Quiz any good carp angler and they will tell you that putting a rig with a sharp hook in the area where target fish are swimming is 90 per cent of the carp fishing jigsaw. Add a bait that they’re are interested in, and you’re on to a winner. A lot of rigs are invented to deal with certain scenarios such as thick weed or silt, or to fool heavily-pressured carp which have become adept at dealing with standard rigs. The problem is, the more components such as swivels, beads, bits of tubing or knots you add to the rig, the more elements there are to go wrong.
The rig detailed in this article really is as simple as it gets, yet incredibly effective. All you need is some semi-stiff or soft coated braid, a hook, a pop-up hookbait and some split shot or tungsten putty. The key to this rig is that you only remove a couple of inches of the outer coating from the hooklink material, which is just enough for you to thread the hookbait on to. The knotless knot is then tied with the braid with the coating intact. By breaking a small section of coating an inch from the hook you create a hinge for the pop-up and the coated section below the hook does away with the need for shrink tubing.
A bright pop-up hookbait will encourage any carp in the vicinity to come and investigate. This rig can be cast out on its own at showing fish or with a small mesh PVA bag or stick filled with pellets or crumbed boilies. It can also be fished on a lead clip, helicopter or inline lead set-up. It really is incredibly versatile and it won’t take you long to tie up.
How To Tie A Simple Pop-up Rig
1. Take a 12in length of semi-stiff coated braid, remove 2.5in of coating and tie a small loop.
2. Fix bait tight to the hook with a knotless knot. Whip down until opposite the point of the hook.
3. Remove a small section of coating around one inch from the hook to create a hinge.
4. Then gently add a small piece of split shot to the uncoated hook length. This provides better grip for the tungsten putty when we apply it.
5. mould a blob of tungsten putty around the shot, leaving a section of the supple braid exposed. Tip: Test the rig in the water when applying the tungsten putty, the rig should slowly sink – this will then ensure the rig is critically balanced.
