Mainline Baits - Carp Baits for Carp Anglers and Carp
Mainline Baits - Carp fishing Baits
Mainline Baits - Carp Baits for Carp Anglers and Carp
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Ali Hamidi's Rig Step-by-Step

The Bottom bait rig of Champions
The Bottom bait rig of ChampionsIf you are ‘new' to Carp fishing, or an experienced carp angler, you will regularly experience the amount of debates regarding the mechanics and permutations of how carp feed on the bottom. On many occasions you will hear experienced anglers state “that it's best to keep in simple”. I wouldn't strictly agree with that. These days there are literally hundreds of products that can turn a very simply tied rig into an ultra effective rig. Fine tuned adjustments can turn an average rig into a very good one. During the British Championship final of 2003 Danny Fairbrass and Damian Clarke of Team Korda fame absolutely ‘roared' away with the final using the rig which I am about to outline in this feature. It is a rig that many of our consultants, colleagues and I use for almost 90% of our bottom bait fishing. If you want a rig that will put many more carp on the bank for you then read on:

How it works:
The mechanics here are very simple. The rig incorporates Korda's Wide Gape size 8 hook, Hybrid hooklink, silicon tubing and shrink tube. The idea is to make a rig that is both effective in turning clinically into the carps bottom lip and also difficult to eject. This means you need a perfect balance between the hooklink material and the hooking arrangement. Unlike the Longshank pattern of hook, the Wide Gape lends itself much better to a bottom bait presentation. The wider gap between point and shank increases the chances of the hook finding a good hold when the bait enters the carp's mouth. A narrower gape runs the risk of being hindered by bottom debris when presented ‘flush' against the bottom. So you have a perfect hook for the job, but how do we take a hook on its own and make it into a winning rig? As mentioned, the hooklink material and accompanying tubing are the ‘clinching' items in this presentation. When tied correctly this rig is taken in very easily by the carp, but becomes very difficult to eject without catching hold! It turns violently when drawn over the palm of your hand or any object for that matter, proving that when the carp attempts to blow this lot out, firstly the stiff ‘Hybrid' coated hooklink keeps the rig in ‘situ' whilst the minimal movement at the end of the rig allows the hook to ‘flip' instantly and catch hold in the carp's mouth, enough to ‘prick' and cause the fish to bolt. Wait till you see Part 5 & 6 of the Korda Underwater series, this ultra efficient rig more than holds its own against other more ‘fiddly' type arrangements. Here's a run down on what to use, how and why!

The Components you need:

The Hook:
The text has already covered this, rated by thousands of people as their most reliable hook, mega sharp (you'll do well to find anything sharper), in-turned eye, Wide Gape and most definitely strong without being heavy to alter the reaction of the bait on the bottom.

Shrink Tube and Silicon:
You need a shrink tube that goes lovely and ‘stiff' when steamed down, this allows you to dramatically change the angle that the hooklink leaves the eye of the hook. You will need around 1.2cm ‘snipped' off for this rig and basically the way you curve or bend the shrink tube, dictates how well this hook flips! A slightly overlooked but integral part of this successful recipe is the silicon tubing, again a major asset of the rig. This orchestrates where the hair leaves the hook. Just to emphasise; the point that the hair leaves the hook is almost as important as the point where the line leaves the eye of the hook. It is this alteration of the pivot point when laid down flat that makes the hook turn. By furthering the distance that the hair leaves the hook from the eye, more positioned around the bend with a wide gape hook, you are enabling the ‘turning' mechanics to take effect far quicker and more aggressively. Making it ideal for pressured carp, who have seen everything, common place on day ticket waters. This isn't just for big fish, so don't tie your rigs without it!

Here is a brief run-down of the products that you will require, these are the main bulkier components, including the ‘most loved hook’ in Carp fishing, the Korda Wide Gape. The coated Hybrid Hooklink in 20lb and the ‘new’ Small Stik Klip for quick rig interchange As explained in the text, the ‘tubing’ accessories are very vital to the success of this rig, it alters angles and pivot points that ultimately turn the hook and prick the carp a lot quicker than rigs without these items. An absolute must for consistent success Depending on the length of rig you want to use, snip off around 5 inches more than your required length. For a 10inch link I would cut off approx 15inches. If you bite off around 4-5inches up the link to pierce the coating, you’re giving yourself enough uncoated material to tie the ‘end part’ of the presentation. Follow the instructions on the packaging for further guidelines
Next tie an overhand loop at the end of the uncoated section to be the basis for your ‘hair’. Thread on the boilie and complete with a boilie stop At the opposite end snip off around 3mm of Korda ‘small’ silicon tubing. Use a leadcore gated splicing needle to thread this onto the Hybrid hooklink Next is the only ‘real’ tricky bit. Point the Wide Gapes ‘beaked’ point above the silicon and at the bait so that when you thread the silicon onto the shank of the hook, the bait is at the right end of the hook, i.e. hanging below the hook! Gently tease the point through the silicon trying your best not to pierce the silicon. Push it straight through as the picture shows
Now we’re nearly there. Thread the tail end of the link through the back of the hook ‘eye’ allowing you to assess the length of hair. About 5mm between bend and top of bait is very effective or should that be very crafty! Now tie off the knotless knot This bit is easy, ‘snip’ off around 1.2cm of Korda small shrink tube. This ‘steams’ down a lot stiffer than other alternative shrink tubes on the market, which is vital asset for the success of this rig. Push over the eye so around 4mm covers the shank and knot. Also note the important position of the silicon tubing Meltdown time! Gently steam the shrink tube down whilst carefully bending the shrink tube in the direction of the hookpoint to produce the curve which invariably flips the hook into the carps bottom lip
Now finally steam the hooklink straight, this takes out any ‘kinks’ that are naturally in it when the material leaves the spool. Also ensure that the knots are steamed down. In this instance a grinner joins the ‘new’ Korda link loop to the hybrid, but I only pull this tight over the steam of the kettle Clip the Link Loop to the Stik Clip and lead arrangement Just for a confidence booster, pull the rig along the palm of your hand and just see how easily it turns. The curve of shrink tube and the position of silicon on the bend of the hook make this and an extremely efficient and effective set-up

Hooklength:
Hooklink choice here is once again an integral part of any successful presentation. A semi-stiff presentation using the 20lb ‘Hybrid' coated hooklink is an ideal choice. There is one main reason for this. The most notable of which is the way it hinders the carps ability to eject any of this presentation once it has entered its mouth. Many coated hooklinks don't have a dramatic difference between the level of stiffness of the coated material and the inner braided core. The ‘Hybrid' is one of very few that is ‘super stiff' when uncoated and very supple when the inner core is revealed. It is also a flouro-carbon coating so visibility is kept to an absolute minimum. When I use this, I tend to have about 1 A 25lb+ Carp, a victim of the Bottom Bait rig caught from a very ‘riggy’ water.inch revealed of the supple braided core and then the rest is left coated. This gives enough suppleness, for the hook to easily flip into the carps mouth and find hold, whilst the stiff material stops the carp trying to get rid of the whole lot, because the stiff boom is literally keeping the whole lot just where you want it to stay while the final inch works its magic!

Well that's all for this month folks. This really is an excellent set-up that you can use with the up-most confidence. It has been producing fish for years now and is a set-up that suits numerous angling situations.

Break a leg!

Ali Hamidi