In modern day carp angling, there are so many different rigs available for different presentations. You got wafter rigs, bottom bait rigs and pop-up rigs. For my wafter and bottom bait fishing, I have been using the Blow Back rig for a good couple of years. Here is a quick guide on this rig.

What Components Do I Need?

For this rig, you need some shrink tube, a hook ring, a hook of your preference, a coated braid with a strippa and an anti-tangle sleeve.

You can use any hook pattern with this rig (apart from a chod hook). I vary and use wide gapes in solid bags and a curved-shank for wafter / bottom bait fishing.

How Do I Tie This Rig?

Firstly you want to strip  4.5 - 5inches of the coating on the coated braid. This will give the hook end of your rig a lot more movement which in return will give you better hook-holds. Once you have done this, tie your loop knot for the hair section.

For the next step, you want to tie a rig ring to your coated braid. Where you tie the ring on the braid will determine the length of your hair section, I personally tie mine with 1inch from the bait as this suits my fising. I decide I want a bigger hair section, I will just use some bait floss. If I'm ussing a smaller bait tying a granny knot in the hair shortens it nicely!

After this, thread on your chosen hook, before sliding the rig ring over the point of the hook. On my rigs, I have the rig ring just above the barb on the shank of the hook, but you can experiment and see what gets you the best hook holds. Once you have done this, tie your hook to the braid with the knotless knot. Keep the rig ring in the same position in this process.

I prefer to use a rig ring over tubing as it offers more movement for the bait.

Now you want to cut off 2cm of Shrink tube and place this over the knot. You want it to cover the kot but also to go over the eye of the eye, onto the hook so you can achieve the aggressive angle of the braid exiting the hook. This will make your hook-hold more secure. The next step is to tie your loop and add an anti tangle sleeve.

The final step of this rig, with a kettle you want to steam the shrink tube on an angle so the hook is more aggressive and then steam the rig so it sits lovely and straight. Adding some putty to the end of the coating on the braid can give the hook section a bit more movement.

This rig is also perfect for solid bags. Simply use a supple braid instead of a coated braid!

Make sure that the rig sits nice and straight  before casting out! Get that kettle steaming and re-steam and re-shrink the shrink tube if you need to!

This rig is the only rig I'll cast out for my bottom bait and wafter fishing. My catch rate has gone up since using this rig and these fish have been nailed!

Additional Top Tips For This Rig

  • Placing some putty half way up the rig will ensure it's pinned to the lake-bed
  • Have an experiment with the hair length - you'll find different lengths with get you different hook-holds
  • You can tie this rig as a combi-rig also

Blog Written By Rob Taylor