Carp Rigs
Confidence in your carp fishing rigs is essential. There is simply no point in doing everything else correctly if you get this part wrong because you limit any chance of hooking a fish even if it finds your bait. In light of this many experienced anglers tie their own carp rigs, while less confident anglers prefer to purchase ready-made rigs from tackle shops where quality varies hugely. You will not find our carp rigs in tackle shops, they are not factory produced, they are individual hand-made by dedicated professionals, built to the highest quality and each one is carefully checked so buy with confidence!
You will of course only know the true quality by testing a rig out on the water hopefully with the assistance of an obliging carp! However we believe these are the best carp fishing rigs you can buy in the UK because:
- Superior Quality Construction – Individually hand-made and checked
- Less than half of what you’d expect to pay at tackle shops
The Importance of Carp Fishing Rigs
Getting your carp rigs right is fundamental on several levels:
- Commercial fisheries pay an increased attention to the carp rigs being used on their waters, often checking anglers tackle. Many rigs have been banned from use on some venues such as fixed rigs (see below), so its imperative to understand the differences in order to respect these various rules and regulations.
- The increasing popularity of carp fishing continues to put more pressure on our waters resulting in warier carp, less likely to fall for poor/obvious carp rig set ups. This means anglers have to stay ahead of the game with new ideas, tricks and rig disguises to outwit carp resulting in new carp fishing rigs and design innovations.
- Ultimately you can have the best fishing tackle in the world but a poor or malfunctioning rig at the end of your set up will inhibit you from hooking a fish. The importance of rigs cannot be underestimated in any style of fishing.
Carp Rigs – The Basics
This is very much a beginners guide to the basic components of carp fishing rigs. Essentially there are two parts which we will label the ‘Top Half’ and the ‘Bottom Half’
The Top Half
The top half concerns the mainline and how the ledger/weight and the hook length (bottom half) is attached. These are the basic three:
Simple Sliding/Running Ledger Rig: This is where the ledger runs through the mainline with nothing to stop the ledger sliding, besides a split shot or a swivel to stop it sliding down to the hook, allowing the ledger freedom to run up and down the line. It is one of the most basic set ups for carp fishing rigs.
Bolt Rig / Fixed Rig: This is where the ledger is secured to the mainline and cannot run up and down the line. This means when a carp picks up the bait and turns to move away or ‘bolt’ you might say, the weight and resistance of the ledger hooks the fish.
Why Do venue owners not appreciate the bolt? Bolt / Fixed rigs are often not allowed and frowned upon at commercial fisheries due to fish safety. The problem is, if the mainline snaps on a fish then the ledger is still fixed on and dragged around by fish. Not only is this potentially damaging to the fish, but if that ledger then snags, the fish can easily get stuck and could starve to death. This has spurred much innovation in carp rigs.
Semi-Fixed Rig: Essentially this is the same as bolt rig but there are prevention methods in place whereby although the lead is in a fixed position on the line, it will be released/drop off if it snags, enabling the fish to swim freely.
The Bottom Half / The Hooking End
The bottom half is usually attached to the mainline of the top half with a swivel. This is the end with the hook and this section is regarded as a carp rig by itself.
Hair Rig: Hair rigs were invented due to the increasing perceptiveness of carp, and their ability to sense the hook and line. Essentially it is a thin bit of line off the hook that holds the bait keeping the hook and bait separate. This means the hook doesn’t get felt when the carp sucks up the bait, as it isn’t actually in contact with the bait
The Bottom and top Half combined covers the basic design of carp fishing rigs but the variations based upon this are expansive. Sometimes carp rigs are even designed the other way round with a ledger at the end of the set up and the hair rig coming off the mainline further up, so the bait is presented higher in the water (see helicopter rig below) . The materials used in carp rig traces such as braid, mono, flurocarbon, lead core etc… and the method of bait attachment, via a hair or a rig ring for example, also vary. On top of this the methods of attaching the ‘top and bottom halfs’, bait positioning, and hook types all play a further part in adapting carp rigs, and innovation sees new carp rigs constantly being produced. However most rigs expand upon the basic principles outlined above. Often bait choice itself can be the most decisive factor in which carp rigs will be most effective for the presentation and positioning of the bait.
Carp Fishing Rigs – Variations and Expansions
Building upon the basics there are two main designs or forms in which carp rigs can be used.
The Standard Style: Where the ledger sits on the mainline that then leads down to the hook length trace, which is attached with either a swivel or line loops.
Helicopter Rig Style: This time the ledger is the last piece of tackle situatedat the end of the mainline with the hook trace coming off further up the mainline. This enables better bait presentation above weedy or silty lake bottoms, similar to the chod rig design.
Carp Rig Designs
There are seemingly endless variations and combinations on the trace section of carp rigs, here are just a few of the most popular designs.
Standard Hair Rig: As described above these are the simplest form of carp fishing rigs where a bait is attached seperately off the hook with a piece of line.
D Rig: This is where the bait is attached to a rig ring (usually circular or oval), which runs freely on a loop next to the hook shaped like a D, hence the name. This allows easy rotations and bait movement as the carp sucks it up. It works well in conjunction with the chod rig.
Chod Rig: Particularly effective for wary carp, the Chod rig is designed to sit on top of lake bottom debris (weed, silt, etc). It is Best used with an ultra-buoyant pop up bait. The ledger sits at the end (helicopter rig style) of the rig sinking into the lake bed with preferably a lead core leader leading back off it and a semi fixed trace running off the lead core leader length.
KD Rig: This uses a split shot situated on the hair between bait and hook to firstly ensure the hook and bait are kept separate and secondly to apply pressure from the weight of the split shot helping it hook when the carp rejects and spits out the bait. This style of carp rigs can be fished on the bottom or with a pop up but the hook must lay flat on the deck.
Zig Rig: The Zig Rig is a fantastic method of getting baits presented at carp cruising levels. Unlike the Chod Rig, Zig Rigs are basically just standard carp rigs with an extended hook trace. When presenting the bait high in the water like this it is best to keep baits close to hook for best presentation.
360 Carp Rigs: These specialised rigs allow extensive hook freedom increasing the chances of hooking a fish as the hook can rotate 360 degrees and move up and down. These carp rigs are best used with pop up baits.
Carp Rigs – Materials
The design of many carp rigs is complimented by the materials used to create the rig traces. There are various types of trace line used such as monofilament, braid and fluorocarbon. Here is what they are designed to do and where to use them.
- Stiff rigs: Are made out of stiffer materials such as monofilament or fluorocarbon. They are best used on hard and cleared venues/lake beds where the stiffness of material reduces tangles. However on weedy or silty ground these carp fishing rigs are much more prone to tangle especially if fish in the swim stir up the surrounding lake bed.
- Slow Sinking Hook Links: Are made out of softer materials like braid, are usually longer length rigs, and in combination with a balanced buoyant bait, produce a highly appetising appeal for Carp as it sinks slowly through the water. Slow sinking tactics works best in calmer, non-turbulent conditions where a steady sink is more achievable, and are extra effective in winter when carp do not roam the lake as much.
- Combi link rigs: These use a combination, surprisingly, of different materials both stiff and supple benefiting from both. The stiff section keeps the hook separate from the ledger reducing tangles, and the supple (usually hook trace) allows easier hook movement and rotation of the hook in the mouth of the carp increasing the chances of a good hook hold. Many carp rigs are made using this method, partly due to many reels spooling monfilament.
