How to Make the Snake Carp Rig
Follow the picture instructions below on how to make the snake carp rig. The original rig created by Martin Clark can be seen in his carp fishing book "strictly carp", which is available from major online carp fishing tackle shops.
Martin uses a very supple hook link material so that the hook bait stays close to the "safe" pop-up boilie. I have used a slightly stiffer material, only because it would show up clearly for the photos, but I actually found when taking these pictures, that it actually helps hold the hook bait away from the bigger pop-up (see photos below) so it may decrease its potential for tangles! I may well keep this Z carp rig for future fishing sessions.
Attach the "safe" pop-up boilie to the loose rig ring on the hooklink. The "safe" bait is usually a bright colour and quite large, this is so it can potentially attract carp from a distance away. Martin doesn't tend to use a pop-up on the actual hook, he uses rig foam or fake particle baits. These are much smaller and they do help hide the hook and bait underneath the "safe" pop-up. Here I have used two different pop ups just to illustrate the carp rig clearly.
The "safe" pop up bait should be free to move up the hook link material.
Whip some lead wire from leadcore leader onto the hook link material. you only need to get it close, then it can be adjusted by adding a little putty if too light, or uncoiling a little to cut off if too heavy. I usually shrink tube the wire after balancing in order to eliminate chances of link catching the braid.
Tie a pop-up boilie on the hair using bait floss. I like to use a smaller bait the the "safe" pop up, I also prefer to use a colour which matches the lake bed so it is less visible to the carp. they see the big boilie, then suck at it, and that's when the small hook bait extends into the carp's mouth and BANG!
Think about what length you wish to fish with. It needs to be about 3 times longer than the height you want the hook bait to pop up. I found that you can set the height of the big boilie and control how high you wish the hook bait to be. It can be positioned just under the "safe" pop-up, or much lower down.
I like to test the strength of all my carp fishing rigs before using them to catch big carp. Although, you shouldn't test them with your fingers like in the picture above!!
Checking the buoyancy of the snake carp rig in water. Add rig putty weight to the coiled wire to position the height of the hook bait.
The snake carp rig in sat perfect in the water. notice how my slightly stiffer material helps hold the hook out away from the "safe" boilie?
I like to use PVA tape at various position to hold the whole rig together for casting. PVA foam is also used on the hook, and folded around the rig ring! It may take a few attempts to get used to preparing the snake rig for casting. It also helps if you stick to casting the rig short distances.
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