rigs: for weedy lakes

[raz2003]

hi i have just started carp fishing and wondered if any body could recomend any good rigs for weedy lakes.

[Gaffer]

Hi Raz, when you say rigs do you mean set ups such as the safety-clip or hooklinks?

[carpking]

To be honest raz, the answer to that question must have dozens of answers. But when fishing over weeds and snags I would always present my bait popped up, so you need to look along them lines for most of your rigs.

[peter mccue]

Raz,

 

A simple rig that worked very well for me when I fished a local water with a heavy growth of Canadian pondweed, was a standard helicopter rig with a few differences.

 

Firstly, use float beads to secure the heli bead & make it adjustable, the bead can then be moved up & down the line to any depth you like,depending on the weed.

 

Secondly, use a combi link hooklength of your choice, & leave 3/4 of the hooklength unpeeled (it helps keep things tangle free)

 

Thirdly, use a critically balanced pop-up or some other very slow falling bait.

 

My rig worked well with longish hooklengths of around 14 inches.

 

One more thing, I found the Carp fed very confidently in the weed, but you need to be on the rods at all times because they can't half wedge themselves in if your not careful.

 

Hope I've explained it well enough & best of luck.

[Gaffer]

Hi Peter, whilst I agree with you regarding the use of the Helicopter rig in weed it must be pointed out to Raz, and any other inexperienced carpers, that the rig must be used with caution. IMO the Helicopter rig wouldn't be my first choice rig to be used in heavy weed by an inexperienced carper.

 

Just to add to what Peter has said, particular attention needs to be payed when setting up the Helicopter rig. Always make sure that the top 'adjustable' bead will slide up the tubing or leadcore (whichever is used) with relative ease.

The reason for this is should the lead become snagged and the mainline fail (break) the hooklink should be able to slide up the tubing/leadcore (pushing the bead as it goes) and discharge, leaving the carp free to swim off and only trailing the hooklink.

Unfortunately heavy weed has the potential to prevent the top bead from moving.

 

Below has been copied and pasted from http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/rigs The Silt rig is vertually the same as Peter has described except that the top 'adjustable' bead is set to the depth of the weed, not silt.

 

The Helicopter rig

 

The Helicopter rig was originally used for sea fishing and later adapted for carp fishing because of its anti-tangle properties.

 

The rig was named the helicopter rig after its helicopter blade like motion in flight.

 

The baited hook-link rotates about the main-line axis by the use of the loose fitting hook-link swivel, usually on anti-tangle tubing or lead-core.

 

The Helicopter rig is probably the most commonly used rig when trying to achieve extreme distances because of its anti-tangle properties and it’s aerodynamic set-up.

 

The Helicopter rig is best used with a two or three bait ‘Stringer’, a ‘Stringer’ is usually free offerings of your hook-bait that are threaded onto dissolvable P.V.A. string and tied to your hook

 

 

The Silt rig

 

The Silt rig is basically a Helicopter rig in it’s make up, the only difference being that the rubber bead is slid up the anti-tangle tubing or lead-core to the depth of the silt that you are fishing in.

 

In doing this the hook-link isn’t pulled into the silt burying the hook-bait.

 

 

To find out the depth of the silt you use a Marker-Float set-up with a length of white wool tied to the lead with the other end tied to the swivel which runs on the shock-leader/main-line.

 

The link between the Marker-Float lead and the running swivel that is on the shock-leader/main-line must still be of a suitable breaking strain material with the wool accompanying it, not instead of it.

 

Once set-up cast out to the silt and leave for ten minutes or so then reel in, the depth of the silt will be stained into the wool.

 

Considerations

 

The Helicopter/Silt rig does solve many problems, but not without having it’s own inherent ones.

 

Firstly when playing a hooked fish you do not have a direct pull on the fish, in other words the strain of the fish is being taken on the rubber bead or sleeve of the lead and the anti-tangle tubing or lead-core, not the direct tension of the main-line.

 

Secondly the Helicopter/Silt rig is not particularly weed friendly, as it is prone to snagging.

 

Once the lead is snagged the hook-link can slide up the anti-tangle tubing or lead-core making the problem worse, hence the need for a more direct pull and/or a safety-lead set-up.

 

Finally, for fish safety, make sure that the rubber bead, which acts as a depth stop, can slide easily along the anti-tangle tubing or lead-core.

 

In the event of your main-line snapping the hook-link must be able to slide up the anti-tangle tubing or lead-core pushing the rubber bead/depth stop with it as it slides off to free the fish from the lead.

 

[ 11. January 2003, 11:50 AM: Message edited by: Gaffer ]

[peter mccue]

Much better explanation Gaffer, even I understand what I was trying to say now!

[pike hunter]

Cant go wrong with those rigs, I also recommend putting PVA rig foam on the hookbait to be confident that it slowly comes to rest on top of the weed, even with pop ups, just to make sure.

Good luck

 

Darren