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Ronnie rigs for barbel?

A

Adam Francis

Senior Member & Supporter
The cold weather and a turbulent River Thames had me thinking about rigs.

I currently use the 'flip' rig - curved shank hook with a small hook aligner and some shrink tube on the bottom of the hook. I've been really happy with hook holds and this made me wonder if the Ronnie rig could be used for bottom baits? I was thinking that it would have the same principles as the above rig but with more movement because of the swivel being attachmented to the hook as opposed to a knot. I set one up with soft braid and a soft braid hair that I attached in the same position and when testing on my hand the hooking properties do seem impressive.

Anyone have any thoughts or using the Ronnie rig?
 
Ive done well with the "D" rig , hook swivel on the "d" bait tied on, no chancevof hair tangling esp if chub are messing about with the hookbait, excellent hookholds, fished on a short 6" mono ( amnesia) hookllink, well worth a go imo
 
I might get shot down here as being ' carpy', but sod it - give it a go- why not??
I've played around with bait screws and balanced baits and to be honest it was no better/ worse than my standard set up but i like to meddle around as it might have been a revelation - it could still be in the right conditions. Unless you have a go, you'll never know.
I'll probably give this rig a go if and when I can ever get on the river.
 
Myself, I don't think you need all the rigamarole for barbel. With all the anti-tangle tubing and other stuff, a simple rig like James Robinns from Cadence fishing uses is perfect, and if you lose it, it's cheap to replace. I only fish big rivers, smaller ones, and I'd maybe think differently? In fast water I don't think fish have too long to look at baits, rigs., hence the big takes we all get at times. John Wilson used a simple 4 turn water knot for all his paternoster rigs, chub, roach, dace, perch, tench all fell to this simple rig. And you don't seem to get any tangles with it either, we seem to want to make everything more complicated these days in fishing rigs, by adding bits we just don't need? JMV.
 
Thanks for all the comments. I don't disagree that there is plenty of overkill in the carp world but if anyone has ever seen any of the underwater footage then it's clear to see how often baits get ejected, not completely sucked in etc. I appreciate different species etc and conditions but the point I was trying to make was that it looks like an incredibly efficient rig to hook a fish.

I accept we all catch barbel with different, baits, hook lengths etc but there are always to improve anything and everything - evolution and all that good stuff. Balanced baits, flip rigs etc work on the principle of making the hook point light and easier to flip over hopefully into the fishes mouth - perhaps this might help convert those bites that don't wrench the rod out of the rest?

If the Thames ever returns to normal conditions I'll give it a go and post 😁
 
Hi men ,

Ignoor the Ronnie rig at your peril , perhaps not needed for the vast majority of barbel fishing but the mechanics are sound for a bottom / wafter bait on the bottom , in fact I had some big carp this year doing just that . The way the hook is not affected by the bait turning on the hair , with the hook always wanting to face down cannot be overlooked . There is no fuss setting it up , takes no time at all . But , TBH barbel have anti eject mouths 😋


Hatter
 
You'll always get told on here that anything related to carp rigs carp bait carp tackle is not warranted or needed in the pursuit of barbel but there are a few on here prepared to push the boundaries of whats accepted as standard barbel techniques and bait and whilst alot of it prob is no better than what currently used atm a) every now and then we stumble on something that does make a difference and is effective and b) some of us on here have enquiring minds and try out stuff just because we see how effective it is for carp and wonder if that can be transferred to river/barbel . Keep on experimenting you might just be onto something
 
Thanks Chris - I appreciate your comments. I've got no issue at all if people think that there have been no improvements since - 'John Wilson' used to catch them. At the end of the day if we closed our minds as human beings we'd never advance as individuals nor as a society.
 
