how long should i tie the hair on the gig as i would like to try to tie my own rigs

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It Depends how big the bait you are using is. For example say you are using a 15mm boilie then I would advise roughly a 20mm Hair because you need to have enough room to insert a bait stop and leave a small gap between the hook and the bait if you so wish.

Mitch

There is no set length for a hair rig.

Some carp anglers will set the length of the hair so that when the bait is on the hair it sits tight to the shank of the hook.

Conversely, I saw Lee jackson fishing with a very long hair, over 3", because the fish were wary and he felt that they could take the bait deely an then the hook catch in the lip as the food was taken to the back of the mouth. I can understand what he was getting at - even if my explanation wasn't great. Apart from which, who am I to gainsay something a person with the reputation of Jacko uses with some success.

Mugins (er and Miggy in fact) try looking up on why the hair was origonaly developed.Once you understand that you will be far better qualified to decide on the length you use.

Of course these days it seems that a lot of carpers simply dont know or just use a hair without questioning why!

Oh BTW an easy to get explanation can be found in Kevin Maddocks book Carp Fever.

I don't claim to be a 'carper' and of course I understand that there is no set length which is why i stated; "I would advise.." a rig of such a length; it seems to work for me. Mugins clearly also doesnt claim to be a 'carper' and is why he asked for advice.

I don't claim -either- to be 'qualified' in any way, but if I use a technique that works why shouldn't I share it? It is more -in my opinion- trial and error as to distinguishing which length works best, so, I have to ask...It is possible to be qualified to give a 'definitive' answer?

This post has been edited by Miggy: Jun 30 2009, 07:26 PM

No your answer is perfectly valid Miggy I was just sugesting that you may also find it interesting to actually find out about the real reason for different hair lengths other than merely sizing it to the boillie used.

My use of "qualified" wasnt meant to imply that you are not qualified to answer the question/give your interpretation but that you would both be able to make a better choice of hair length (other than just to fit the size of bait) if you were to understand the whys and where fores.

Dont worry mate if I had been knocking you or your answer directly you would have been left in no doubt as Im pretty direct!

Ok Budgie, no worries mate.

OK Budgie, Don't have the young lads Cringing in their boots! I must say that it is a Worth While topic one way or the other!

HOPPY4

Hi James hope all is well.Noticed your address is different you left DC now?

Was going to write a long explanation to try and help the lads understand it but thought they might prefer to read it from the guys who developed the rid origonaly.