Waggler fishing with hair rig

[AndrewR]

Hi,

I want to use the hair rig with a waggler, is it a good method? I will be using mussels

[PikeHunter]

What are you fishing for?

[AndrewR]

carp, tench

[PikeHunter]

Ive never fished for them mate but I'd say it would work alright! You may need to know the depth so you can have your rig sitting just on the bottom

[covlad1987]

iv used hair rig on float you have to keep 1 hand on the rod lol i nealy lost a rod before

[AndrewR]

Yeah mate i always go 6 inch overdepth for carp and tench. Same lol the carp took the mussel and nearly pulled the rod out of my hand!

[peakoverload]

There's no reason whatsoever why you can't use a hair rig when float fishing and you don't have to fish on the bottom either. A hair rig is merely a way of holding you bait below the hook allowing the hook itself to be free. I rarely fish for silvers and use a hair rig almost 100% of the time on both waggler and ledger rods. Bites on a hair rig aren't really any different than if you put the bait on the hook itself, occasionally you might get a fish that tries to blow the bait back out and the hook pricks it's lips causing it to bolt but generally speaking the bait is bigger than the hook and so this doesnt happen that often.

[AndrewR]

Originally Posted by peakoverload

There's no reason whatsoever why you can't use a hair rig when float fishing and you don't have to fish on the bottom either. A hair rig is merely a way of holding you bait below the hook allowing the hook itself to be free. I rarely fish for silvers and use a hair rig almost 100% of the time on both waggler and ledger rods. Bites on a hair rig aren't really any different than if you put the bait on the hook itself, occasionally you might get a fish that tries to blow the bait back out and the hook pricks it's lips causing it to bolt but generally speaking the bait is bigger than the hook and so this doesnt happen that often.

Ahh so I can strike as I normally do? Or do I wait for the run?

[peakoverload]

Yeah you can hit the bites in pretty much the same way. The only time I'd say it may differ isn't so much to do with using a hair rig but in the bait you use. You might find with certain baits that a fish may suck it in and spit it out a couple of times before really taking the bait but that would be the same if you put the bait on your hook or used a hair rig. When I go fishing I usually go for Tench and Carp and always put out two rods. One rod will be on the ledger and the other is always a waggler and 99.99% of the time I use a hair rig because I tend to use baits like pellet and luncheon meat which I find obscure the hook too much. Don't forget that you can even put maggots on a hair loop allowing you to use a big bunch but still leave the hook free. Like I say a hair rig won't really effect how a fish bites, how a bite is registered or how you should strike. The only things that would really effect that is the bait you use, how much you lay on the bottom (if at all) or what rig you are using when ledgering.

[AndrewR]

Originally Posted by peakoverload

Yeah you can hit the bites in pretty much the same way. The only time I'd say it may differ isn't so much to do with using a hair rig but in the bait you use. You might find with certain baits that a fish may suck it in and spit it out a couple of times before really taking the bait but that would be the same if you put the bait on your hook or used a hair rig. When I go fishing I usually go for Tench and Carp and always put out two rods. One rod will be on the ledger and the other is always a waggler and 99.99% of the time I use a hair rig because I tend to use baits like pellet and luncheon meat which I find obscure the hook too much. Don't forget that you can even put maggots on a hair loop allowing you to use a big bunch but still leave the hook free. Like I say a hair rig won't really effect how a fish bites, how a bite is registered or how you should strike. The only things that would really effect that is the bait you use, how much you lay on the bottom (if at all) or what rig you are using when ledgering.

Thanks now all my doubts about the hair rig have disappeared.. I was thinking of having one waggler rig and one ledger so i may look into learning how to ledger, ive got most of the kit for it so i may give it a go.