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Barbel rigs

R

Ray Ellis

Senior Member
Iv'e had a fair few Barbel from several different rivers over the years. My setup has remained the same every time, straight forward free running link, with this i can switch from a weight to a feeder in seconds. I hear all this talk about different rigs, and to me it just seems to complicate things. Is there any reason to go using these fancy ( and sometimes complicated rigs ), are there really any better rigs than the straight forward one that i use ?
 
Same here Ray,free running lead,2-3ft coated braid(sufix camfusion) hook link with the last inch or so stripped back with a Korum aligner over the shank of a korda wide gape x size 10,works a treat
 
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Not if it catches Ray, I've tried arsing about with different rigs, didn’t make a jot of difference in my mind so I just keep it simple now.
 
IMO these fancy rigs are an offshoot from Carp angling, perpetuated by those that stand to make a living from all the detritus that adorns these rigs.

Simple is and always has been best for me Ray.
 
Same Ray
Free running rig 2-3 foot coated braid hooklength I think mist of these rigs are designed to catch more anglers not fish
 
Hi men,

Our rigs are simple , knot less knot most of the time , but do love the Guru lead clips , as it's been many many years since we used running leads . We have watched barbel in tap clear water , it makes no difference . The difference it does make it that when the barbel bolts it takes the lead with it , instead of dragging it into rocks etc . We actually see this happen on the Teme , where the barbel dragged it into a gap in the bedrock , with the barbel pulling hard at 90 degrees to the lead . The Guru system is very neat , nice little swivel , and ejects the lead when it needs to .


Hatter
 
Ray. All.
Yes KISS. enterprise snag safe, tulip bead over swivel as stop. link swivel for feeder/weight etc.

Hook link.(incl hook)

Sorted.
 
Agreed simpler the better. I tend to make mine as snag free as possible long tulip bead to cover the swivel completely and a short three inch rig tube above and a bead above that to a free run ring. It acts like a boom and it's very rare I get a tangle well unless I hook an eel
 
Without appearing to be a dimwit ( which obviously I am) - why the coated braid, rather than normal braid? Is it just the weight to pin it down?
 
As Howard rightly pointed out. :)

Also I prefer to strip some coating off to form a combi-rig so to speak. No more than an inch of coating needs to be removed. Just enough to give some natural movement. I add a blob of putty too to help pin it down. In all honesty it probably doesn't make a lot of difference apart from giving me confidence that my rig feels right.
 
To the general question of simple rigs versus complicated rigs, for me the answer is that what you should have is a just a rig. A rig that serves the purpose of helping you catch a fish based on the conditions you face which could be different to yesterday on the same river and the same swim. This means considering each component of the rig and the part it plays in the set up. This may then need modifying during a session based on how the rig is performing.

Tackle companies will throw all sorts of new and enticing rig components at us anglers and they may predominantly be directed at the carper. And it can be this heavy marketing and promotion that catches us with the promise of easy fishing once we adopt their new hooking system. This is where it can go wrong because sometimes anglers (and I have most definitely been guilty of this) simply incorporate the new shiny item without necessarily considering its purpose and function and whether that is really required for their particular fishing situation.

If I can get away with a very simple set up then I am a happy man. However, sometimes I have felt it necessary to inject some complexity in my rigs but if I do it's hopefully because I am responding to something I am experiencing during a session- line bites perhaps meaning longer hook lengths or backleads. Or it might be because I'm bored.

Of course, a highly sophisticated rig positioned somewhere where there are no actual fish is a useless rig.
 
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