Rig of the month

Bottom bait rig

WHEN was the last time you used a bottom bait straight out of the bag as your hookbait? There’s a good chance you never have!

The vast majority of anglers currently put their faith in pop- ups, critically- balanced baits and wafter hookbaits.

There are times, however, when a bottom bait presentation will outfish many of the more trendy pop- up rigs, especially when you’ve located a clean, firm area of the lakebed to fish over.

The rig shown here is easy to tie but has a couple of additions that improve the mechanics of its presentation. Both of these are made using small sections of tubing.

First, a piece of shrink tube has been steamed over the eye of the hook at a slight angle. This encourages the hook to flip over and catch hold in the carp’s mouth when it inhales the hookbait.

The second length of silicone ( this time, using 0.5mm diameter tubing) is much shorter and is used to trap the hair just past the bend of the hook. It performs essentially the same function as the other piece of tubing, in as much as it helps the hook to act aggressively and grab the carp’s mouth.

Trapping the hair in this way also helps to prevent tangles on the cast, especially when punching the rig to any distance.

As the name suggests, this rig works best with a standard bottom bait boilie straight out of the bag, and is particularly effective when fished over a loose scattering of hookbait samples.

“A bottom bait can often outfish many of the more trendy pop- up rigs”