Introduction.
The information below deals with tying a simple hair rig. To but it in simple terms the bait (normally a boilie - but other baits work just as well), is mounted on a hair and hangs away from the hook. As the carp (or other fish) sucks the bait in the bare hook follows it into the fishes mouth. The fish realises that something is wrong so it tries to blow the whole lot out of its mouth. As it does so, because the hook is bare, the hook point catches inside the fishes mouth and the fish rushes off, resulting in a run.
The Hair Loop.
The first job is to tie a small loop at one end of your hook length material. You need a small loop at the bait end of the hair rig, so you can secure the boilie to the hair using a baiting needle and boilie stop.
The above animation shows how to attach a bait to a hair rig and why you need a loop and baiting needle. The bait is firstly pushed onto the baiting needle. The hair loop is then help against the baiting needles barb or hook and the bait pulled onto the hair. A boilie stop is then pushed through the loop and the boilie pushed against this to hold it in place.
I know from the number of emails I receive, that a lot of people that visit the site, come from countries where purpose made carp tackle is not easily available. A crocheting hook is a good substitute for a baiting needle, the thinner the better so it doesn't damage the bait. A very small section of a rubber band will do as a boilie stop.
Please note that there are other very effective methods of mounting the bait, such a "D rigs", but I am sticking to simple basics. I've lost count of the carp I have caught on simple rigs like the one shown on this page. Learn the basics and you can go on from there.
Tying the Hair Loop - Do This First.
The first step in making a hair rig
is to tie the small loop to help mount the bait.
A. Double the line over as shown in a above.
B. Fold the line back on itself to make a circle.
C. Pass the loop around the top part of the circle two or three times.
D. Moisten and pull tight.
The difficulty at first is not to make to loop to big. I like to have the knot of the loop hidden inside the bait. Have a few goes and you will soon get the hang of it.
The Loop Tier.
There is a little gadget available that will help you tie small loops. The loop tier is available from most tackle shops for about £1.00. Bear in mind I've had mine since they first came out (about 10 years ago), but I bet they haven't gone up much.
The first picture on the right shows a loop tier. The top set of pegs make smaller loops than the bottom set.
It is very easy to use. Once you get to stage "C" in the drawing above, put the loop end in the long peg and the circle of line in the shorter peg.
Pull the end of the line to tighten up the knot on the shortest peg.
Lift the knot off the shortest peg, leaving the loop on the long peg. Give it a final pull to tighten and there is your loop. Well worth £1 or so of any ones money.
Tying the Knotless Knot - The Main Part of the Rig.
Having tied the loop it's not time to complete making the business end of the rig..
Pass the loose end of the rig from the back of the hook, through the hook eye, so it goes through to the front. One picture tells a thousand words, all your doing is what's shown in the drawing above.
Decide how long you want the hair to be and hold the line to the shank of the hook firmly so it can't move. Starting at the eye of the hook, whip the hair and hook shank together using the long end of the hook length. In other words you are starting at the hook eye and winding back with the long loose end, trapping the hair and hook shank together.
As you continue to whip downwards towards the bend of the hook, keep everything as tight as you can.
When you have completed five or six turns, making sure you keep the whipping tight all the time, put the loose end of the line through the eye of the hook again. As when you first started this again should be from the back of the hook to the front. Don't get confused with the different shading of the line on the drawing above, it's just to highlight what you need to do.
Pull the line tight and then you have the finished rig. Once you have had a go you will be able to do them in your sleep. It's that easy.
The Final Job - Tying on the Swivel.
The above drawings show how to do the final job of tying on the swivel using a grinner knot. This knot can also be used to tie on pellet bands, bait screws etc.
The loose end of the line is passed through the swivel eye and doubled back to form a loop. This loose end is then wrapped around the top part of the loop 4 to 6 times or so. Making sure the line passes through the loop, slowly pull the knot tight.
Completed Rig.
The above drawing shows a completed hair rig. The length from the hook to the swivel needs to be between 6 to 12 inches. If your not sure start at about 10 inches long, you can always experiment with different lengths later.