Shot On The Hook Rigs (SOTH) - Ready Tied

Tungsten shot on the hook beads included with every rig

The shot on the hook rig - The Norton Nailer is the latest variation of the Spinner Rig and taken straight from the latest underwater film from Korda (The Norton Lakes) Available to view on Youtube here.

When they was filming the series they noticed that a lot of carp would suck up the bait and was able to eject the bait and hook often undetected. Danny Fairbrass then went and made several tweaks to his rigs, firstly adding a shot on to the hook to make the point heavy (like Frank Warrick did many years ago). By making the point of the hook heavy, this ensures that the hook is always pointed down in to the bottom lip, he then used short boom lengths of around 3 inches and a inline lead, his final tweak was to add an anti tangle sleeve to ensure the hook is always straight out from the lead and stops carp ejecting the bait and leaving your hook over your rig tube or leader.

These rigs utilise the Long shank hook with a D rig aligner on the hook and then a spinner swivel - no matter what way the carp approaches your bait you know the hook will spin and automatically face downwards due to the tungsten weighted bead.

I offer this rig with a choice of 2 Tungsten hook beads - A medium size to suit a size 6 hook or if you are fishing over a silt or weedy bottom, or a large size to suit a size 4 hook over a clean hard bottom.

This rig is available in 3 colours of boom - Clear, Black or Camo fleck for the ultimate in rig concealment.

This rig is measured from the loop or swivel to the start of the spinner swivel (stiff boom section only) This rig is crimped at both ends to provide you with a strong neat Carp rig,

By Using the Tungsten Shot On the Hook Beads, it means you can reposition the hook bead if needed or use the hook bead on another rig etc multiple times.

Unique features of the Premium Shot on the hook (Norton Nail) Rig:-

Because of the stiffer nature of Boom, the rig wont tangle and will reset on an aborted take
Suitable for fishing at any range
Uninhibited 360 degree rotation of the hook, no matter what direction the carp approaches from the hook will spin and will automatically face downwards in the mouth.
Kicks the bait away from the lead every time.
Can be used either with a lead clip, inline or a Heli safe system
Will straighten without the need for steam, a simply pull with some rig pullers and the rig will straighten
Suitable for use all year round
Crimped using the correct sized crimps for the boom material - for the ultimate strength and neatness.
The tungsten hook bead will ensure the hook faces down all the time.

Suitable for:

The Shot On the Hook (SOTH) rig is suitable for fishing over most lake beds, gravel, clay, clear hard patches. If you are fishing over shallow weed or soft silt, adding a PVA nugget will slow the descent of the hook section and allow the hook to sit on top of any debris

Ideal hookbaits:-

The Norton Nailer (Shot on the Hook Rig) rig is best used with a critically balanced baits (half a bottom bait and half a pop up) or a wafter with ease and will give you the optimum rig mechanics

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.