Best Winter Carp Rigs: A Total Fishing Tackle Rig School

Are there any rigs for carp that are better for winter fishing? This was a question I was asked at the recent Brentwood Carp Show and it prompted me to do a post on what Winter Carp Rigs I use when the temperatures plummet and bites can be harder to find. Firstly it's important to remember that there is no such thing as a wonder rig that catches carp every time, it just doesn't exist! There are, however, certain rigs that are better for the type of fishing I do in the winter which is either maggot fishing or single hookbait fishing a lot of the time.

The Spinner Rig (Ronnie Rig)

   

The Mag Aligner

Made famous by the great Rob Maylin of Yateley fame. The Mag Aligner is a great way to fish maggots for big carp and it is so easy to tie and use as well. The rig itself is essentially a size 10 or 8 hook with a fake rubber maggot instead of a piece of shrink tube to create a line aligner-style setup. You then nick on two or three maggots onto the hook, attach a PVA mesh bag of maggots and away you go!

Once out in the pond, the PVA bag melts and the maggots explode over the spot leaving your hookbait in amongst them. I fish my Mag Aligner rigs on soft coated braid and a helicopter set up using an inline lead and large metal ring. I tie my PVA mesh bag to the ring and let it hang down beneath the lead, I then carefully nick the hook point into the mesh bag ensuring the hooklink is straight, impossible to tangle, and guaranteed to be fishing every single time.

Chod Rig

   

Solid PVA Bag Rig

     

Stiff Hinge Rig

Made famous by Terry Hearn but used by a lot of anglers around the same time, the Stiff Hinged Rig was designed to present a popped-up bait using either a helicopter or a leadclip style setup. Personally I haven't used this rig much but a lot of people favour it for the colder months when fishing single hookbaits off the bottom so it is worth a talk about it. The rig itself is made up of two sections, the boom section and the hooklink.

Now, whereas a Ronnie Rig or Spinner Rig is fished low to the bottom the stiff-hinged rig can be fished an inch or 5 inches off the deck depending on how long the hook link section is. Usually, the boom section is a stiff material but the rig can be adapted and used with a coated braid to give it a little more suppleness along the lake bed and to improve the contour of the bottom much better. Again, great for fishing over spreads of boilies but in all honestly I would usually go for a Spinner Rig unless the lake bed is a bit messy or soft silt.

I know a lot of big fish anglers who still swear by the Hinge Stiff Rig and I have seen how good it can be. A very fitting end to our list of the best winter carp rigs!