How do you decide what length of hair to use with bottom baits or wafters? Is it down to personal choice?
AFirst, it’s important to realise that no single thing makes a rig ‘good’ – it’s a blend of many interacting factors, including rig components, hair length and hookbait choice.
For bottom baits I’m a big fan of using large, heavy hooks – at least size 6 – as I feel that the inherent weight causes the hook to drag in the carp’s mouth. The hair length I choose for this (the distance between the bait and the hook bend or rig ring) is at least half the bottom bait’s thickness.
This length is a minimum (and can be tailored to suit the size carp I’m targeting), and gives the hook freedom and sufficient separation to do its job. With hairs of this length, even if the hookbait settles awkwardly on its side, it’s not going to be detrimental to the rig’s performance. I’ve never found the need to go really long with hairs, but slightly longer is better than too short every time.
Moving on to short hairs, in my book they’re not a great idea when fishing for big carp with bottom baits because the hook’s final position is dictated by the how the bait settles on the lakebed.
For me, short hairs come into their own when fishing pop-up/wafter rigs with stiffer hooklinks and positioning the bait on the back of the hook – this gives the hook a claw effect, helping it to hang down ready to snare a greedy carp.
A short hair can be a good thing if targeting smaller carp with bottom baits. Or, by making the hair longer, you can select larger fish and avoid the smaller fish in the lake. I hope this helps, Freddie!