WHAT’S THE BEST SPOT TO FISH MY RIGS OVER BAIT

QWhen fishing over a large bed of particles, exactly where should I position my two rigs? In the middle of the loosefeed, either side, at the front or towards the back? Steve Scott, via email

DAN WILDBORE: I try to make sure that my rigs fish my side of the particles. I want my hookbaits on the edge of the baited area, so that my lines are not running through the swim. It is important that you do fish them on the spot, as the fish won’t move too far once you have Spombed out the bait accurately.

QI’ve used fake baits a lot but a number of fisheries near me have banned them as they don’t break down if you crack off and lose a rig. Should I stop using them and just cut down bright pop-ups to tip off my boilies? Jack Hastings, Hampshire

JACK FUNNEL: I think unless you are using fake baits to deter nuisance fish or crayfish, a pop-up replacement will be much more effective. There is little or no leakage of attractors from plastic, so by adding a pop-up you will add that to the appeal of your hookbait. I use a lot of corn in my mix, but instead of using plastic corn I prefer using a 12mm pineapple pop-up. I have found that this has actually earned me more bites in the past, so I prefer to use pop-ups.

QHow far off the lakebed should I fish a pop-up bait? Ryan Moore, via email MARCUS HOWARTH: This depends on the size of the fish you are targeting, the lakebed type you are fishing and the time of year. In the spring, I use tall chod rigs a lot. when targeting big fish because it is blatant and picks out the better ones. Big carp will feed quite high off the bottom, so even though it may look a bit odd, to them it is almost in their face. In the summer, or when fishing in lighter weed, I use something a lot closer to the bottom. A spinner rig is perfect. This presents the bait just off the bottom, which is how I like it when the fish wise up a little. It is good to have a lead around and find out what it is that you are going to fish over. If there is very little weed or bottom debris, a small pop-up will be perfect. If it is larger strands of something like Canadian pond weed, then I would go for a chod rig with a pop-up fished a few inches off the bottom.

QI want to save money by making my own leadcore leaders as opposed to buying ready-made ones. What is the easiest way to splice a leader so that it is safe and strong? Dan Walsh, Milton Keynes

BEN HAMILTON: It is very easy to do and there isn’t much to go wrong when splicing. Here’s how I do it:

QHave you had any success using mono hooklinks? I want to try using something different to everyone else on my lake. Chris Garner, via email

ADAM PENNING: I like your thinking, as I am also a big fan of using mono hooklinks. I am happy to use an 8lb hooklink and a size 10 hook. I use a light fluorocarbon mainline and strip back all the tubing and leadcore and so on. I’m not going to bore you with all the instances where I feel that it has helped me, but I can think of so many that by fishing fine has got me bites when the rest of the lake struggles. Take floater fishing for example, the finer the end tackle you use the more bites you get. This is a fact. The reason for this is that the fish can be very cautious when feeding on the surface. When we get to the winter, they are in a docile state, but they are still hard to catch, so by fining down the end tackle I am sure that it helps get more bites. A lot of anglers fear that light tackle isn’t going to be strong enough and will let them down. It does take a bit of confidence to be able to use this sort of tackle, but if you use the right gear correctly then you won’t have any problems. Let’s say you are using a 3.25lb TC rod, the maximum amount of pressure you can put on the end tackle is in the region of 3.5lb. You can’t pull hard enough to snap that hooklink, so unless the hooklink gets caught on some weed or a snag, you won’t encounter any problems. I have caught fish to over 55lb on 6lb hooklinks and size 10 hooks. This is only applicable when weed growth is not an issue. If the lake that you are fishing is extremely weedy, use a mono hooklink but of a thicker diameter. I use a separate braided hair for flexibility and a good size 10 hook. I keep the hooklength quite long, around 12 inches, which makes it invisible and has very little feel or sensation for a fish picking it up. Most importantly, the hookbait is tiny. I would say that the smaller your hookbait, the more bites you will get at any time of the year. I couple the small hookbait with a PVA bag, which prevents tangles and adds a pile of smells, tastes and attraction around the hookbait.

Accurate rig placement can be vital when targeting specimens

Use rig putty to keep line pinned to the deck

A spinner rig positions the hoobait just above the deck

Mono hooklinks can get you bites when other material fails

The use of a supple braid hair provides flexibility and the hooklink itself should be 12 inches

You can have every confidence when using mono hooklinks of a suitable breaking strain

Hook the end of the tag end with the latch and pull it back in to itself

At the break starts, fold the outer over and hook in the splicing needle

Measure out a six-inch strip of the inner lead and cut it off

Push needle through inner and exit just less than half way up to tag end

Pull a length of leadcore from the spool and cut with a pair of sharp scissors

Pull it down and out the other end, leaving a loop. Pull loop and trim tag