Big Rik Belenger is better known as 'Carp Angler' on the FISHINGmagic Forum, where he is appreciated for his generous help to all and sundry. He has now extended that help with a regular carp fishing column for FISHINGmagic, 'The Carp Column'.
Rik started fishing at the age of four on his local tiny tidal river, catching eels and small wild trout on worm.
Not having had any angling family members, all his early fishing was solitary and this seems to have carried through to the present.
Like most anglers nowadays, he has a full time job, so his fishing time is limited. He currently lives in the depths of Hampshire, and so is within easy reach of some excellent venues.
He has in the past, and still does, fish for most species, although his greatest love is for carp fishing, which is how the majority of his time is spent.
He now finds himself more thrilled with overcoming the intricacies and problems associated with catching carp, rather than the actual weight of the fish he catches and the so-called glory that goes with it.
First published in 2001
Rik's Rigs
In my previous articles, I have occasionally detailed the rigs
that I use. I have spent many years playing around with rig designs,
hoping to come up with a foolproof way of tricking the carp.
Unfortunately, the ultimate rig does not exist and we have to stay
within the boundaries of our own inadequacies when it comes to
hooking efficiency.
A rig, above all else, needs to be efficient. For it to be
efficient, it must accomplish certain criteria:
- It should present the bait how you would expect it to
- It should hook the carp how and where you want it to
- It must remain tangle free
- It must be able to land the fish.
Even though I could get away with just two designs of rigs, I like
to fish fully armed and prepared, so I always take a good selection
of different rigs with me.
Why so many different rigs?
My rig choice depends on many factors and in no particular
order these are:
- Bottom make up.
- Hookbait choice.
- Loose feed used.
- Expected fish sizes.
- Proximity of weed or snags.
These factors will determine the variables needed for the rig
composition and design and will enable me to decide on:
- Hooklength material, strength and length
- Hook pattern and size
- Hair material, length and position
So lets go through the list of factors one at a time to try and
establish what type of rigs I use in any given situation.
So my imaginary swim is on a gravel pit and I've decided to put my
bait in an area at about 40 yards, where there is a light covering of
silkweed over gravel.
The silkweed is about 2 or 3 inches high and this patch sits next
to a heavy growth of thick weed.
The swim is about 6 feet deep and the thick weed extends to the
surface.
(I've come across a swim like this on nearly every gravel pit I've
ever fished, so it must ring bells with some of you)
Now we have to decide on our baiting strategy and
hookbait.
Our hookbait will need to be either a 3" pop-up to sit over the
silkweed, or a shorter pop-up or bottom bait in a PVA bag (to flatten
the surrounding weed).
So lets look at the different baiting strategies and what rig
would be best applied to each.
In this scenario we have spodded out quite a large amount of
particle, pellet and chopped boilies and as the fish will not need to
move far for their next mouthful, our rigs need to be reasonably
short. Otherwise the carp will stand a good chance of either ejecting
the hook or deep hooking itself before it has a chance to give any
indication.
My personal preference here would be for a rig about 7 inches long
(4" stiff body plus 3" pop-up) and either fished in a PVA bag of
pellet and chopped boilies, or if I believe there are feeding fish in
the swim, then I will cast it out with a dissolving foam nugget on
the hook.
The stiff body will push the bait away from the lead and the
pop-up section can be either stiff or supple, depending on your
preference. Having used both extensively, I am unable to say if one
is better than the other.
Now let's look at the same area but a different baiting
scenario.
This time with a scattering of twenty boilies around the hookbait.
This baiting pattern is probably the most commonly used one in carp
fishing today (which is the main reason why I don't use it).
Here the carp is cruising from bait to bait picking up individual
food items. The carp will inspect the bait, pick it up (or suck it
in), right itself and then move to the next bait (or occasionally
I've seen carp suck in a bait and then move onto the next one whilst
still in the vertical position).
So as the carp rights itself or moves off the hook will catch in
the mouth.
This is where rig subtlety and design needs the greatest
thought.
Because the carp has time to inspect a smallish quantity of very
similar food items and the tethered hookbait, with the added weight
of the hooklength and hook, will not act as naturally. The hookbait
needs to act as naturally as possible, so we will need to
counterbalance the added drag. This is achieved by critically
balancing the bait with either added weight to a pop-up or with a
snowman type rig.
My personal preference here is to critically balance the bait with
enough weight so that it just about sinks and seems to hover over,
but not quite sit on, the bottom.
Depending on the hooklength material and bait size, this will be
with either split shot plus tungsten putty or with just putty.
I didn't want this piece to be me saying, "Use this rig" or "Use
that rig". Which is why I haven't included any pictures.
What I wanted to get across was, presented with certain
situations, you should look at how the carp will feed and how you
would like to present your bait to them. You should then choose your
rig accordingly.
I hope I have at least made you think enough about your
presentation for you to question whether it is correct or not.
I will be providing Graham with rig shots for the new 'Rigs Page'
on the site, so most of the rigs I use will be on there in the
fullness of time.
In the meantime, if you have any questions or queries that you
want answered then mail me at carp.angler@talk21.com