Adam, probably 95% of barbel will hook themselves no matter what rig you use. But the 5% left are those special cute ones that take fishing for and you never forget them. Now that number probably gets a lot higher the more pressured the fishery and the lower and clearer the river. The Thames is probably not one of those, especially if in flood. I have posted about this before, a few years ago a very big Barbel on a small stream without a river record did me over (donked me) on what you call a 'flip rig' with a back lead and pva bag, something i take for granted as nailing a high percentage of pick ups. The fish had run up a side stream in floods and was locked in a 30yd pool, shallows at both ends unable to get out. The fish did not come back for a second try even though i relocated the hook bait with great care. The next evening i got her very quickly using a pop up fished similar to a Ronnie rig,a big shot on the longshank hook eye. That fish did not ram the rod over,the tip shook as she was trying to eject the hook. I have a few very effective presentations, that i go to, one is probably unique, but they are kept for when i need them not general use.
 
I've used a soft braid hair that comes off the bottom of the hook. I was planning on using it with boilies but could be used for pellets - I guess if you used a long enough hair it could be used for meat but that wasn't my intention.

When I tested it and as Hatter mentioned the hook flips over almost immediately, you can play about with the position of where the hair comes off the hook to adjust the sensitivity. I was curious to see but having seen the properties I will certainly be testing it out.
 
Chris Thomson said:
You'll always get told on here that anything related to carp rigs carp bait carp tackle is not warranted or needed in the pursuit of barbel but there are a few on here prepared to push the boundaries of whats accepted as standard barbel techniques and bait and whilst alot of it prob is no better than what currently used atm a) every now and then we stumble on something that does make a difference and is effective and b) some of us on here have enquiring minds and try out stuff just because we see how effective it is for carp and wonder if that can be transferred to river/barbel . Keep on experimenting you might just be onto something
Click to expand...
Chris, I think you're being a tad dismissive in your inference that barbel anglers on here are dismissive of any 'discoveries' made by carp anglers : I'm pretty certain that over 99% of BFW anglers would recognise the contribution that carp anglers, their techniques, and their equipment have made to barbel fishing/catching e.g. knotless knots, boilies, baitrunners, unhooking mats, bivvys etc etc. And the same can be said of match fishing. I, and (I presume) most others on here, are aware of and fully accept the crossover of information - the sharing of techniques and 'gear-ideas'.
But from your OP my first question would be (and always would be in subjects of this nature) : What problem is trying to be solved here?
I think that when a problem is highlighted on here, especially a problem that BFW members have experienced, then they will avidly read all information on potential solutions. This, to me, is a large part of what BFW is all about. Sharing. Whether the solution comes from the carp, match, game, or sea fishing branches of our pastime is totally immaterial. But I for one would not utilise a 'solution' unless I knew what problem it was supposed to be solving.... and that I'd got that problem.
That is : Is this necessary? Do I have a problem that I didn't know I had? If the answer to both these questions is yes, only then would I try to establish if that which is being suggested is the solution.
 
Just one point to make. In a large deep river, how do you know whether you have a problem or not? You can't see the fish that manage to eject the bait.
 
Adam Francis said:
Thanks for all the comments. I don't disagree that there is plenty of overkill in the carp world but if anyone has ever seen any of the underwater footage then it's clear to see how often baits get ejected, not completely sucked in etc. I appreciate different species etc and conditions but the point I was trying to make was that it looks like an incredibly efficient rig to hook a fish.

I accept we all catch barbel with different, baits, hook lengths etc but there are always to improve anything and everything - evolution and all that good stuff. Balanced baits, flip rigs etc work on the principle of making the hook point light and easier to flip over hopefully into the fishes mouth - perhaps this might help convert those bites that don't wrench the rod out of the rest?

If the Thames ever returns to normal conditions I'll give it a go and post 😁
Click to expand...
 
Do we really need to make our ever dwindling Barbel even easier to catch?

Even if this rig was the dogs wotsits .:(
 
Thats why i go fishing for them ! Not just to doze by the river , im pretty singe minded in that i want to catch every time i go, im disappointed if i dont, not everyones thinking i know but every edge that increases my chances im on it , my time is pretty limited so i try to capitalise every opportunity i get be it bait, rigs , swim choice , as i say pretty clinical i know but thats just me
 
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