smerchly Posted June 9, 2014 Report Share Posted June 9, 2014 I made up a few hair rigs yesterday & gave it a whirl at Jordan . Well .....it was a fantastic morning ! My first time fishing with hair rigs only, produced 6 fine carp . Every one of them hit fast and furious ....by the time I got my hands on the pole it was bent at 90 * and peeling out line....no need to set the hook lol ! Three were between 19 lbs and 22 lbs. & three , 15 to 18 lbs ., and all looked very healthy and loved my Walmart canned corn ! Three hours of good fishing with a good hour fighting fish ! Netting them solo can be a chore & the big 30" net is a great help to land these scrappy fish . love the hair rig .....all carp were caught on the lower lip using a small sharp hook ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRO - P1KE 101 Posted June 9, 2014 Report Share Posted June 9, 2014 Great fish there smerchly! Im headin out later on this week too, gonna use some hair riggs with some nice maize a bit of ground bait for chum and for my feeder. As well as some corn and boilies for back up too! Tight lines Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jer Posted June 9, 2014 Report Share Posted June 9, 2014 Nice looked like a great day some good looking carp there!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob29 Posted June 9, 2014 Report Share Posted June 9, 2014 How long of a hair are you using and what size hook? I tried my luck last week and caught 2 (first time ever catching a carp) on corn directly on a hook. I then made up some hair rigs using size 6 and 8 hooks with about 3/4 - 1 inch hair with 2-3 kernels of corn. Had nibbles but didn't hook into any. Trying to expand my fishing horizons this year and catch multi species. Finally crossed off the carp, next I want some big kitties. Definitely want to put more time into the carp though and would like to fine tune my approach to hooking them. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian_b Posted June 10, 2014 Report Share Posted June 10, 2014 Nice shots smerch. Couldn't ask for a much better time out than that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveC Posted June 10, 2014 Report Share Posted June 10, 2014 Very nice smerch...thats a great day for sure. Great report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted June 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2014 How long of a hair are you using and what size hook ? Using a 10' Med.action rod with a soft tip , 20# braid line , 20# mono about 6"-7" long for the hook & hair & 3/8 oz.sliding egg sinker , #4 Raven wide gap with the hair about 1 1/4 " long , using 3 small corn kernels . The small kernels split easily while threading them over the tiny loop knot .....will look for larger corn . I like to leave a little slack in the line while propping the rod close to the water ,about 12" high . I'm certainly no pro ....just learning myself Rob , and I went 6 for 6 today in 3 hours . If I don't get a bite in 15 min , I check my bait ......a few times I found a piece of a leaf etc.had caught the bare hook . When not using the hair rig , I used a larger hook and it worked well also . forgot to mention , the Raven hook has a slight bend at the eye , so I put them in my small vise & straighten the eye .......seems to not weaken the hook where others will snap like the barbed ones . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Pike Posted June 10, 2014 Report Share Posted June 10, 2014 Nice job on the carp, Smerch! Those are some gorgeous fish and caught there and good numbers in just 3 hours. Wow! It's amazing how effective the hair rigs are, eh. I believe a British fellow came up with them in the early 80s and it revolutionized carp fishing there. The exposed hook gets pinned to he bottom lip as the carp tries to blow the bait back out or moves off with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frog088 Posted June 10, 2014 Report Share Posted June 10, 2014 How long of a hair are you using and what size hook? I tried my luck last week and caught 2 (first time ever catching a carp) on corn directly on a hook. I then made up some hair rigs using size 6 and 8 hooks with about 3/4 - 1 inch hair with 2-3 kernels of corn. Had nibbles but didn't hook into any. Trying to expand my fishing horizons this year and catch multi species. Finally crossed off the carp, next I want some big kitties. Definitely want to put more time into the carp though and would like to fine tune my approach to hooking them. Cheers the size of the hook and length of the hair will be different depending on the size of your bait. Larger bait = larger hook and longer hair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frog088 Posted June 10, 2014 Report Share Posted June 10, 2014 The small kernels split easily while threading them over the tiny loop knot Hey smerch, you can tie your loop in the hair much higher up if you like, almost near where it comes off the hook - you end up with a larger loop but it doesn't matter when the bait is on it, and you don't have to slide your bait over a knot. I also like a sinking braided hooklink material as opposed to nylon or mono as it is more flexible, less memory, lays flat on the bottom, hair is more supple, etc...jmho. Looks like you had a great day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted June 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2014 Thanks for the tips guys ! I was looking for the braided hooklink material but haven't found any . I was looking at 50 lb.braid as an alternative but it's very pricy and may not work well ......I was losing corn today on nibbles ......can't be sure if it's carp mouthing it or just little bait fish as I saw many of them breaking the water today . I gave it another go for 2.5 hrs today , using another rod & an old 440 D.A.M.Quick reel on my old Fenwick 8' custom salmon rod . The drag was jerky ....leaves much to be desired compared to my Shimano Symetre 4000 that has a nice smooth drag . I went 5 for 6 this morning .....lost my first carp this year , probably poor hook set . Next time I'll use the same 8' rod with the Symetre . The bite was still hot this morning & when I get hot from the heat ....time to go ....home before noon . I had a bad start ....I didn't get the net extended properly ....missed the pin ....went to land the first carp & the net came off the handle & fell into the water .....what a time I had trying to get the net put on the handle while fighting the carp ....glad no one was watching me lol .....nearly fell off the not so flat rock ! lol here's todays catch ....note the old rod & reel ......biggest fish was only 13 lbs .