Successful Test of the Hair Rig for Carp

As you're well aware, I like to keep things simple.  When I got into carp fishing, I soon discovered many rigs that seemed anything but simple.  Most of these rigs came from anglers in Britain, France and other parts of Europe.  Carp fishing over there is as popular as bass fishing here.

Without fail, the basis of nearly every one of these carp rigs was something called the hair rig.  Hair rigs are occasionally used in the U.S. for catfishing, but they're rare.  The concept is straightforward. Tie a piece of braid or monofilament around a hook, and put the bait on the braid/monofilament rather than the hook.

This piece of braid/monofilament is the hair.  It hangs directly behind the hook.  The hook itself hangs freely.  The concept being that when the carp sucks in the corn, the hook will follow shortly after and get lodged in the lower lip when the carp tries to eject it (spit it out).  Here's what mine looked like with corn.

Crazy, right?  At least that's what I thought.  Notice that there is a loop at the bottom of the hair.  I have a small twig in the loop to keep the corn from slipping off.

So there's only one thing to do when you think something's crazy.  Test it!  I fished all weekend with this rig, and it hooked carp in the bottom lip, just as it's designed to do.  Check this out!

Some were small, like this one.

Then, there were the big boys!

The object beside the fish is the handle of my net.  As you can see, he was long.  However, the prize for this weekend's big fish goes to my daughter!  Look below!

On a side note, carp bite on worms too!  That's what my daughter caught the little carp below with.

Apparently fish aren't the only aquatic creatures that appreciate a good worm!

By now, you may think I'm stuck on corn and worms.  Not so.  In Britain and Europe, boilies are frequently used with hair rigs.

They're basically balls of dough that are hardened by baking.  Boilies come in many sweet flavors, including the ones I ordered below.  They're strawberry.

I haven't had any luck with the boilies.  I think the carp in our lakes are conditioned for good old-fashioned corn, worms, and bread.

There are a million how-to's online that will show you how to tie a hair rig and how to bait it.  I'll probably post my own in the coming weeks.

For now, I ordered my hair rigs online.  They're already tied to the hook and ready to snap onto your swivel!  All you have to do is put the bait on.  I recommend threading it on with the smallest crochet needle you can buy at Walmart.  

The bait stop that goes in the loop can be almost anything.  I recommend using a small piece of twig.  It will feel more natural to the fish.  It just has to be strong enough to hold the bait on the hair.

As usual, all fish (and the turtle) were released.  Tight lines!