which can even alter the way light reflects off or passes through lines, rendering them 'invisible' under water, are further refinements. Breaking up the 'tell-tale' continuous lines and outlines of your lines, hooks and leads and rig-tubing and any unnatural lines like plastic coated white braids etc, can be painted or coloured using marker pens for instance which definitely brings more fish. Even some modern mainlines have this type effect like that of 'Infinity' etc. Hoemade 'lead-core' in your own style is another way to keep your main line from dissuading carp from your hook bait, as are various other methods like blobs of rig putty on the line for 6 feet or more above the lead while using 'safety clips.'

Try the 'hook floating over your bait' rig: You put some plastic rig foam for example onto your hook, tied so it sits over your ‘sinking' type bait. This way the hook will enter the mouth before the bait! (Very crafty - Have you ever known anyone else use this rig - it can br great!)

Perhaps trying a prepared nut with a boilie or paste bait together, on a hair, or two hairs could be a useful solution. Has your water been ‘hit' with tiger nuts, peanuts, hazelnuts etc, recently and you need a new approach? Try foam ‘popped-up' peanuts over pellets or corn for a different approach. Many anglers now 'tip' their baits before applying a 'bait stop' to the hair, by using a cut-down piece of fake plastic corn or a plastic pellet or a plastic 'glow in the dark' flavoured boilie. With these there's loads more options. You can fashion your own 'fake baits' from black or colourd foams available and even soak then to take on flavours like n-butyric acid. (I will add, you can easily soak your whole rig, lead, tubing etc, even injecting attractors etc into rig-tubing adapted specially to hold these things. Flavour capsules which can be attached to anywhere on your rig can boost attraction too.)

How about using a pellet with a boilie on one hair or two hairs, alongside a tiger nut or half a peanut? Using a worm or maggots in conjunction with pellets or boilies for instance also provides natural element of sound and movement which can really entice cautious fish. (Do you find that tiger nuts are more effective with their skin cut off a little?) Just a little change can make all the difference to your catch rate, but what difference will really big changes to your rigs or baits make? If you camoflage you hook in rubber natural-looking giant blood worm or 'jokers' or fake maggots for instance you can get takes simply because there is no conventional 'food signal' for carp to to assiciate with. (How many anglers dip their baits in 'over-loading substances' without much thought about what this might be having on fish hooked repeatedly on such baits in the past?)

There is great uses of making the mainline increase pressure on the led as pressure is exerted by a fish upon initial pick-up. For instance, simply putting your line in a line clip on the rod by the rees and using a tight line with no bobbin or indicator on the line. Just watch the rod tips and strike anything unusual with your alarms on maximum sensitivity.

Using an indicator on the line that is 'sprung' or incorporates some elasticity like a carbon fibre or fibreglass arm is an effective edge. You can increase the pressure on the line more or less depending upon distance and other requirements. I broke all the ones I used due to takes being so violent! There are many other ways of producing effects like this to help drive a hook deeper.

It used to be a fashion to use an elastic hairon the hook to make it more difficult for a wised-up fish to deal with the hook and bait. Also the elastic / stretch type of hook link materials available now produce a response pressure on a hook when being pulled, the hook being pulled in deeper by the elastic effect. I used to use a monkey climber style set-up which was a bit 'different' and I dreamed up all kinds of ways of achieving these kind of elastic response pressure effects.

One method was to make the angle on the bobbin sliding up the metal rod stuck up right in the ground increase as the bobbin was pulled upwards by a fish playing with he bait and perhaps trying to rid the hook without moving off. Bending the upright rod into a curve was effective. Also, making the top of the metal rod very rough so as the bobbin rose up it it had more pressure at the top where the pressure on the line was at its maximum near the butt of the rod itself. This like the other methods produced very posiitive if not violent takes as the hook drove home.

