Well, not been able to go fishing for the next few weeks is a killer. But i'm left tinkering with my old bits n bobs which still remain in my fishing office (The attic).
It's done me a bit of a favour really, ive started to play with old rigs i used to fish with and i think its about time for a come back on one or two of them. They're mostly aimed at commercial type carp waters, lakes that see a lot of pressure etc and normally have riggy fish.
So here it is, we all know that dog biscuit is a winning method on the top. We all know that pop ups are good on the deck, so why not combine it somehow? Something i used to good effect was a popped up dog biscuit at a certain small 'runs' water in ranskill, Lake side fisheries to be exact. Its not something im often into, but ill go to these sort of venues in the winter for a run or two, after all im only human.
You all know i like my simple rigs, but i also like to experiment a lot, if it works i dont change it, if i can make a rig simpler with less components and still catch i will, its all about saving time and money for me, just like it is for most anglers. So its no surprise i experiment which certain things you can find in 90% of the UK's house holds.
The number 1 rule for me in bait, and especially bait for pressured fish is giving them something different but with something they are accustomed to. A classic would be a snowman type set up - giving the same bait they enjoy, but giving it a different balance. We all know this is an absolute brilliant rig and to be fair is probably one of my favourite bait strategies for the larger carp i target.
So onto the rig,
Often, when using a soft bait (especially one that absorbs water) i tend not to pierce the bait, and dont go straight for the traditional hair rig, meaning more often than not i like to use floss, However....I've used a variant in the past. Something pretty much the same but a little different, going back to what i mentioned before, changing the balance.
Imagine a material that is thin enough to manipulate but stronger than floss and doesn't weaken under water. This is something along the lines of which i use. Its actually used for flower arranging.
This really is a good material for certain things within my fishing. Its very supple, almost like lead, but without the toxins.
Anyway on to the rig!
I start by cutting a bit of the material off, 3 inches or so and wrapping it around my bait.
Then pull the two peices together and twist till tight.
Then, cut off and insert the nub end into the biscuit. I sometimes put rig ring in side the wire before i tie it off but more often that not i just leave it like this as i dont really see any need.
This is what you end up with. All we need to do know is attach it. A light knot is all that is required nothing to sophisticated.
Once your sorted, just simply attach the hook with your prefered method. Keeping within the simple approach i just opt for the Knotless knot.
This is the finished rig. If your a bit dubious about it check it out before you shout your mouth off. It might just shut you up. If your wondering about the wire, which you probably are. The wire will be covered by the dog biscuit within 3 minutes. The wire is permanently attached to the hair, however if your not confident in retrieving this i suggest you tie it to a rig ring as i previously mentioned.
As i mention above, it doesnt take long at all for the wire to get covered. This is what the biscuit looks like after a 2 minute soak.
Once you get confident in using this stuff, it really is a good tool to have to change things around. The benefits to this and not the floss is that its much more durable. The biscuit will be on the hair long after the floss had cut through it. It adds a different feel on the deck, the hook remains on the deck but the hair gently floats with the biscuit about 5 mm above the hook, it really is a brilliant rig.
It doesn't just end there, be open minded and remember that small changes make a big difference.
