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Combi Rig Users?

John Cook

John Cook

Senior Member
Hi All,

Combi Rigs, are you guys using a stiff or stiffer mono or fluoro than you would generally use for a normal hooklink? The way a combi rig should be made....I find myself using a not to stiff fluoro and braid, not really the way it should be. Your thoughts please.
 
Stiff or soft that is the question. Well I prefer it stiffer, thats the fluorocarbon nothing else....
 
I've just started using seaguar flouro which is far from stiff compared with the jrc stiff 20lb I'd used for years ( until i could no longer get it for £2.99 for 20m).
In truth I don't reckon it matters that much for barbel but I did like its capabilities when carping...(caught some whackers on it).
 
Soft
I've always used ESP soft ghost in 15lb.
 
This has always confused me stiff or soft, I was under the impression that any hook bait would act more naturally with a softer hook length, so why stiff guys?
 
stiff, because it helps flip the hook, add some tungsten putty on the albright to aid the effect.
 
Interesting ...but I liked the comment underneath:



you have to be kidding, if you can't see the fluoro how do you know for certain that's what they spooked on? It could have easily been something else, it's easy to make the wrong assumption here. I have used fluorocarbon hooklengths for around 4 years and wouldn't use anything else. Are you seriously saying it's better that the fish actually see the hooklength?
 
I watched that video Mike and have never used flourocarbon at all thus been one of the reasons lol
 
Wayne Glossop said:
I watched that video Mike and have never used flourocarbon at all thus been one of the reasons lol
Click to expand...

Same here Wayne but you knew that anyway, i only use fluoro because its the only hooklength I have in my bag and dont like to be overstocked....
 
I remain a little undecided on this one. I like the sinking qualities of fluro and particularly like using it when I feel long hook lengths are needed (when back leading isn't feasible for example). However, I think that it's "invisible in water" quality can be a disadvantage because I think barbel can be spooked more by what they touch rather than what they see. When barbel are preoccupied with feeding and burying their snouts in the gravel etc they will, I reckon, lift all manner of riverbed debris including strands of weed. I have seen footage of them grubbing about with weed across their noses and they don't seem fazed at all. For this reason I tend to focus more on the texture/feel of the hook length material. Drennan Carp Dacron is particularly soft and sinks.

So my response to the message underneath the clip referred to above would be that I am not sure barbel seeing the hook length is as big an issue as is often claimed. More emphasis should be given to keeping as much distance as possible between the bait and the point that the mainline enters the water.

Saying all that, when barbel are feeding aggressively and competitively then nothing seems to matter that much.
 
I have been using standard 10lb.Ghost along with either sinkbraid or trickster but i look at the rig sometimes and think that i may as well use just the fluoro or just the braid as the hooklink, apart from the so called invisibility of the fluoro it doesnt seem a proper combi rig....Will have to try a more stiffer fluoro on one rod.....
 
Neil, i am a firm beleiver in using mainline a fish can see unless the stetch is over pressurised, its the last 3-5 ft that matter, preferably pinned down lightly, it works fine for me providing thees plenty of bushes ect on the banks and overhanging trees
 
No need to complicate matters.howard Cook puts it in a nutshell in passing I have taken barbel on the drop on 10lb maxima.could they see the line or not? Who knows?
Albert
 
I am seriously thinking about setting up some long combi links - 4 foot, with stiff flourocarbon and some korda sinkers along the link, with a small amount of sinking putty on the knot. Would a length of braid around 3 inch be ok?

Dave
 
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