Attaching elastic to the bobbin itself attached to the ground produced a significant increasing pressure effect on the bobbin as it rose and could be adjust for various pressures and distances up the metal rod. Even the angle of the line as it passes at right angles through or under an indicator on the line has a changing pressure effect which is especially obvious the nearer the line gets to the rod as the line tightens more. Even fishing the rods at right angles to the water so there is more friction on the line passing through the rings is a common type of effect that increases pressure on the line and very many anglers use this effect anyways because their lines do not point straight out of their top rod rings but at an angle which is often acute, with 3 and 4 reod set-ups the way they are now. (Using sets of rod rests with each rod so the rod can be set-up actually pointing towards the lead with the least resistance and using running leads (even link edgers or half ounce leads) and light indicators for instance is often a good trick too where anglers have become uvery sterotyped in their set-ups...)

I stumble across the use of foam in stuffed into the rod's butt ring or the next one along in order to increase reistence on the line. Doing this can be very effective too as can clipping up your line further down the rod. Using a lower diameter line clip half-way down the rod in fron of the alarm may seem crazy but with a second more powerful clip near the reel takes can be very impressive, even improving numbers of takes achieved. These things can certainly take the fish unawares and are far less mentioned in magazines.

I've even used 2 alarms per rod, one in the usual place between the butt ring and next one up and one placed in front of the ror tip itself on an independant bank stick. Both alarms are set on maximum sensitivity and you strike anything unusual depending on the water and this could even be just one bleep on the independant front alarm. Fishing like this just shows how many line movements can get picked up easily on an alarm before there is any further friction of line passing through rod rings. How many times does a crafty fish pick up your rig and move sideways or towards you in such a way very little bite indication is provided. This applies especially when fishing at range or when 'locked-up' to prevent a fish from accelerating into weed or snags for instance with your reel clutch tightened and the rods in very secure rest set-ups. Often a 'bleep' or two will met with a hooked fish in such circumstances. Often when fishing closer in it could be your rod plays your fish for you upon the initial take; showing a fine bend before you lift the rod into a fish... (That feels good!)

Such methods can invariably produced excellent hook holds and far fewer fish dropping off the hook during the fight and are part of the 'rig' because they can really improve a rigs effectiveness. I have fished with a 2 lead set-up using a half-ounce lead as a primary weight with a second semi-fixed one further away from the hook. This works in a way like running lead rigs with a 'back-stop' on the line producing the 'jolt' and 'bolt-rig' effect which used to be produced by using fixed leads. (Note, how many fish are caught on 'fixed leads' as a result of tangles on a cast which results in the rig possibly being only an inch or 2 long?)

There are so many other variations on rigs, some exploiting properties of various rig tubing for instance acting like a spring. Using rigs where the hook is attached independant of the bait with the bait hovering above the hook or vice-versa can be very effective 'Martin Clarke style for instance. There's load more, like sliding hair rigs, 'D' rigs and variations, and that's without combi-link type rigs and use of 'mege multi-ballbearing super ring swivels fro maximum free revolution of rigs in the carps mouth. Many rigs have become 'standard,' like versions of the 'line-aligner rig,' 'Withy pool rig' 'Terry Hearn stiff rigs' and 'chod rigs' etc. There are many times all you need is a simple stiff rig with a pop-up bait, or modern quality braided line which sinks and hold the bottom without holding air bubbles and coiling.

The age of plastic coated braids has made things very easy for so many anglers. Such lines allow for very refined rigs incorporating strategic angles to enhance the rig and using curved or straight 'rigid' elements of such rigs can really help effects along with rig tube and shrink tubes. Using safety clips to attach leads onto your line as opposed to in-line leads is often a more sensible option is many situations and even pretty essential on some very seriously snagging waters like 'Rainbow lake' in France where whole trees mark where many fish pick up baits far more readily.

