Gaz Fareham explains why the Soft Boom Hinge aka 'The Cobra' is his go to rig - sharing his vast knowledge on the most effective set up to catch bites.
Marcus Howarth on The Spinner // Text Only
I had heard about this rig for a while, but had never given it much thought. It is called all sorts now and I think all sorts of people are claiming it, but I first heard about it a year or so ago when Dan Wildbore explained how a friend had been using it for a while and to great success too. The more I had heard about it, the more it got me thinking and wondering if it really could be an edge. You know what it is like, someone comes up with the latest special rig and within weeks it is forgotten about.
I am not one to jump on the going thing, much preferring to stick to what I know and the rigs that I am confident in. This rig though, sounded a wicked little pop-up rig and I had to give it a go.
I got a few of the bits that I thought I would need to tie it up and had a play around with it at home. I first decided to take it to one of the Fosters of Birmingham syndicate waters. I managed 5-bites, which is good going for there and each one was on that rig. The hook holds were bang on, never coming out and not causing any damage too, which was my biggest concern.
The basic mechanics of the rig is very similar to the 360. That rig is undoubtedly one of the most successful rigs out there, but has a tendency to cause bad mouth damage, hence why so my fisheries have banned them,
This one doesn’t cause the same damage, but it does behave in a similar aggressive nature. No matter what way the fish comes to pick up the bait, the hook will spin round and catch hold in the mouth.
This is one of the main reasons this rig is so effective, there is so much movement going on from the ring swivel and the Hook Ring Swivel. What’s more, it sits so low to the bottom, it can even be fished on a clean lakebed.
I have only ever really used pop-ups when fishing on the weed or the silty areas, but with this, it can go on virtually anything. If I find the bottom to be smooth with a hard drop transmitted from the lead to the rod, I would be happy to fish this rig and have done for a few months now.
It sits so low to the bottom, it doesn’t look suspicious to a carp at all and with the way it sits, the hook disappears. What I really like about it too is that if the pop-up is left out over a period of time and begins to take on water and lose buoyancy, the rig will sit down like an aggressive wafter rig.
So even if the pop-up fails on you, the rig will still be working efficiently. The key for me is the movement side of it and combining that clip style swivel with one of the thinking Anglers Hook Ring Swivel, gives the bait and rig so much movement.
I have taken it everywhere I have gone now and am yet to blank and even lose a fish. A few weeks over on the often-tricky Manor farm Lake on the Linear Complex confirmed that even the riggiest of carp will fall for it, having caught a number of carp to over 34lb.
Being predominantly a boilie angler, it suits my approach for fishing on a variety of lakebeds and in a number of different situations. I love fishing in on firm, clean bottoms and with a nice Tungskin boom section to pin it down and kick it away from the lead.
With a 12mm Krill pop-up, it will sink slowly when used with a size 6 hook. For a 16mm pop-up, I mould a small amount of putty around the swivel to bring the bait down nice and slowly.
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