Helicopter rigs

[103841]

I meant to mention this in my recent HDYGO post. Spent a while doing something quite alien to me today, feeder fishing. Fishing primarily for roach I used a helicopter rig like this....



All I read is that this a tangle free rig, well I managed to prove otherwise. On one in five or so casts the hook would come back twizzled round the mainline, am I missing something?

 

[sam vimes]

Looking at the rig as pictured, you either need to shorten the hooklink, or move it further from the feeder/lead. I'd also suggest that you spread the bead stops a little further apart so the the swivelcan rotate freely around the mainline.

However, much depends on the bait being used and the stiffness of the hooklink material. Lighter baits, longer, and more supple, hooklinks all increase the chances of a tangle.

 

[peterjg]

I suggest that you remove the tapered sleeve, use 0.15mm minimum diameter hooklink and make sure that the hooklink rotates easily. Good luck.

 

[peter crabtree]

The Hooklink twisting around your mainline more than likely occurs when you're reeling in, especially if you do so vigorously.. It shouldn't happen when you cast out and the weight of the feeder should ensure your Hooklink remains in a vertical position as it sinks to the bottom.
Try reeling in very slowly and see if it still happens?

 

[davebhoy]

Having fished the helicopter rig a lot this year I’ve found the following useful:

Korum helicopter rigs - more expensive than swivels and anti-tangle sleeves but far better to avoid tangles

A flourocarbon hooklink of 3 to 5 inches, in a higher breaking strain, as high as you’re comfortable using. I’ve been using 10lb for big bream fishing which sounds like overkill but I works for me

Make sure the hooklink is well up the line from the feeder

 

[103841]

Thanks for all the advice. My hooklength has been rotating freely, I had thought about using a much stiffer fluoro length, just seems all wrong for roach, I’ll experiment with it and I’ll retrieve slower.

 

[mikench]

It happens to me John and regularly. I use the Korum ones and try and retrieve slowly but often forget and a tangle ensues. I now use a flurocarbon hooklength and , being stiffer, I get fewer tangles. I also get fewer bites

 

[103841]

The thing is, it’s not only on the retrieve. I was swinging the feeder out underarm just a few metres out, as I was preparing to swing I could see the hooklength twizzling around the mainline, I was using 4lb mono, size 18 with two maggots or a single caster.

 

[Philip]

It sounds like your facing an uphill struggle trying to solve problems created by the rig.

If your targeting Roach i would ditch the helicopter rig and just go with a standard sliding feeder setup. Even more so if your swinging it out at short range. I think the rig is handicaping you, not helping you.

The other reason not to use that rig that I keep mentioning every time its brought up, is because its a tether rig and should your main line break above the stops the fish will be left towing the feeder. The chances of a small fish such as a Roach being able to pull the stops up and off the line are very low to zero.

I find it strange that this rig appears to have become accepted in the mainstream when there is so much focus on fish welfare.