Noodle Rigs - Ready Tied

With this rig, Its all about the Kicker that makes it different. Scott Lloyd uses it in conjunction with a balanced bait; a Wafter is ideal however a snowman presentation is also very effective. You want the bait nice and light, so that it can react in the same way as the freebies. It has taken Scott Lloyd many years of tweaking and refining this rig and this is the end product. A rig he feels is the hardest for the fish to deal with, a long curved kicker combined with a blowback style makes this rig nearly impossible for the carp to eject, the hook holds with this rig are nearly always bang on!. All you need to do is add some putty just before the kicker to help balance the rig.

Unique features of this rig:

Anti tangle
Available in a range of hook patterns
Self resetting
Choice of braid
Suitable for either lead clips or Helicopter rigs

Suitable for:

Fishing over most lake beds, clear, gravel, clay. If the bottom has shallow weed then using a pop up or a wafter will give a better presentation. Adding a small PVA stick will help prevent the bait from sinking in to silt or the weed and will give you a tiny bit of attractive free offerings right by your hook bait.

Ideal hook bait type:

Bottom baits, Wafters, Pop ups, Artificial baits.

Tips for using Bottom Baits

Bottom baits are simply baits that are heavy and that sink, like pellets, boilies, meat etc. Because a bottom bait is heavy they can sink in to soft silt or weed, you can combat this by adding a small pva mesh bag which will prevent the bait sinking and provide you with some free offerings around your hook bait.
Because bottom baits are heavy they can sometimes slide down the hair to the hook, adding a float stop or bait bead to the hair means you can slide this up to the bait and lock it in to place. A bait bead can also be used to with a pellet to make the hole smaller and help to prevent water from eroding the middle of the pellet out as quick and prolong the life of your bait in the water. Bottom baits generally dont need any balancing or checks of your presentation. If you add a bit of buoyant sweet corn for example you alter the behaviour of the bait in the water this can often bring you a quick bite (particularly when you are fishing over corn or particles.
Some rigs are designed to only be used with a bottom bait like the claw rig, this is because the mechanics of the rig require a heavy bait to make the hook fall in the right position.

Tips for using a Wafter or Balanced bait

To ensure your bait is presented correctly it is important to test your rig in a either a tub of water or the margins. Personally I find it easier using a tub with clear sides, this enables you to see exactly how your bait will sit when its fishing. It is important to remember wafters will have a different buoyancy from one brand to another and even from one bait to another out of the same tub.

What you are aiming for:

You want your hook to sit flat, and your bait to barely touch the bottom, any movement of the water should make the bait "waft" this will give you some natural movement to your bait. If you find your wafter or bait is lifting the hook off the bottom you can do several things to achieve the ideal presentation, you can either add a split shot to the hair (if applicable) or you can simply trim your bait down using some scissors. A whittled down bait will often get the fish curious because its going to be a different shape and by taking the hard outer skin of a bait expose the core and more attractants to the water.

If your wafter or bait sits hard on the bottom:

This is a little bit more difficult to counteract because you will need to add some buoyancy to your bait, a bit of pop up corn will often give you just enough buoyancy or you can use a bait drill and drill out some of the boilie and add some rig foam to give you the buoyancy you need. Often you will find baits which have been soaked in a goo or glug will often become heavier and not sit correctly. How much buoyancy you will need to add will be trial and error however, taking the time to ensure your bait is presented perfectly will without a doubt get your more success with your fishing.