& it escaped the net twice before I nabbed it . ....this is the mono set up I used today ....note the home made needle I made by cutting out a slot with a Dremmel tool with a fine cutting wheel ....works great ! this is the old Quick 440 , a very sturdy well made reel in it's day . It is about the size and weight of my Stradic 4000 but the drag is not smooth . I got some clear tubing and tied it to the rim of my net with tie straps ....it saves the net from breaking around the rim . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler0420 Posted June 10, 2014 Report Share Posted June 10, 2014 Sweet rig and nice fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob29 Posted June 12, 2014 Report Share Posted June 12, 2014 Those are some great fish, I bet you had a blast pulling them in. I attempted again and lost the only hooked fish in the 3 hours we were out. I too see almost a constant nibble with a few decent bumps but nothing where they self hook themselves. I am having a growing suspicion that it's a bit too rocky and only the little fish can get at our offerings. Was ready to give up on the spot but the friend who came along the past couple times insisted on one more go. Thanks again for the tips on the setup and for giving me the motivation to keep at it, cheers. Oh and I users a micro jig hook that I straightened to thread corn on. Works great and the base is fluorescent pink so hard to lose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoeBaggin Posted June 19, 2014 Report Share Posted June 19, 2014 some new drag washer would fix that jerkiness up smerch. I swapped out my old drag washers in my trusty Calcutta reel with carbontex drag washers and lightly lubricated them. The drag is now better than new and smooth as silk. I bought mine from mikes reel repair in b.c. you should check them out. A tip for others...when you are done fishing with your baitcasters...make sure to completely remove the tension from the drag...back it right off. This way the drag washers aren't constantly under tension or should I say compression. It will increase the drag life of your reel. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted June 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2014 Thanks RB , I never gave the washers a thought . That old reel hasn't got a lot of lineage on it .....used many years ago for a few salmon and rod that I'm still using for carp . I always back off my drag after using it for the day . I like the drag on my Symetre 4000 ....very smooth & really helps when netting a big carp solo . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungYakker Posted October 18, 2014 Report Share Posted October 18, 2014 How do you get the loop smaller and the knot smaller when using mono or flouro for the leader and hair? My knot always causes a bigger hole in the bait and risks sliding around even with the use of a hairstopper. And the big loop sometimes causes a big hole. I think frozen corn would work better on a hair? I use creamed corn for chum, It has tons of juice and I imagine the scent travels. AWESOME day and nice fish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Guelph Posted October 21, 2014 Report Share Posted October 21, 2014 Hey Smerch if I find I lose corn to nibbles or gobies I tie a few kernels in spawn mesh. I even add floaters if the bottom warrants it. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted October 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2014 How do you get the loop smaller and the knot smaller when using mono or flouro for the leader and hair? My knot always causes a bigger hole in the bait and risks sliding around even with the use of a hairstopper. And the big loop sometimes causes a big hole. I think frozen corn would work better on a hair? I use creamed corn for chum, It has tons of juice and I imagine the scent travels. AWESOME day and nice fish! I like to experiment & try improvising old techniques . I have used the needle & loop & found it rips the canned corn easily , so.....I came up with a very simple idea of using a strong mono line with no loop or knots ....just the line itself . I have caught most of my carp on this rig , including the 30 lb. one a few days ago. I used marking ink to see it better . The line is 20# mono & I cut the hair end on a sharp angle to form a better point . I thread the can corn onto the hair by holding the hair 1/4" from the tip to force it through the corn . This makes a very small hole in the corn . After loading 3 or 4 kernels on to the hair I use a cut piece of elastic band by forming a small loop & sliding it over the hair ....then tighten the elastic to the point of breaking it ....then cut of the tabs & leave a little less than 1/4" on each side .......a couple of photos...... You can use any colour elastic like yellow if you want it to match the bait . I have reeled in up to 3 times to check the bait and also have landed a carp with the corn still intact . In this shot , I used puffed corn which is hard and also floats . I just pushed a pin through it first and then slid the hair through it . I also made a bread punch for flattened bread or bread dough balls which work with this simple rig . Give it a try ....very simple and easy method that works well for me . You can go lighter or heavier with the mono .....give it a test at home first . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Pike Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 That's great instruction and pics of your rig there, Smerch. Very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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