Hooklengths for Carp - What and Why

There are four main types of hooklength.

Braided hooklength

Braid / Multistrands
In an ideal world they would normally be my first choice. Fine in diameter and very supple so they'll allow natural movement. Most are fairly abrasion resistant. The downside is that without care, they can be a bit prone to tangles (especially multistrands).

Mono HooklengthsBR> Normally they are just whatever you use as a main line, or one of the specialist fluorocarbons. Excellent anti tangle properties, and by the nature of not being quite so supple as braid, have some 'anti eject' as well. Fluorocarbons are good in very clear water when you've got spooky fish around. Not as abrasion resistant as braid.

Fluorocarbon mono hooklength - almost invisible in water

Stiff Rigs
These are normally either very heavy mono such as 'amnesia' to the more 'specialist' monos/fluoros such as offerings from ESP/Fox, etc. They can help to stop the fish ejecting the hook by the very nature of the stiffness of the material, but the bait can't move as naturally as the freebies.

Combi Rigs
I tend to use these when I can, I feel they give the best of all worlds; suppleness at the hook end, anti-tangle, and a bit of 'anti-eject'. They can either be made by joining some braid to stiff mono, or by using materials such as Kryston's Snakeskin/Mantis, etc.

Kryston Mantis Hooklength

First thing, best rig? There is NO best rig. There are good rigs, but no one rig can cover every situation. The first thing to find out is what sort of bottom are you fishing over? Clean gravel, silt, light weed or heavy weed? This will have a bearing on what type of hooklength material to use, and sometimes the type of hookbait. The following are only my personal opinions but:

Clean Gravel / Firm Bottom:
To be honest, you could use any of the above. In shallow or clear water I tend to use a fluorocarbon or something like Mantis that's a fine diameter combi. Stiff rigs are probably at their most effective over this type of bottom, but they can look a bit obvious on the bottom, especially with spooky fish.

Fishing over Silt
For fishing over silt I tend to prefer braid or a flexible combi, as the out and out stiff rigs tend to sit up in the air at an angle. Even if you pull back, as the lead sinks, it pulls the hooklength down with it. For fish in the silt, I don't think it matters too much what you use as the fish can be almost buried in it, short, stiff hooklengths work well.

Fishing in Weed
Same as with silt really, but I try to match the hooklength colour to the weed colour, but that's just me! In heavy weed, I'm not sure it really matters what hooklength you use as I don't really think the fish can see it, and the fish I've seen don't suck and blow at the baits - maybe they're a bit more confident? Just make sure the hook point's clear by using PVA.

As for the actual rig, for bottom baits a simple knotless knot with any of the above materials is a great starting point - just make sure the hook is as sharp as possible. I like to use 12” or longer hooklengths, purely as most people seem to use 6” to 8”, though I've had a lot of success with 2” to 4” - especially with PVA bags and the method. Also, don't be afraid to try long (ie, 1” or longer) hairs. If you get dropped takes, just shorten the hair until you hook them, though I don't think it'll be a problem.

For pop ups Rik's D Rig is a brilliant rig. It's also well worth reading the posts on the forum afterwards. I tend to tie this with Snakebite, but just remove a tiny bit of skin to create a pivot where the balancing lead goes. I like to use a slightly longer hooklength with pop-ups, but again, that's just me!

The most important thing is to have confidence in your bait and rigs, if you're going through a lean spell, stick with it, unless you have a real reason to change. Try and find some fish in the edge, and see if they will eat your chosen bait. If you can see them eating your bait, try and introduce your rig to the area without spooking them, and see their reaction. First rule is find the fish, then find feeding fish, and you'll be 90% there.