SPECIMEN CARP ANGLING - THE BASICS

This is a big subject so I am only going to cover hopefully the basics. Most of what I am going to say here comes from my experience.

Simple Hook Link.

Soft braid.
Start off by tying a small loop in the hook link; this is for the baiting needle so it does not have to be a big loop, I would say max 10mm.
Now take the bait that you are going to use and put it onto the loop you have just made, put the boilie stop in.
Then measure of the length of hook link and cut off the roll, a good length to start is 320mm from tip of the loop to where you cut.
Now take the end you have just cut and pass it through the eye of the hook, measure that the boilie is about 3mm from the middle of the bend in the hook.
Here is a little tip, look where the eye has been closed and start your whipping in the away direction from the eye joint.
Now some will say seven turns, some eight, I am going to say this is up to you, what you are confident doing.
Then take the end of the hook link material back through the eye and wet and pull as tight as you can.
Now take the hook link you have just made, place the hook and boilie on the palm of your hand and pull the hook link, the hook should turn point down.
Now you can tie a loop or onto a swivel.

Different Hook Links.
That is how to tie the hook on covered to a degree. The whipping is up to you, seven eight turns, I use seven. I will in later additions to this article discuss other rigs, these are the basics of the hair rig. If you put the bait onto the hair before tying the rig, this will give you the idea of how long the hair should be, now tie different rigs for different size baits. Use a rig pouch to store the made up rigs

Stiff Hook Link
There are variations because today there are such a lot of different hook link materials.
I will discuss some, the easiest is what is called a stiff rig, you can use plain mono, say 15lb BS. Then tie as above but instead of just seven or eight turns use ten. You can use the mono for the hair, again put the bait on the hair, it helps to size the hair correctly. Measure off about 350mm cut the material off. Tie the knotless knot, then tie in a loop or onto a swivel.

Coated braid
A nice hook link material to use is coated braid, it is simple to use all you need is to tie a hook on and a swivel or a loop.
Take the coated braid measure 15cm and pull the coating off, tie a small loop for the baiting needle, measure 30cm from the loop and cut off, tie your knotless knot. Then tie a swivel or loop in the other end.
The nice thing here the coated braid gives you both the qualities of a stiff rig and a soft braid.

Then it is always a pleasure to land a fish on the rig you have made.

Next time, broken back rig.

The Knotless Knot

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

The Completed Hook Link