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A simple carp rig – you can make this!
Every carper will have his own opinion on rigs, and the topic can get quite complicated. It’s important, though, to avoid getting caught up in the potential minefield that rigs can be.
It’s much better to keep things simple at the early stage of your carping career, and in this article we’ll outline a couple of very basic carp rigs which will get you started and catching carp in very little time.
What is a hair rig?
The hair rig is the simplest form of rig used today. It was designed by the late Lenny Middleton, who was trying to gain better hook holds from the straight onto the hook. In the carp fishing boom of the 1980s anglers became aware that carp can very easily single out hookbaits. It was clear that there was a need for a rig which helped overcome the poor hookholds which the traditional methods offered.
How to make a hair rig
It’s very easy to make a simple hair rig. The material used to make the hair can be made from a number of different products. Some anglers prefer to use line, whilst others use braided material. Each will have their own advantages, and with a bit of experience and experimentation you’ll doubtless make your own mind up as to which you prefer. For now though, we’ll run you through what is known as the knotless knot hair rig, which combines the hooklink material into the hair.
The knotless knot hair rig is one of the most widely used methods of attaching your hooklink to the hook. All you need to make it is your favourite hooklink material, a hook and some scissors. Here’s how you tie it up, in pictures:
1: Cut a 15-inch length of hooklink
2: Take one end of the hooklink and thread three inches of it through the rear side of the hook eye.
3: Rest the three inches of hooklink (known as the hair) along one side of the hook. This is the part which will form the hair.
4: Holding the hair in place, wrap the longer length of hooklink around the shank just below the hook eye ensuring that it is kept tight.
5: Continue to wrap the hooklink around the hook in the same way as in step 4, working your way down the shank.
6: It needs to be wrapped around the hook at least ten times for it to hold firm. Ten wraps normally ends up finishing opposite the point of the hook. This is a good position for the hinge of the hair.
7: Keeping the wraps in position, loop the long hooklink end through the back of the hook eye and pull through.
8: Bed the knot down by tightening gently. The knotless knot has now been tied.
9: All that is needed to complete the rig is to tie a loop in the end of the hair, to which you can now attach your hookbait. Many anglers make the hair long enough so the top of the bait just touches the bottom of the hook bend.
10: Slide a bait onto a needle and then onto the hair. Secure the bait in position with a hair stop.
When the hair rig was designed it produced some amazing captures. Indeed, it still works today. If you take this simple example to your local day ticket pond, I guarantee if you fish well, it will catch you plenty of carp.
Next steps – the line aligner
Thinking anglers are always looking at ways to improve success, and one of the most widely used advancements of the hair rig is the line aligner. This incorporates a piece of silicon tubing onto the rig, which is pushed over the eye of the hook to protect the knot. It also helps the hook twist when inside the mouth of the fish, increasing your chances of hooking.
The line aligner can be used with almost all carp rigs. To avoid confusion, in this example we’ll simply add it to the knotless knot hair rig which we made earlier. Scientific tests have shown it to be 15% more successful at hooking when compared to the standard knotless knot hair rig.
How to make a line aligner
To make an effective line aligner, you need a pair of scissors, a fine baiting needle, some 0.5 silicon tubing and a finished knotless knot hair rig. Here’s how you set one up.
1: Cut a small length of 0.5mm tubing (this will be pushed over the eye of the hook so must be of the soft or shrink type). A good length is one which just fits over the eye of the hook (approximately 0.8cm).
2: Approximately ¼ of the way down the tubing push the baiting needle through the side and into the central cavity until it exits the end.
3: Attach the hooklink to the baiting needle latch and pull it through the tubing cavity so that it exits through the side wall.
4: Thread the tubing down the hooklink towards the eye of the hook.
5: Now push the tubing over the eye. Be careful not to split the side when doing this or you may have to start again. A good tip is to work the tubing through your fingers for a minute or two to make it warm and more manageable.
6: Make sure the face of the tubing where the hooklink comes through is in line with the point of the hook. The line aligner is now complete.
Is it worth the effort?
Scientific tests have shown that the line aligner will hook 18 times out of twenty, when compared to 16 out of twenty with the knotless knot only set-up (as documented in Strategic Carp Fishing). It is without a doubt the most advanced hooking arrangement of the modern day carp scene. If you still have reservations, here’s some proof of the effectiveness right here!
The author, Simon Crow with a recently caught 30lb common on a simple line aligner hair rig
Happy carping!
Simon Crow
All images courtesy of Simon Crow unless otherwise stated