What's the optimum height of a hook section?

Dave Ellyatt asks...

With the Chod Rig and Hinged Stiff Rig being a couple of your main presentations, do you vary the length of the hook section very much or generally fish the pop-up at the same height off the bottom? I’m thinking depending on the type of bottom, feeding situation etc. or do you fish a standard ‘optimum’ length that you believe offers best pricking and hook holding potential?

“Good question that. My usual length for the pop-up section with both the Chod and Hinged Stiff Link is two- to three-inches. That’s the measurement from the bottom of the ring swivel to the top of the pop-up, not just the length of the Bristle Filament, which is something that obviously needs to be taken into account when talking pop-up height.

“Basically, if I can get away with fishing them three-inches then I will do, as to a certain extent, the higher the pop-up, the better the hook holds. The less bait I’m fishing over the higher I tend to fish them. For example, if I’m fishing singles then I’m quite happy fishing them three-inches off the deck. However, if I’m baiting, especially accurately, yet for whatever reason I still want to fish pop-ups, then I’d be more likely to fish my pop-ups lower, simply because the fish are already going to be feeding tight to the bottom in the vicinity your hookbaits. Really it’s better to fish a bottom bait the same as your free offerings in this situation, but you know what it’s like, sometimes you still want to use pop-ups for their often superior hooking potential, especially when the bottoms a bit on the mucky side. Apparently it’s all about the ‘re-set’, or at least that’s what I’m told anyway…

“Occasionally I might drop my pop-ups down to around an inch-and-a-half, but as I’ve already said, the taller the hook section, the further back in the mouth the hook holds are likely to be.

“The same goes for the aggressiveness of the curve. I favour a gentler curve than what I see a lot of people using today, as this means the hook’s point is better positioned/angled to take hold further back in the mouth. The more aggressive the curve is, the more likelihood that the hook, even a straight pointed one, won’t be able to take hold until it reaches the extremities of the lips. It can’t, because with too aggressive a curve, once the hook is back inside the mouth, the only part of it in contact with the floor/sides of the inside of the mouth is the hook’s bend. It’s not until it reaches the extremities/ridged part of the lips that there’s something for the hook point to take hold of, the rest of the time the point is in the wrong position.

“This is why I never used to put a curve in the upright Amnesia section prior to the straight pointed Stiff Riggers being developed. Before those I used to use Continental Boilie Hooks with my Stiff Links, which have very beaked points. To add an overly aggressive curve to the pop-up section when using beaked pointed hooks is going to take away much of its pricking potential until it reaches the ridged part of the lips, and I prefer to hook them further back than that if possible.”