We all have a favourite rig but what's Pecky's?

Question: Everyone has a favourite rig; their old reliable which they tend to start off on whenever they fish a new water, then change things up when they feel the need – what’s your ‘old reliable’ and why do you use it?

Of course I have rig(s) that I favour, and if I am honest, they haven’t really changed much in the last 10 years. Contrary to the modern-day carper I don’t place too much faith in rig mechanics, my emphasis is on anti-tangle qualities, probability of presentation and hook-to-land ratio (reliability).

I have five go-to rigs that I use in 99% of my fishing and what determines which is firstly what bait I am using and secondly what the bottom is like, nothing at all to do with if I think they are riggy fish. I don’t have space to write about all of them, so I’ll cover a simple bottom rig.

A go to rig still doing the do – this time in Belgium

This rig is for larger sinking baits, i.e. 18-20mm wafters, bottom baits or snowman rigs. I tend to fish these on super clean, desert-like bottoms i.e. silt, sand, clay or gravel, and it’s possibly the most simple rig in human history! It’s a Knotless-Knotted supple seven- to eight-inch piece of braid such as Dark Matter or Super Natural. This is tied to a size 6 Wide Gape hook, whipped down exactly level with the point and the bait given 5-10mm clearance off the bottom of the bend.

Why do I use, as it doesn’t turn? A: because it gives the bait the most natural feel when picked up, thus is less likely to be spat before hooklink is tensioned. B: because it doesn’t tangle when used with large baits like I mentioned and is felt to the bottom on a tight line. C: even if it was looped-up off the bottom I believe it wouldn’t stop a carp picking it up. D: it’s consistently ‘done-the-do’ for me wherever I have taken it, regardless of how apparently tricky it was supposed to be and I’ve always had an excellent hook-to-land ratio on it, and oh, E: because it takes no time at all to construct, which is a big plus.

My hook-to-land ratio in Belgium was as good as ever

Whenever I use this rig, anglers at first always smirk at how simple it looks, but trust me that soon disappears when you start opening a can of woop ass on their lake! Many years ago, as a 21-year-old lad, I had the Yateley fish on this very presentation and even then this rig was considered old hat. Then only last autumn it was still doing the damage in Belgium.

If I could give you a small piece of advice, it would be don’t take everything that you read as gospel regarding rigs. You have to try things for yourself and only in the field can you really make a valid judgement.