Long Range in Silt by Topbalti

For long range casting you need heavy leads and we know that heavy leads bury deep into silt especially if they are being cast long distances. So, how do we construct a rig, which still allows us to present a bait in the top layers or on top of the silt. The obvious answer is to lengthen the hooklink to compensate for the lead burying in the silt. My theory is that if a fish picks up the hook bait it will tighten the hooklink through the silt gradually until it hits the lead. This gradual build up of resistance may not be enough to hold the hook in place and may cause the carp to reject the bait before the lead has come into play, the result, no takes. Now I am not saying this happens every time but it does give me cause for concern. The most effective bolt rig causes an immediate bolt effect as the fish goes from no resistance to feeling the full weight of the lead in an instant.

A situation not achieved with long hooklink method. To achieve this effect in silt I recommend you use a version of the helicopter rig that I have used with excellent results on a number of different occasions. The diagram shows how it is made up. Basically the top rubber bead is set to a depth I anticipate the lead will penetrate the silt. This bead is not glued as it will slide off of the tube should the line break during a fight. I always make sure this bead is moving easily on the line before I cast. On powerful casts this top rubber bead will move so I tie a piece of PVA string above the bead before a cast, to stop it moving on the cast. Once in the water the PVA melts allowing the bead to pull off if the line should break, thus separating the fish and the lead.

Another important part of this is rig is the tube I useIs ideal for this in 0.75mm bore size. This is because this tube will get stained by the silt so you can read how far the lead is penetrating. I usually cast with full baited rig to my chosen spot then retrieve after half hour on so as the tube will then be lightly stained to the depth the lead is penetrating. You can than set the top bead to just above the stain mark so you know the hooklink will be sitting on top of the silt as the diagram shows. Obviously once the tube is stained it makes it harder to gauge the depth but you can still ascertain the maximum depth of penetration.
This rig works so well for a couple of reasons:-

1. It allows you to use a short hooklink at range in silt knowing it is perfectly presented at the top of the silt. Short hooklinks in my opinion give the carp less chance of rejecting the bait before the fixed lead comes into play. It also means you can use stiff hooklinks as well if you want to. Don't be afraid to use 3-5 inch hooklinks, believe me they will get the bait in their mouth!!

2. It creates a very sudden very heavy bolt effect helping to pull the hook past the point of no return. A 3-4oz distance lead is a fairly good hooker anyway because it is short for its weight. Add to this the fact it is plugged anything up to 12 inches into the silt and you have greatly increased the weight of the lead. Just try to pull the lead out of the silt after a long cast. Its a lot harder than picking a lead up off a gravel bottom at the same range.
This rig should be fished on a very tight line that is kept tight to the lake bed, so point your tips down towards the water not up in the air. This ensures there is as much chance of the carp pricking itself against the tight line as there is against the buried lead. The bolt effect is still created what ever way the carp moves once it has the bait. The only draw back I have found if you can call it that, is that takes are some times a little twitchy. The carp is hooked and is finding it difficult to get the lead out of the silt.

Super sensitive Delkim Bite Alarms really come into their own here, as they pick up the slightest movement on the bank. Keeping the fish where it started has been an advantage to me as it stopped it getting into snags before I picked the rod up which is always a problem at range because the carp can move a long way on a tight line with out much movement at the rod end.