Rig bits, pieces and boilies

Hi all again!

I wanted to write something about rig bits and pieces. Basically, most of what has been written about carp fishing rigs is just marketing work. What I learned from match fishing is that there are no big secrets out there. When someone invents a rig type and catches a carp or two with it, it's virtually in every carp magazine there is. In the meantime the basic bolt rig caught around 60 000 carp around Europe. It's not useless to consider your rigs in detail. Biggest differences are made in small details. That goes to all fishing. It's not about inventing something fancy, but to make small things right.

What my basic rig is: a Prologic C3 #4 hook, tied onto stiff reptilian 25 lbs hooklink material. The hooklink is cut to around 15-25 cm (I mean the ready rig is that long, remember to add some line for the knots). A multi bead is threaded into the line, and the end of the line is tied to a multi clip. This multi clip is then attached to Prologic Distance Leadclip Leader. Tie your mainline to the Leader and attach a lead (50-90 grams) onto the clip. Now you are ready to go carping in most situations. The only situations that this rig type is not good for are weedy bottoms and surface/middle water feeding fish.

My rig bits and pieces on a Prologic bivvie table. And yes, it's snow on the ground.  Luckily we are getting more and more each day.

The most important variable in carp fishing is not your rig. Don't go too fancy. You'll end up thinking about wrong things and waste your energy. Be in the right place when the carp feed, and you'll score with your rig.

Oh, about the boilies. I almost forgot. It is really funny to see the big differences in the UK and Europe carp angling scene. In the UK there has been a trend to fish with small boilies (10 mm or less!) and in France, a lot of good fish have been caught with boilies over 30 mm. The size difference is huge. So how would 8 mm boilies work here where we have huge stocks of nuisance fish? The answer is more than clear. It would be a nightmare to fish with small boilies, because the nuisance fish would always take the bait. So when reading articles about carp fishing, remember to keep in mind the following questions:

1) Is the bait suitable for the fish you are targeting? Nuisance fish problem?

2) Is the bait used in the article designed for heavily fished commercial ponds or big natural lakes?

3) Is there a critical difference in the climate or the water between the article and the lake you are fishing?

4) Is the article about just another "flinga"-paste to put on the boilie/pellet/etc? Is it more of an ad than a "I really use this"-type of an article.

You can come to see my bait bag anytime. You'll see DD Bait all the way. I have used some other brands as well, but the new HNV-series got my attention 100%.

Another Finnish carp going back to freedom.  With 8 mm boilies, I would have been harassed by 1-2 lbs bream patrolling the area. And remember, wild carp are cautious. A disturbance might cause them to loose appetite for many hours. You don't want to have too many nuisance fish on your hook. 

Rod pods, tripods etc. vol 1

Hi again! It's been a while, and I am pleased to see that I have been writing this blog through the hard winter. As you probably know, winter is really a winter up here in Finland. -28 degrees Celsius is not the optimal angling temperature. I tend to start my season in April-May, so it's still a long wait until then.

I would like to comment different types of setting the rods on the bank. I started with traditional pod type, which had very little adjustment options. I soon found out that it's no good in natural terrain. I always had to search available spots for my pod. Usually it was really hard. When you had flat terrain where to put the pod onto, it was overgrown with grass, etc. And if you didn't clear the area, the grass would sway in the wind and pull the line (which in turn had the alarms beeping all the time). The good side to this type of a pod is that you can transport it almost fully assembled! It's ready to go in seconds.

Traditional rod pod with very little options for adjustment. Good for man made angling pegs, very hard to use on natural terrain.

Of course there are more advanced types of traditional pods available. They come with extending legs, adjustable buzzer bars, etc. You should be able to use this type of a pod with ease in almost every situation.

So now a few words about tripods. For one good reason I have started using the "tripod" type of a pod. It's got three legs, and the rods can be tilted so that the tips can point into the water or up into the sky. The reason why I am using tripod is that with the rod tips pointed up, I can get the lines over the vegetation in the water. Because of this, no reeds are touching my line and causing constant beeping from my bite alarms. This way I get some sleep at night hoping that a carp would wake me.

Tripod - rod tips pointed up, no reeds or grass is touching my line. Even in windy conditions I wouldn't get false alarms from the swaying vegetation. In the picture is my previous pod - Prologic Tripod. Now I am using the Prologic "New green" Tripod.

Bits and pieces

I had a rig-tying session to finish the year 2011. I reckon I could say a few words about that. Not the most interesting stuff ever, but considering, possibly one of the most important things for banking fish. You don't want to have unbalanced or poorly tied rigs when the going is hard. I am not a top-ace considering CARP rigs, but my years in match angling taught me a thing or two.

First, use tools to make EVEN quality. When tied 100% by hand you just don't get consistent results. If you do, you are a natural talent, but most of us mortals are not! So I have bought a fly tying bench to get the tying to another level, and yes, it helps. It's really important to get the line in just the right angle, just as you want it.

The fly tying bench that I use for carp fishing rigs. Don't mind the x-mas decorations in the background. It was Christmastime then :)

When you have your rigs in your rig pouch, etc. it's difficult to tell the hook size and the hook link material breaking strain. So what I do, is that I attach a small paper note into each pouch with the rig. I write the hook link materials name, breaking strain, the hook type and size. Also I write the tying date, so I know which rigs have to be discarded (I don't want to fish with a rig that's 10 years old). You also get better in the art of rig-tying. Consider your rigs 5-6 years ago... Not the stuff you would fish now?

So for this rig, I used Prologic XLNT Fluorocarbon 0,39mm, Prologic C1 hook size 6. This chod-rig was tied on 27.12.2011. It's so easy. And you couldn't tell these things just looking at the rig, could you?