My 5 FAVOURITE Carp Rigs!

Deciding on which carp rig and bait to use on a session is always a hard task. The modern-day carping has introduced a huge variety of different rigs which sometimes makes things a little overwhelming when deciding what rigs to settle on. Especially for those young anglers coming through!

In my opinion what rig you use depends on what lake bed you are fishing over, and picking the right rigs can really improve your chances of catching. I have 5 rigs I use in all my carp fishing which suit a variety of baits to give me the best presentation possible when I find out what the lake bed is like on arrival to a swim.

1, Ronnie Rig

Hookbaits Used: Pop-Ups

Suitable over: Silt, Gravel, Clay, Low lying weed

The Ronnie rig is my number 1 go to rig and probably the most used pop-up rig in UK carp fishing. I use this a lot in my own fishing, and have caught carp on difficult waters on this rig!

The Ronnie rig offers precise positioning for pop up baits on the bottom of the lake and is aimed at giving you a good strong hook hold.

The goal of the Ronnie rig is to have your hookbait so it can freely rotate through 360 degrees so that when a carp sucks it in it will give you a strong hook hold around the bottom lip.

I like to mount my hookbaits on bait screws for Ronnie’s as this presentation gets the hookbait close to the curve of the shank meaning you are more likely to get a good hook hold.

From the QC swivel up to the eye of the hook you should use shrink tubing to give you the stiff presentation that is so iconic with the Ronnie rig! Make sure you use the same colour tubing to match the lakebed you’re fishing over!

BUT…

The best thing about the Ronnie rig is….

It resets itself everytime.

When a carp false takes a bait the rigidity and stiffness of the rig means it will reset and get you back fishing straight away.

This is what makes these types of rigs so efficient, and a rig you can be confident in no matter what lakebed you are fishing over!

You can buy ready made from my website here: Ronnie Rig

OR… if you want to try yourself these are the materials you’ll need:

• Curve Shank Hook
• Nash Skinlink
• Tungsten Putty
• QC Swivels
• Bait Screws
• Shrink Tubing

2, Snowman Rig

Hookbaits Used: 15/18mm Boilie and 12/10mm Pop-Up

Suitable over: Silt, Gravel, Clay, Clear spots in weed

A snowman rig is one of the most unused carp rigs in UK carp fishing in my opinion. For me I use it when there are a lot of nuisance fish as this gives you a larger hookbait to get through to the larger carp.

A snowman rig is a 2 boilie setup with a standard boilie at the bottom and a smaller pop up at the top. It makes the presentation stand up odd at the bottom and looks just like a snowman, hence the name.

I have had many of my 30lb UK carp on this method like below…

In my opinion the snowman rig works great in situations where you are fishing over beds of standard carp baits because the added topper to a normal boilie really gives you the edge and makes your bait stand out against the loose feed

This rig also allows you to combine savoury/fishmeal baits with bright high attractive, typically sweet, pop ups.

You can buy ready made from my website here: Snowman Rig

OR… if you want to try yourself these are the materials you’ll need:

• Kurv Shank Hook
• Korda Soft N-Trap 20lb
• Shrink Tubing
• Anti Tangle Sleeve

3, KD Rig

Hookbaits Used: Pop-Ups, Wafters, Bottom baits tipped with Artificial corn

Suitable over: Silt, Gravel, Clay, Clear spots in weed

The KD Rig is very similar to a standard hair rig which is used by all carp anglers. The key difference is in the whipping of the hooklink around the shank of the hook. With the KD rig, the hair protrudes from the hook closer to the eye.

For my KD rigs I do 2 whips as normal, move the hair to 90 degrees and do 4 whips below.

I have caught many UK carp on this rig including this monster below:

KD Rigs are especially lethal when paired with a solid PVA bag. The PVA bag creates a tight compact spread of bait with the hook and bait in perfect position nearly every time. The supreme hook hold achieved by KD rigs makes them a very useful tool to have when fishing in waters where barbed hooks are prohibited.

A lot of my waters I fish are Barbless only hooks which makes this an option for when I am out on the bank.

You can buy ready made from my website here: KD Rig

OR… if you want to try yourself these are the materials you’ll need:

• Kurv Shank Hook
• Korda Soft N-Trap 20lb
• BB Shot
• Anti Tangle Sleeve

4, Blowback Rig

Hookbaits Used: Pop-Ups, Wafters, Bottom Baits

Suitable over: Silt, Gravel, Clay, Clear spots in weed

The Blowback rig is an often-used presentation incorporating a small sliding ring on the shank of the hook, with the ring attached to the hair as a simple extension of the hooklink running up the back of the hook.

Now I have only started using this rig within the last few months after a few anglers I know were talking about it and it possessed some qualities that I was looking for in my rigs.

A blowback rig goes perfectly in a solid bag setup which is something I’ve also introduced into my fishing lately.

Also not only will this rig hook the cleverest of carp, it can also be used with both bottom baits and pop ups but still provide the excellent hooking potential which allows you to swap methods quickly.

But the main advantage is the fact that the hair rarely tangles and if the rig is ejected it can reset itself, due to the sliding rig ring that runs along the hooks shank.

So if your looking for a rig that resets itself, can try the wariest of carp and you can use any hookbait you want then this is the rig for you!

You can buy ready made from my website here: Blowback Rig

OR… if you want to try yourself these are the materials you’ll need:

• Kurv Shank Hook
• Korda Soft N-Trap 20lb
• Rig Ring
• Anti Tangle Sleeve
• Shrink Tubing

5, Standard Hair Rig

Hookbaits Used: Bottom Baits

Suitable over: Silt, Gravel, Clay, Clear spots in Weed

Now in my eyes this is the most under rated carp rig in fishing. The simplicity of a standard hair rig is often over looked by the modern day angler who follow all the big names in fishing making their rigs extremely over complicated.

Sometimes just getting the basics right is far better than fishing ineffectively.

I have had some of my biggest carp on this simple method, check out below:

The standard hair rig can be fished in nearly every presentation whether it would be over particle, boilie or pellets. By changing the length of the rig it can also be fished over every lake bed apart from weed.

This is what makes this rig the best carp rig!

You can buy ready made from my website here: Standard Hair Rig

OR… if you want to try yourself these are the materials you’ll need:

• Kurv Shank Hook
• Korda Soft N-Trap 20lb
• Anti Tangle Sleeve

Lastly, this is what I have in my rig box ready to tie all of these rigs:

SUMMARY

I hope you have enjoyed this read into what rigs I use and what material you would need to make them yourself.

All rigs above can be adapted and changed to suit different scenarios like softer silt or thicker weed; such as varying the hooklength and changing the hook size. These changes CAN and WILL make the difference in banking more carp!

Don’t forget I can tie all carp rigs to order from my shop! Make sure you check it out!

Do you have any questions about the rigs above?

Then please fill out the form below and I would be happy to answer any questions. I aim to reply as soon as possible but please allow 24hrs.