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combi rig

David Gauntlett said:
Alternatively, if your fingers are not as tough as ol' 'Leatherhands Lush' :D pull the link tight across your thigh, with your knee bent to tighten your trousers as well...then run the link back and forth along it's length...that warms it up and does the job as well :)

Cheers, Dave.
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Be careful doing that, you can easily build up allot of heat and damage the hooklink.
 
Albright knot . Been using it for years - freshwater and sea - never had a problem -- except with certrain braids that are 'rough' , Fireline 'crystal' was a classic example .
Problem stemmed from the braid cutting the mono { especially fluorocarbon } and my friends and I struggled until bassing one day and was shown solution - simply double the braid over into a loop and tie as before , be critical to get wrap even and snug .
Never had a problem since then and use it all the time .
 
I have found doubling braid up before tying to be the answer with a number of problematic knots with that material. Fortunately, because it is thin and supple, the knots are still quite small and neat if tied carefully.

Cheers, Dave.
 
Does this Hydrolink just enable you to tie a stiffish combi link plus stiff hinged rig etc? Can the braid be removed from the fluorocarbon???
 
John Cook said:
Does this Hydrolink just enable you to tie a stiffish combi link plus stiff hinged rig etc? Can the braid be removed from the fluorocarbon???
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Yes it can John. If you mean completely removed, so you just end up with a perfectly usable length of braid...then just cut your required length off the spool, push the fluoro out of the end, grip that and simply slide the braid off.

If you mean just remove a section of the braid, then do as above, but obviously only slide the fluoro through part way, then cut the surplus off.

Put simply, this material is very similar to leadcore in makeup, just with a different core. However, the braid tube is much thinner and more supple than that of your average leadcore, and the fluoro much easier to move around or get out, if you want to.

Cheers, Dave.
 
I can see where this might have a place if you are not confident in your knots but for the sake of flexibility (in material choice) I think I'll stick to the combi rig. I'm comfortable with that and if I decide I want a ten foot hook length with a 3/8 inch braid hinge on the hook I can tie it without breaking the bank.
 
Having now seen the price of the stuff from Rigmarole I will also stick with the Allbright and the flexibility that brings to mix and match different braids and Mono's. What concerns me now is that there are so many people not tying it correctly that there are going to be lots of Barbel left with hooks in their mouths.
 
Richard Hamlyn said:
Having now seen the price of the stuff from Rigmarole I will also stick with the Allbright and the flexibility that brings to mix and match different braids and Mono's. What concerns me now is that there are so many people not tying it correctly that there are going to be lots of Barbel left with hooks in their mouths.
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On the other hand, we have seen more than one link on this thread alone to sites offering conflicting methods of tying it, and other people offering yet different versions. Who amongst us is going to be...shall we say 'brazen' enough...to claim that their way is THE way, the ONLY way, the absolute, take no prisoners, cast iron certainty of a way.....of tying this knot. Hmmmm...I shall have to think about that one :rolleyes:

Cheers, Dave :D
 
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David Gauntlett said:
On the other hand, we have seen more than one link on this thread alone to sites offering conflicting methods of tying it, and other people offering yet different versions. Who amongst us is going to be...shall we say 'brazen' enough...to claim that their way is THE way, the ONLY way, the absolute, take no prisoners, cast iron certainty of a way.....of tying this knot. Hmmmm...I shall have to think about that one :rolleyes:

Cheers, Dave :D
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Tie it, test it, fish it.
If it slips do it again. I still like it to come out the same side, it's the reef knot thing, is the other way a strangulation knot?


http://www.animatedknots.com/albright/index.php
 
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I have used combi rigs for quite some time for carp and barbel. I have never had one fail . I was convinced to try the rig after reading a Sean Harrison article in Carp world some years ago. Sean has put his version on you tube, it is the way I have tied them, with the tag end emerging from the same side as it went in as Adrian alludes to.
YouTube

This is also how I have joined braid to nylon leaders whilst tope and smoothound fishing when I decide not to us a Bimini twist, again it has never failed.
 
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Without fear of being wrong Dave, I will categorically state here and now the correct way is the way that works best for the bloke tying it!
 
I can see how people are getting frustrated ref the combi rig knots, I have been watching the thread go on and on. Some of you need to get off your backsides:rolleyes: and sit there with a spool of braid in one hand and you chosen mono/fluoro in the other and try as many variations as possible to find out which knot works for your chosen rig.
One way of tying the Albright certainly doesnt work all Lbs,diameters etc
 
Lads would you say that there is an optimum length for the soft braided part of the combi rig? Plus are you using putty or a split shot on your albright knot or at the point where you have stripped the fluoro from your Hydrolink rig?
 
It's no good I can't hold back any longer:eek:

So here's my 'Ten Peneth':)

I also use a combi rig and having tried both the 'Albright Knot' (with the tag end exiting the same way it entered;)) and back to back 'Uni Knots' (Grinners), neither of which has ever failed on me at the knot:)

I prefer the latter though, based on nothing more than confidence in the 'Uni Knot' as a secure way of attaching braid to mono.

I have 'crewed' on the Charter Boat 'True Blue' out of Poole in my spare time for a number of years and have grown confident in this method of attaching Braid to Monofilament which has seen some seriously big fish landed.

As already stated it is down to individual choice which you use, but the bottom line is check your knots properly before fishing, put them under pressure and if they slip something is wrong so re-tie and re-test;)

Tight Lines

Keith
 
Back to back uni knots are fine for joining two lengths of line and I use them myself for joining shock leaders to a mainline, but if you want a short (3/8ths inch or less ) flexible link on the hook portion of a combi link you will struggle to achieve it without turning to an albright.
 
i don't use such a short combi link for barbel but if i did i'd use a coated braid and strip it back.
my initial combi rig consisted of trigga link and either flurocarbon or a fine braid(korda supernatural) the double uni knot was recommended on the packet of trigga link.you must also remember to fold the tag end from the initial uni knot trapping it with your 2nd uni knot.(hard to explain)
the idea of the trigga link was shown to me by our very own dave mason at a barbel society talk a good few years back.
the idea of it is it shrink's in water and therefore acts as a confidence rig for shy biting fish.
we've since been using it as a shock leader having your bomb running on it in 2ft length's and found it decent for abrasion.it shrinks at 20% so i'd say when a fish pick's your bait up there's 5 to 6" of stretch before the fish feels the rod/bomb.
some say it's utter twaddle:D
 
Just to clarify Kevin , when I posted the you tube clip I did so in order to show what works for me , I have no beef with anyone tying up combos in other ways .
Why do we have to stand up whilst tying knots Jon?:)
 
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