I generally use variations of three basic rigs for most of my angling situations. Wherever possible my preferred baiting situation revolves around the use of maggots, small particles, and very small boilies and this is where my favourite rig is utilised. I try wherever possible to minimise my end tackle keeping rings, loops and shrink tube to a minimum.

My medusa rig utilises Sufix’s Kameleon hooklength material in 15 lbs breaking strain tied knotless knot to a size 10 Drennan Barbel hook. These hooks are super strong and incredibly sharp, they are also Teflon coated and have a dull finish. The hair is formed either as an extension of the hooklink material or via a piece of green whipping thread used for rod building.

If I utilise the Kameleon’s internal material for the hair, I reduce the filaments by half (picking the filaments apart with a sharp baiting needle and trimming them away), to create a more supple hair than the remainder of the hooklength. This prevents the fish blowing both the bait and hook out of its mouth, as the supple hair should fold over and leave the hook to prick the inside lip.

This negates the necessity to tie a D ring along the back of the shank – blow back style. To the end of the hair I tie a micro rig ring, which the maggots are tied to. The next step is to peel back sufficient outer coating above the hook enabling the hookbait to behave more naturally as well as helping the hook and bait to twist and find a hold inside the fish’s mouth. In order to achieve this I drag the baited rig across the back of my hand increasing the supple section until the hook spins every time.

The length of the hooklength is dictated by a number of factors including make-up of lakebed, size of fish, presence of weed, feeding style of fish etc. I terminate the hooklength with an Atomic ring swivel maximising the hinge effect as the rig lies on the bottom away from the lead. My lead safety clips are now prototypes of Atomic’s excellent system but have previously been Korda’s system.

The leads are of course the fantastic dung bombs – which are indistinguishable from the silt and detritus found on the lakebed. During autumn and throughout the winter I keep all my leads in a 50/50 solution of Carp Company’s Aminol and Minamino, as the coating of the lead acts as a sponge soaking up the food signal, increasing the attraction once immersed in water.Lastly I utilise a minimum of four feet of 60lbs Score gold leadcore behind the rig to pin everything hard on the bottom.

I thread the maggots on to a piece of cotton tread using a sharp needle which helps keep the maggots alive and wriggling for longer periods of time. After threading 6 maggots onto the needle I include 5 of enterprises buoyant maggots/castors then finish with a further 6 real baits. When the maggots are tied to the ring on the end of the hair this creates a tight ball that is critically balanced as the buoyant fake baits sit centrally and at the top of the ball.

This rig is easily adapted to present one of Carp Company’s 12mm hookbaits. I simply tie an overhand loop knot on the end of the hair and do away with the rig ring. I soak all my hookbaits in a solution of Aminol and Minamino and wrap the bait in matching paste.

Similarly, small particle hookbaits can be presented by hair rigging a small piece of cork and gluing the chosen loose feed to it – this enables a small parcel of ‘feed identical’ baits to be critically balanced. I prefer to fix hookbaits in position and soak overnight in the same solution listed above to help counteract the glue residue, which should be minimal!

I always use either a small PVA bag (mesh stocking) or dissolvable PVA rig foam to ensure tangles are minimised and to increase attraction in the vicinity of the hookbait - especially when using the particle rig!

Lastly, always pay attention to the position of the hookhold within the fish’s mouth and adjust the length of rig if necessary, change your hook after every fish – sharp hooks mean more bites and fewer losses!

Tight Lines… Phil Morton.