hair rigs

[Graham Whatmore]

When tying a hair rig I tend to do it with the bait almost touching the bottom of the hook.

Is there a right and wrong length, is the length critical, would the length be the same for all baits and all fish.

What criteria determines the length do you think, and would length deter fish, or not work even.

 

[Nigel Moors 2]

Had a conversation with Cheeky Monkey about this the other night Graham and he believes it should be 3 - 6mm maximum (to humour me he called it 1/8 - 1/4"). I have seen some carp clinics though suggesting 1cm and I tend to use between the two as this allows me to use different size baits in a session without changing the hair unduly.

 

[jason fisher]

10mm wont work for a 20mm bait.

it needs to be long enough to go through the bait that you are using then anything extra is borne about through experimentation. chub for example need a hair which holds the bait by the eye of the hook long hairs just lead to missed bites. barbel on the other hand can go to baits 1cm past the bend or even more.
pop ups tend to use longer hairs than bottom baits to allow the hook to hang below it.

 

[Ryan "Ribblecraft" Turner]

If you're fishing for carp I would have at least two thirds of the size of the bait between hook bend and bait, ie for a 15mm bait use a 25mm hair so that when the bait is mounted it leaves 10mm between bend and bait. A 3mm peice of soft silicone on the shank opposite the point is good this stops the hair wrapping around the hook on the cast, it also guides the hook point into the mouth rather than the shank. If the carp blows the bait the silicone slides up the shank as the bait shoots out, leaving the hook in the mouth...er I think.

 

[Wolfman Woody]

Rik Reckoned the bait should be as close to the hook as possible, we are talking carp here.

I've always thought 3-6mm, but I would accept what Jason says for chub, perhaps. But then I used bread flake or meat straight on the hook for chub! Even an Asda Pork Pie on a 6/0s O'shaughnessy work well for chub.


H E L P - R I K !

 

[Ryan "Ribblecraft" Turner]

If the bait is too close to the hook the fish has a greater chance of blowing the hook out with the boilie, but with a longer hair the hook drops before the bait pulls it out, in theory. Chub its the opposite cos they dont suck a bait like a carp they grab it with those big old rubber kissers! I spent ages on the ribble one day in winter missing bites n reeling in balls of hair rigged cheese paste that were squashed flat at the bottom end with perfect chub gob marks in every one. I ended up moulding the bait round the eye of the hook and nailing the next fish!

 

[Frothey]

sometimes bed, carp do hold the bait in their lips, so a long hair would leave the hook outside (maybe)

thats the wondefull thing about fishing....theres no hard and fast answers....

 

[Ryan "Ribblecraft" Turner]

I totally agree, there are no methods that work all the time, in all waters, or for all anglers. Its down to venue pressure, current trends on a given venue, fish species, fish size, time of year, light conditions..blah blah. Its a wonder we catch anything at all sometimes!

 

[jason fisher]

that's why i said experiment with the length, once you've found one that works it will keep working for a while till the fish work out how to get round it.

 

[Big Rik]

or they start to feed in a different manner depending on what and how much you are loose feeding.


Hair rigs today are completely different to the hair rigs of 20 odd years ago.
The idea of a longer hair was so that the hookbait(sic) immitated the freebies.
Todays hairs are more of a means of carrying a hard hookbait.

BR's feeling that a bait close to the shank will be blown out too easily doesn't make sense, not in theory or in practice.
I used to think that good separation between hook and bait on ejection was important, but having fished with stiff mono hairs with particles (to stop them wrapping around the hookpoint), and caught well, then I no longer think this is as important.

The right rig for a given situation depends on a lot of factors.
Carp size, bait, quantity and spread of loosefeed and bottom make up, no name just a few.
Length and type of hair needs to suit the rig as well as the other points listed above.

 

[Ryan "Ribblecraft" Turner]

I do have a mate who doesn't even think about hair length at all, being a bit of a skinflint he tends to use very short hooklengths n hairs so he gets more rigs for his money! I'm sure cost is not a factor that fish consider when examining your terminal tackle but the guy catches one or two and thats all he's trying to do so who knows!?

 

[Graham Whatmore]

Interesting that Rik about stiff hairs. When I fished 8mm pellet I used to drill a hole in them and on the hook I used a piece of fuse wire for a hair. Push the wire through the hole and bend over, worked a treat. I had roach, tench, bream and carp on that set up and they didn't seem to mind one little bit. In fact my one and only 2lb roach was caught on that very set up. I tend to use the knotless knot mostly now so I don't use the fusewire but it was very handy and quick, it works with meat too of course