I am giving hair rigs a try after years of traditional bottom fishing. I started with some pre-tied rigs that have a tail about an inch long and using 3 kernels of sweet corn puts the top kernel about a quarter inch below the hook. Planning on tying my own relatively soon as long as I like them. I also have some assorted boilies coming in the mail today. Never used them before, I've always used sweet corn, bu6 I do like the idea of them on paper.
I went out fishing this morning and after a little trial and error with different style bait stops, I had a few bites but only one hook up. I assume that is relatively typical as I have days like that with the "traditional" baiting method.
My main question is this; with the traditional circle hook with corn on it, I let the carp take the rod down. Do you still do that with hair rigs? Or do you react more quickly? The fish I caught today was one of those no-doubter kind of strikes and with relatively few others I didn't have much time to experiment.
Any other random hair rig tips would be appreciated. I've had a lot of luck with them, just looking to up my success rate if I can. For reference, I have a 7 foot medium strength fast action spinning setup with 20 pound braid and a 7'6" medium heavy bait caster with 30 pound braid. Both had a 3/4 oz sinker, knot protector, 12 inch leader of uncoated braid, and size 4 hook. Will definitely be picking up some quarter and half oz sinkers as the 3/4 was way overkill for this body of water.
Picture is of a natural butterfly carp I caught last summer. Hadn't seen one before that and haven't seen one since.
Posted by fishinfool4