Personally this kind of fishing is not 'my thing' although I hooked the 'big one' there off a particular recommended 'Paul Hunt spot' in a swim when it was 82 plus pounds back in 2005 at was the current record. I got a really good look at this unbelievable fish as it sat beside my boat. (This fish in later years eventually went 88 pounds 6 ounces.) I had to let it go, being unable to net it due to a very nasty angled branch in the water. This was at 3 am in the morning out in a boat which tipped precariously down near the water surface each time this huge fish neared the boat under tension. It was an unforgettable experience that's for sure, but the lake is dogged by controversy and using a boat and fishing at range near such severe snags just does not feel like 'fishing' to me.

You may think I have an overly 'romantic' view of carp fishing, but I started my fishing in the seventies when things were more romantic compared to the situation on numerous crowded 'circuit' and 'commercial' waters today; when getting into many sydicates is a case of 'dead man's shoes, (and you fish where you can.) Well whatever, but results are not everything, far from it. Everything is relative. I once had the rcord for one particular Essex water about 27 years ago; it was 12 pounds and really meant so much at the time and still does due to the innovation and effort used to catch this fish, which was far from a push-over and was much sought-after and rarely caught.

Even a 15 pound fish can be 30 years old or more depending on genetics,when its frame stops growing, the water it's in, competing fish populations, water mineral content, natual food levels availability and type, etc etc.. in the eighties in the UK, any 'twenties' went on to become far bigger fish due to the 'fishmeal revolution' where much more economical fishemal baits were used in huge quantities by many more anglers than ever before as carp fishing grew in popularity with the burgeoning commercialisation of carp angling and the influx of new carp anglers. Fish which had a constant stabilised weight of say 28 pounds would suddenly come out in the upper thirties within 6 months or a year. Such fish often 'bulking out' with bigger bellies and so on, owing to an abundant supply of rich nutritional bait and raised levels of natural food made available as a 'side result' of decreased feeding pressure on it.

(It is intriquing how this bait revolution did not affect certain common carp in many waters in the same way as mirrors - I'm sure it's to do with receptor and receptor site adaptability and coding for substances perhaps genetically at different sensitivities to some strains of mirror carp. Many strains of common carp are well-known as 'natual feeders,' rarely (if ever) being caught on boilies or pellets for instance.) While the commons grew bigger as a result of more available natural food supplies as (I recall fishing for the 50 plus pound common called 'Herman' at Warmell in Dorset using worms for instance, certain claims were made about it being caught on particular commercial baits, but a humble worm under a float would catch him, although I found the perch to be very bothersome even though some were big! Many fish seem not to mind verticle lines in the swim compared to bottom teathered rigs... Changing line angles using various techniques and methods really makes a difference at times.)

Even global warming has had its very obvious combined effects too, such as lenthened 'growing seasons' and much milder winters enabling more winter feeding in many cases and raised levels of natural 'benthic' organisms like bloodworm available over all, along with more fly hatches and so on. Unfortunately, this increased abundance of nutrition has a downside as fish have far more stored energy as in the liver for instance and elsewhere to sustain them through low temperature conditions, without the need to expend energy on food location or digestion. Winter fishing has changed dramatically on many waters with the November to April periods producing very little compared to previous decades. (Yes I realise many other factors are involved too, but fish usually have a requirement for energy (nitrogen, amino acids especially) that prompts them to feed and if they have aleady stored enough, why feed?

(Note: Fishing over mashed canned tuna, seafood mix etc works - I even caught a 21 pound pike and an upper forty but lost other far bigger fish too. (Canned fish makes great ground bait - few anglers us it on its own.)

Compressed pellet baits, exploding method mixes, riseing and falling and 'fizzing' active ground baits in various carrier tackle are very much 'en vogue' presently. 'Expander pellets' which swell up in the water and soluble bait cages where baits swell and expand producing hook baits of alternative beneficial characteristics are very popular. Maggot fishing and even bloodworm fishing with specially adapted feeders, stick mixes, PVA bags, dissolving and 'bio-active' free baits and so on, are all adaptations on various themes to get around negative carp behaviours around our successful past baits and hook baits. The successful methods rigs, tackle, (even thinking approach) and baits in effect 'train' our carp to what to expect in a swim and over time by repetition how to avoid it. So you could say, the best rig is your entire thinking approach ('thinking like a carp - not an angler') to avoid any and all 'danger reference points' which would trigger negative carp behaviour and make hooking them more difficult.

