Oz Holness explains how stripping back the gear to a bare minimum will allow you to stay fresh and mobile, which will put more carp on the bank
Big pit carping can be really demanding, and as such your rigs have to be up to the task. You certainly wouldn’t get very far using a bunch of maggots on a light mono hooklink! The savage conditions mean something a bit more agricultural is the order of the day. After all the rig has to put up with the harsh environment you cast it into; with the amount of effort it takes to track down big pit carp, you don’t want your rig to let you down.
All I look for is something strong and reliable and the faithful hinge rig fits the bill perfectly. I often fish at range, so I need to be sure that the rig won’t tangle on the cast. As a result, I don’t use a soft boom or anything like that, I use Think Link, which is stiff enough to provide a bit of separation between the lead system. As an added bonus, it is also nuisance fish proof. It will reset every time, should a bird, carp, roach, tench or bream move it, the rig will settle back down nicely. This is completely down to the Think Link and its ability to kick the rig away from the lead, should it be picked up and rejected. It has a perfect combination of both stiffness and suppleness, that allow it to react quickly in a carp’s mouth yet follow the contours of the spot I am fishing relatively well.
STEP-BY-STEP
MITCH'S BIG PIT RIG
I use it with a big old size four OTE hook, which is tied to some Recoil. The high memory material means I don’t have to keep reshaping the curve if I miscast, I can just wind it in and re-chuck it straight back out there with as little faff as possible.
All the components are strong and reliable to withstand the severity and harshness that the bigger pits have to offer. I don’t play around with rigs too much, I stick to what I am confident in and this rig is just that.
I use it with a big old size four OTE hook, which is tied to some Recoil. The high memory material means I don’t have to keep reshaping the curve if I miscast, I can just wind it in and re-chuck it straight back out there with as little faff as possible.
All the components are strong and reliable to withstand the severity and harshness that the bigger pits have to offer. I don’t play around with rigs too much, I stick to what I am confident in and this rig is just that.
First of all, take off 15 inches of Think Link.
Attach one end to a Size 11 Ring Swivel with a figure of 8-knot.
Take a length of Recoil off the spool.
Get a size 4 Out-Turned Eye hook.
Form a five-turn knotless knot on the hook.
Attach a Hook Ring Swivel to the tag end and form a ‘D’.
Snip the excess off the ‘D’ and blob the rest with a lighter.
Tie the other end of the Recoil to the Size 11 Ring Swivel.
Blob the tag end of the knot to keep it secure.
Attach a no.1 shot below the loop knot.
Thread an Anti-Tangle Sleeve onto the Think Link.
Lastly, tie to your swivel with a four-turn blood knot.
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