Bottom bait · Carp Army library

The hair rig

The rig everything else grew from. A bottom bait on a hair off a wide gape hook, on a supple braided hooklink. When: Any water, any bottom bait. Start here if in doubt.

Mainline3oz flat pear leadCoated braid hooklinkWide gape hookBottom bait boilieHairLake bed
14Captures logged on this rig
27lbBest on it
0Likes

Parts · 0 of 8 stocked by Carp Army shops

Hook: Wide gape hook, size 4 to 6
Hooklink: Coated braid hooklink, 20lb
Strip the last inch for a supple hinge
Shrink tube: Shrink tube, small
For a kicker over the eye
Hair stop: Hair stops
Swivel: Size 8 ring swivel
Lead system: Lead clip and tail rubber
Lead: 3oz flat pear lead
Hookbait: Bottom bait boilie, 15 to 18mm

In the app, every stocked part goes in your basket with one tap. 8 parts aren't stocked by a Carp Army shop yet.

How to tie it

  1. Cut 25cm of hooklink and strip 2cm of coating from one end.
  2. Tie a small overhand loop in the stripped end for the hair.
  3. Thread the hook on and set the hair so the bait sits just off the bend, then whip a knotless knot with seven turns.
  4. Steam a piece of shrink tube over the eye so the hook turns.
  5. Tie a figure-of-eight loop at the other end and attach to the swivel with a quick link.
  6. Mount the bait on a baiting needle and stop it with a hair stop.

Tips

  • A blob of putty on the hooklink an inch from the hook pins it down.
  • Sharpen the point or change the hook after every fish.

Caught on this rig

Make it yours

Open it in the app, tap "Make it mine", change the hook size or the bait, and share your version. Log a capture against it and it counts.