NASH KNOWHOW
NASH KNOWHOW
WHEN AND WHERE • Ideal for heavily fished venues with riggy carp
Double the lead, half the link
• Perfect for hard bottomed margin spots • Better when lowered, or dropped from a boat rather than cast
Ever get that feeling you’re being turned over a bit too easily? Hampshire based carper Josh Sandars reveals how going flat, heavy and short instantly changed his fortunes.
We’re all guilty of doing the same sort of things – length of link, size of bait and even where we cast. But just a couple of simple changes can completely transform your results, and wherever I can get away with it I’ve become a big fan of a lot more lead and a lot less link. A few years ago I was fishing a well known two acre lake in Hampshire, and no question the carp there can be on you like a rash but getting rid of rigs time and time again. There aren’t any obvious features to go at, and as a rule people tend to fish PVA bags or a spread of boilies casting to the middle. Having fished the lake that way on a few occasions, I would experience loads of odd bleeps on the R3s or rattles of the bobbin but no hooked fish. The lake in question is very silty, so most people use lighter leads for better presentation, but because of that I wondered if fish were using that to
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their advantage. Most of the lake was soft silt but the margins were nice and deep, often five feet and with a solid clay bottom which gave me a chance to seriously up the lead size and see if that helped. The fact I wouldn’t need to cast was ideal, I could literally lower a big lead in, and because the bottom was firm I could combine much greater resistance from the lead with a shorter link to try and get the hook point buried the instant a hook passed over the bottom lip. Three inch links was where I started. Heavy leads and short links can be a difficult combination, especially with softer mouthed carp and even more so where carp have learned to shake their heads. The answer was simply to tie up a drop off system using a double ring swivel.
in 5 feet of water followed by a couple of handfuls of crushed and whole free offerings. The switch of tactics worked like a charm and within 24 hours I’d landed commons of 18, 21, 24, 28 and an absolute bruiser of 29lb 14oz. It was an important lesson and since then I’ve used the same end tackle to land carp to over 34 lb from the margins. Double the lead, half the link and my success rate went through the roof.
YOU’LL NEED… • 65 lb Cling-On Leader • 1 x Flat In Line Square Lead • In Line Lead Insert • Double Ring Swivels • Medium Blow Out Tube • Hook Kickers • Size 7 Fang Twisters • 15 lb Armourlink Silt
First trip with the new approach I lowered the heavy lead and short rig combination in the edge just a couple of feet apart
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NASH KNOWHOW
NASH KNOWHOW
TYING AN IN LINE DROP OFF RIG
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My favourites for margin work are the In Line Flat Squares. They sit inconspicuously and pressure the hook point differently. I start with 6 oz, double the average lead in use.
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Take a length of 65 lb Cling-On Leader and splice one end to one of the rings of a Double Ring Swivel.
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At the other end of the leader splice a small loop to tie the end tackle to the main line. Then thread the soft tail rubber from the rear of the lead down the leader.
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Thread a length of 1mm diameter Large Blow Out Tube down over the hair loop.
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Position the tube below the loop to set the length of the hair and carefully push the point of a size 7 Twister through the tube towards the hair loop.
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Now whip a knotless knot and pass the tag end down over the eye. The hair should exit on the shoulder of the hook for fast turning and good hook mechanics.
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Keep the finished link around 8cm maximum. Add the hookbait – I prefer a 15mm Key Cray Wafter or bottom bait with a small PVA bag of Key Cray Flake.
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Push a soft In Line Lead Insert over the eye and barrel of the Double Ring Swivel at the end of the leader. It grips securely and stays in position.
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Remove the stiff tube insert from the lead, snip off the higher diameter section and push the remaining tube back into the lead.
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Pull the Cling-On Leader back over the centre of the lead and push the tail rubber on the leader into position over the stiff tube at the rear of the lead.
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The lead is now trapped in position on the leader but when a carp is hooked the soft lead insert pulls out the nose and the weight of the lead drops it out the grip of the tail rubber on the leader.
Push the In Line Lead Insert and Double Ring Swivel into the recess in the nose of the lead.
Take 25cm of 15 lb Armourlink Silt, remove all the outer coating before tying an overhand hair loop at one end. Tighten down with the Knot Puller before trimming.
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