The Zig Rig

Carp are certainly not restricted to feeding solely on the bottom. They are incredibly adept at feeding at all levels of their environment and they regularly encounter natural food items throughout the entire water column. I believe that many ‘objects’ that are located and suspended off the bottom are viewed as potential food items. The Zig Rig allows the angler to present the carp with a ‘food item’ at a level where they are residing. The Zig Rig I use today is an end product from many years of fine-tuning.

Rig components and mechanics

There are just a small number of components required to tie the Zig Rig, but as always, the rights tools will inevitably bring better results.

The hooklink is constructed from the Fox Zig and Floater Line, which as the name suggests is a dedicated hooklink designed to do a specific job. It has several characteristics that separate it from standard monofilament lines and make it ideal for the task in hand. Firstly it floats! This may sound like a given requirement, but you’d be surprised at how many floater lines don’t actually float. Also, it is clear in colour and virtually invisibly in water, not to mention it’s also incredibly strong for its diameter.

Pre-stretched and buoyant – exactly what you need for Zig Rigs

This would then be tied to a size 9 Arma Point SSSP hook and would be attached via a Palomar-Knot rather than a Knotless Knot. The reason for doing this is it ensures the line exits the hook from the top of the eye, and prevents the line rubbing on the eye of the hook, which can lead to breakages when using fine diameter lines.

A Palomar Knot allows the hooklink to exit a SSSP hook in a straight direction

While there are a number of hookbaits that can be used for Zigging, I still favour a tiny piece of black foam, as I believe this colour to be incredibly visible when suspended in water. In the past I used to whittle down small bits of foam and fish them on a Hair rig with a trimmed down Fox Line Aligna Sleeve over the hook. It was this set-up that inevitably led to the creation of the Zig Aligna.

Black foam is my favourite hookbait for Zigging

This really does speed up the whole process of attaching hookbaits offering much greater versatility. It is simply a case of putting the piece of foam into the loading tool and then transferring it into the loop on the back of the Aligna. The foam can then be trimmed to size before the Aligna Sleeve is slid down the line and over the hook - simple!

One of the advantages the Zig Aligna has over the traditional Zig Rig set-up is the gape of the hook is increased. This is due to the line exiting the Aligner at a less acute angle than if it was exiting the hook itself. This greatly improves the hooking potential of a rig, which in the past could result in some ‘temperamental’ hook holds.

Increasing the hook gape with the Zig Aligna

An overhand-loop would be tied at whatever depth I wished to fish the hookbait, and an anti-tangle sleeve would be included to reduce tangles and allow me to attach the loop to a Kwik Change Swivel.

The rig would always be fished beneath a lead clip set-up as this ensures the lead is discharged upon receiving a take, which makes it a great deal easier when playing fish with a long hooklink.

Dropping the lead will help you land more fish attached to long hooklinks

Best uses

The Zig Rig is a superb tactic for presenting a hookbait at a level or depth where the carp are feeding or residing. Over the course of the year this rig probably accounts for more of my captures than any other. Its use is by no means restricted to solely the summer months; in fact, it is equally devastating throughout the winter when the carp are often suspended high in the water column to take advantage of the suns warming rays.