The One-Up, One-Down Rig

Solid PVA bags offer many advantages—the ability to deliver a neatly packaged parcel of carp food, tangle-free, being the main one—but one of the biggest is often overlooked: the opportunity to cast out very delicate and balanced rigs, something which wouldn’t be possible without the use of a bag. With the weight and force of the cast being absorbed at the lead end, where the bag is attached, it ensures said dainty rig will look and work exactly the same on the lakebed, as it did before it was cast out.

‘ONE-UP, ONE-DOWN’ 

One such presentation is the creation of previous canal-recordholder, Danny Smith: a rig we coined the ‘One-Up, One-Down’ way back in 2004. Whilst most of Dan’s ‘micro rigs’ (a phrased coined by himself) are constructed from braid, when it comes to his delicate pop-up set-up, he uses a stifflish hooklink material and creates a double-joined hinge to ensure good turning ability in the rig. This creates a one-inch bottom section (the ‘down’ part) and a one-inch pop-up (the ‘up’ part). The small amount of putty on the outer-coating break acts as the counterbalance, but the overall key element to this rig is how balanced everything is: a smallish hook with a matching-sized pop-up. 

Due to the tiny overall length of the rig, it’s best fished in conjunction with a drop-off inline lead system. Korda’s Inline Safety System is ideal and removes any doubt of bouncing the hook out—something that could happen if you still had a 3oz+ lead attached. 

When it comes to tying the PVA bag, remember three things: use small bags (example: ESP Mini Bags), use tiny pellets (example: Sticky Baits’ new Bag Mix), and position the lead away from the hook and hookbait. And here’s one final tip: try injecting the bag with hemp oil just prior to casting out—that’s a deadly edge at this time of year! Here’s how you tie the rig…

1. Use a coated hooklink material that isn’t too stiff so you can break the coating.

2. Don’t remove any of the coating and then tie an Overhand knot for the Hair loop.

3. Next mount your chosen hookbait: in our case it’s a hi-viz 11mm pop-up.

4. Your chosen hook should make the pop-up size, so we’re using a size 8 Surface hook.

5. Secure the hook using the Knotless Knot and attach the other end with a Blood knot. 

6. Carefully break the coating in the middle of the hooklink—only a couple of millimetres. 

7. Place some lead wire around the hooklink material and then add your putty.

8. This is how the rig will look and sit when it’s all tied up. Next load up a solid bag!

9. Here’s the completed rig. If you want something less ‘shouty’, switch to a dark pop-up.