Pellets - hair rigs or bait bands ?

keora · Aug 9, 2006

Please what's the best way of fixing hard halibut pellets to hair rigs? I've tried drilling pellets with a boilie drill -the pellets become fragile and split, often before you've cast them into the river.

What's the optimum distance to leave between the bottom bend of the hook and the top of the bait, when using hair rigs ?

Do hair rigs have any advantages over bait bands when barbel fishing ? Although bands are easier to use than hair rigs, the rig doesn't look very neat - somehow to me the bands look clumsy and emphasise the adjoining hook.

Paul H · Aug 9, 2006

Keith,

I have started using bands as drilling etc gets my goat.

I now make a 'D' rig with a small rig ring, thread the band through the ring and attach the pellet. The advantages if this is the pellet won't slip down the hook shank (as with a pellet just banded to the shank) and you can replace the band without replacing the entire hooklink (when the band itself is whipped to the shank).

I have caught some nice fish on this set up including a 9lb pb Barbel at the last Trent fish-in and a 10lb-ish Carp last week.

Lord Paul · Aug 9, 2006

Pickey

Have your man servant do the drilling, don't forget to deduct and broken pelelts from his wages.

Bryan Baron 2 · Aug 9, 2006

And to give the toffs a spelling lesson.

I use both. I tie my band to the end of the hair. If you want to avoid chub then have the bait 5mm or more of the bend of the hook.

I break very few pellets drilling with my dremmel. I also use a small drill for the electronic bods used in making circuit boards. It as a spring loaded middle that yo push down this roatates the drill. I find you keep the bit strighter with this than the standard sort.
I also use a 1mm drill bit this seems to help also.

Bully · Aug 9, 2006

I glue the small ones, drill the larger ones.

Michael Howson · Aug 9, 2006

Keith. You can buy Dynamite 14mm pelletts ready-drilled @ 3pounds 20 for a 1 kilo bag.I hair-rig mine with some small rubber prongs which have a hole at one end and a stop-end on the other. All you need do is push your bait-needle through the pellet then through the hole in the prong and draw it back through the pellet and fix it on the hook. Its a bit fiddly at first but two or three tries and it becomes easy.It is also very unobtrusive and virtually invisible to the fish. Best of luck.Mick

PS the prongs come in a packet of a dozen or so for a pound or sofrom most good tackle shops.

Sean Meeghan · Aug 9, 2006

I just band mine to the hook. Put the band on the pellet, hook the hook under the band and hey presto! I use a Garner 3.2mm band for 8mm to 14mm pellets. The pellet only moves round the hook if you miss a bite so I don't find this a problem. To stop you losing the band if the pellet comes out, just catch the hook point through the band as I'm hooking it. This is quite easy with a bit of practice.

Jack Pike BA · Aug 9, 2006

Someone once told me to heat the drill with a cigarette lighter then drill. But dont do what I did once , I was paked in a supermarket car park waiting for the Wife I decided to try the above method you should of seen the looks I got off passerbys what with a lighter in one hand and a bleeding big halibut pellet inthe other! it was a good job that PC Plod wasnt on foot patrol!!

Keith Brown · Aug 10, 2006

Try superglueing two smaller pellets back to back on the hair

Bill Ling · Aug 10, 2006

Keith's way works for me!

keora · Aug 10, 2006

Thanks for the ideas

Graham Whatmore · Aug 10, 2006

8mm pellets are best banded but I don't understand why people lose bands, the remedy is simple. Lay the shank of the hook across the band and pull one half of the loop through the other half and pull tight, simple, one band will last a full session and never fall off.

Another method which I often use is to saw a slot in the side of an 8mm pellet and superglue it to the shank of the hook. I made a little saw out of a piece of old hacksaw blade about four inches long and it takes but a few seconds to do it this way.

I use the small latex bands and these will hold pellets securely from 6mm up to 14mm either directly on the hook or on a hair I don't think it matters for barbel, but usually tight to the hook for chub.

keora · Aug 11, 2006

Graham, funnily enough I've never lost bait bands from the hook, they seem to stick on pretty well.

I like the convenience of bait bands. I sometimes have the nagging doubt that the appearance band and hook and pellet is too obvious to finicky barbel. Or perhaps its just my imagination.

Graham Whatmore · Aug 11, 2006

I think bait bands round pellets do not affect your fishing one iota and I have caught loads of fish and virtually all species and sizes on banded pellet. I had my first 2lb roach on an 8mm banded pellet and I also had a 2.5lb roach on a 14mm banded halibut pellet intended for barbel. I have also had 3 and 4oz roach, small rudd, dace, gudgeon, in fact you name it I've had it.

It maybe doesn't look right to the angler used to fishing with conventional baits but no one has ever told the fish that. Its a bit like dogs who are keen to smell things we wouldn't want to be near but to the dog its not a good or bad smell its a smell and has to be sniffed.

keora · Aug 12, 2006

Graham, that's a good analogy.

Arthur J Rank · Aug 20, 2006

Keith2 - to avoid splitting pellets when drilling, use a cordless drill and fine bit but only drill halfway through then use a boillie drill to finish off. A lot less effort as well.

keora · Aug 21, 2006

Thanks, I'll try it.

Big Bazza · Aug 21, 2006

Just used the new Smartbait hookable pellets on the Teme and Hants Avon.
(Available in 21mm & 14mm) These are soft enough to get a boilie needle thro but you must not expose them too much,as they dry out within in a few hours.
They are also easy to cut down and make un-pellet shape!!
You can get them from tackle shops if not Smartbait direct.

Jeff Howe · Aug 22, 2006

I've had success with hair rigging and using bait bands with pellet.
Stick with bands, drilling becomes harder with older pellets.

keora · Aug 23, 2006

Actually I was catching barbel yesterday on banded pellets. They didn't seem to mind the bands, and it's a lot easier to band than to hair rig.

Pellets - hair rigs or bait bands ?

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