The Chod Rig has helped revolutionize our ability to present hookbaits among weedbeds, silt and various other bottom detritus that would otherwise potentially render our rigs useless to carp feeding in these areas. As we are now in Autumn with increased leaf litter on the bottom of our lakes the chod rig can be a great way of maximizing the reducing bite times and ensuring that your presentation is 100% for all those shorter sessions as well as when you are casting to showing fish. With the value of our Angling Direct Chod Pack we have all the components ready for you to give this rig a go. The following tips will help you further when you decide to take the plunge and add this rig to your armory.
Pop the cork
The Chod Rig must be fished with an ultra-buoyant bait. The best hookbait selection in my opinion is a cork ball popup tied onto the ring of your D. This will ensure that your hook is in correct alignment to hook the fish in the bottom lip when it takes and that your rig is kept proud of the bottom detritus. You can have total confidence if you have left it out overnight or its been out for even longer periods of time.
Follow the curve
When tying this rig ensure that you work with the curve of the stiff chod filament material. When completed run it through your thumb and forefinger to create a curve on the inside of the hookpoint. This can then be held over s steaming cone and steamed to fix this curved profile which will hold even after the hardest of casts. This helps the hookpoint face the bottom lip and means that the hook is also masked by the hookbait as the fish approaches it from above.
Go Naked
I mean your leader choice no you! lol Conventionally fished on leadcore during the colder clearer water conditions of winter fishing the rig on fluorocarbon mainline is a much more inconspicuous presentation and offers a more reined delicate way of using this rig. Ensure you use a strong (18lb at least) or tapered mainline to ensure the swivel doesn’t cut through the line when playing a fish. Also ensure that safety beads are used so that in the event of a crack off the fish is only left with the chod section and not trailing line. When fishing your chod rig “naked” or on the line without leadcore be sure to use putty to balance the popup otherwise the rig will be too buoyant and not sit correctly. Finally I always fish the rig with a slack or semi slack line to ensure that the line is on the bottom especially at the hookbait end and even more so if you’re fishing it naked.
Testing times
Before you cast out test the sink rate of your popup in the margins. I try to get my chod rig to sink at a slightly slower rate than a boilie you would feed. Trim the putty or insert small amounts of wire from leadcore inserted into the popup to ensure I have the correct sink rate. I must admit there’s been a few times I’ve checked my chod rig to find out that I’ve tied on a wafter and not a popup and thank the lord I did. Don’t forget to check and think about the sink rate before its out in the pond.
Spread them
Apart from being a great single hookbait rig to cast to showing fish, it can be used in devastating effect fishing over a large spread of boilies which have been applied to an area where you have seen fish show consistently. I remember a few good winter sessions where I have baited an area of the lake with boilies consistently throughout the winter and fished a chod rig over the top to very good effect. The bait application has kept the fish in the area and the rig has meant that I have good presentation as I have usually selected areas which aren’t textbook clear areas.
There’s no doubt it’s a devastating rig but please don’t feel it is the perfect rig for all occasions as its certainly not. Keep an open mind but definitely have this rig in your armory.