"The trouble with lone hookbaits is that your rig needs to be 100% tangle free"UKCARP MAGAZINE 29 FEBRUARY 7TH 2012

BETTER RIGSMAKING THE HOOKLINK HINGE1Slide a short piece of shrink tube over the stripped Hybrid material.3With a crimping tool, squeeze the crimp on to the Hybrid material.2Add crimp and Link Loop, doubling the Hybrid back through the crimp.4The shrink tube will bind over the crimp in the steaming process.One rod was set up with a hi-attract bait (top), the other with a pop-up. rig on a few long-range waters, including Grenvilles and Brasenose, and caught loads thanks to the fact that my single hookbaits were always fishing, never tangled. No wonder my confidence in the presentation was sky high!The set-up is simple - a leadcore leader with a pinned lead clip mounted on it, and a quick-change clip instead of a swivel. All these terminal bits are fairly universal so you can use the brands you prefer. My preference is for a lead clip with a locking pin because it makes the rig more versatile. The clip for changing your rig can either be fixed in placed or left out to create a semi-fixed rig. Under these circumstance I'm using it semi-fixed because the water isn't weedy, the carp are small, and I don't want to lose a lead every fish.The hooklink is tied - or should I say formed? - using a crimp and a short length of this very stiff hooklink material. First I strip a section of Hybrid, revealing the soft inner core, then I tie a small loop in the end before knotless knotting it to the hook of my choice. Here I've used a pattern with an out-turned eye and whipped the hair so it is level with the hookpoint. From the hook to the end of the coating I've left about 1cm of exposed braid.At the other end I thread on a short length of shrink tube and then add a crimp (in this case a Korda Krimp) and a Link Loop. I then crimp the Link Loop in place, creating a hooklink between 3in and 6in long. At this point the super-stiff hooklink looks something like a pig's tail that no self-respecting angler would ever cast out. Once you steam it over a kettle, not only to cover the crimp with shrink tube but also to straighten the hooklink, it's perfect.You now need to leave it to cool and set. This done, you are left with a ramrod-stiff and straight hooklink, ready to be joined to the rest of the rig. The Link Loop sits nicely on the quick-change clip, creating a perfect hinge for the hooklink.GETTING A RESULTI set up one rod with a pop-up and the other with a hi-attract bottom bait, and I was ready to go. I'd changed my bite indication too - I normally use light bobbins and semi-slack UKCARP MAGAZINE 30 FEBRUARY 7TH 2012Tension arm indicators to put pressure on the line.