A 'rig' in practical terms to my mind, is literally everything which extends from the bait and hook right up to the reel right into the ground. Your bait and rig like your fishing rod, is literally a physical manifestation and extension of your mind, so why not make it as unique and effective for purpose as is necessary in relation to your fishing challenges and particular fish and behaviours? Every part of this can be repeatedly refined for more consistent results and re-defined to stay ahead of both fish and fellow anglers. (For instance, one trick if you've been catching well and your friends really 'want-in' is to show them or make them your successful rigs so they catch 'the tail-end' of the rig / baits success.

However, you now but change your rig to be different again and their continued use of the 'old rig' can make things easier for your different rig to succeed, but everyone gets some success anyway. On one water I really did well on I was asked why don't I tell new anglers what I'm doing that's successful. How do you do that when the key is actually in constantly avoiding being too much like other anglers on a water, in approach, baits, rigs, baiting up, line angles, materails used, etc etc? (I'm famlous in one respect for using 5 to 7 back leads on the line to pin the line down. Yes there are certain disadvantages to doing this, but when used in the correct ways in the right swims it is indeed very effective.

This can increase pressure on an initial pick-up, improving deeper hooking and pick-up conversions for instance, and various back-lead weights with different friction levels can be used on the line to produce various desired effects. I find a heavy back lead or two or three even, directly under the rod tip in the margins is a good edge at times; you can really crank up that build-up of resistence on the hook gradually over distance; It can be very effective indeed. I noramally clip up the line in a heavy duty line clip anyway. Tight lines are not a concern to me when they hold the bottom even with the possibility of spooking fish browsing on the bottom. Various poducts make it easy to pin your main line down nearyour hook bait and at the lead, but other factors really help, like not baiting up on top of your own line!

Now this might be slightly off the subject of rigs, but demonstrates the attention to detail, not just the obvious big things but the small details, which all combined make a huge difference to outcomes. Fish safety when it comes to rigs is of paramount importance, as important as fish care practice and equipment on the bank. I use 2 or 3 bottles of water on the bank at all times to keep fish moistened down. A quality protective mat which is big enough to the proportions of your target fish is vitally important, but then so is holding the fish correctly and being responsive to its movements. Fish have pressure (mechanical) and temperature (electrochemical) sensitive cells which in effect give fish an electric shock to the system if handled with dry or wet hands of a completely different temperature to the water the fish has come out of. I know there has been very much discussion about fish care in the last 2 years especially and this attention is really making our fish far sfer for future anglers to enjoy which is fantastic.

There is much more to fish care than just how long a fish is in air, how thick, wide and retentive a protective fish mat may be. The temperature of the fish itself and state of health and energy levels and behaviour on the mat, even the air temperature and humidity have sometimes very big impacts. Fish can suffer from extreme shock from being placed back into deoxygenated water and an obvious sign of this is when fish are observed feding or gulping at the edge of a water in the moring period! (Not Sometimes even a smal fish can be found to be difficult to

A wet mat is an essential (carp can get a shock from being placed on a mat of a totally different temperature to its body too, whic can significantly contribute to stress after a hard fight, energy depletion if caught between spawning periods, and especially at times of high air and water temperatures. In very hot temperatures the air might be very dry, so keeping fish watered down while you swiftly inspect it for any live, sores or to treat the mouth hook hold with antiseptic is vital. This author has many more fishing and bait ‘edges' up his sleeve. Every single one can have a huge impact on catches.

By Tim Richardson.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleBlast.com