36 Crafty Carper

As part of our new-look Crafty Carper Under-21s, we have enlisted the services of former British Young Carp Angling Champion Jake Wildbore to detail a different rig each month that will help you catch more carp.

No.1 The KD Rig

“The basic principle of the rig is that the hook is whipped on at such an

aggressive angle that the carp fi nd it almost impossible to eject”

Short, curved shank

hooks are vital to get the best out

of this rig.

A recent KD-caught stunner.

Designed by one of the top anglers around, Kenny Dorsett, the KD Rig is ultra-effective, due to its magnifi cent hooking

ability. It’s now become a very popular rig for a number of the leading names in the game and is widely seen in carp fi shing magazines and DVDs. The beauty of the KD is that it’s not only a very effective rig, it is also incredibly easy to tie and can be used with many different hookbait presentations, such as a Snowman, pop-up with a shot on the Hair, or a bottom bait balanced with a cork insert. The basic principle of the rig is that the hook is whipped on at such an aggressive angle that the carp fi nd it almost impossible to eject. Due to the angle that the Hair comes off the shank so close to the eye, it makes the hookpoint heavier, making it more likely to drop into the bottom lip and take hold. It’s vital that you make your hookbait critically-balanced, so that it just sinks under the weight of the hook. This helps to not only make the eye lighter but also means your hookbait will behave much more like your free offerings.

I fi rst used this rig at the Carp Society’s Horseshoe Lake. Because it is a barbless hook water the carp fi nd most rigs very easy to eject, and after dropping three bites in a row I knew it was time for a change, so I got to thinking about the KD. The following morning I tied one up and after that the hookholds I have been receiving have been amazing, sometimes an inch back, and that has given me total confi dence in the rig.

It is very simple to tie up the KD. Start off with a 12ins length of a soft coated braid hooklink, strip off around 4 or so inches of the plastic coating material and tie a small loop in the exposed braid, then thread on your chosen hookbait. My fi rst choice here is a boilie with a cork insert. I get the cork insert inside by using a nut drill and removing the core of around

6-7mm. I then place a sliver of cork inside the core, which adds buoyancy to the bait. Now, there are two different ways to present the hookbait. One is to have the cork section nearest the hook on the Hair, which will make it sit at a different angle, however, my preferred way is to have the cork at the boilie stop end of the Hair

so the bait sits up like it would with a Snowman presentation.

Choosing the right hook for the KD is vital. The rig is recommended to be used with a short curved shank hook, with the Korda Kurv Shank a fi rm favourite for many anglers, and

it is my number one choice. Before tying on the hook you must always remember to check the sharpness of the point. After checking the hookpoint thread your hooklink through the back of the eye and leave a gap of about 1cm between the bait and hook. You then need to start tying the normal Knotless Knot, but only make three turns around the Hair and shank and then lift up the Hair and make a further fi ve or so turns solely around the shank. Then simply bring the hooklink back through the back of

the eye to complete the knot. The result should be that the hook sits at a very aggressive angle. The fi nished rig can be used in a multitude of situations, whether it’s fi shed over a spodded area with a small balanced particle hookbait or over a large spread of boilies with a balanced boilie hookbait, which is my current preferred way of angling. I have had two personal bests within the fi rst month of trying the rig in this manner!

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You will need a purpose-made nut drill and cork inserts to create a balanced hookbait.

Take the drill and carefully start to bore out the core of a 15mm bait, as shown here.

You needn’t drill all the way through, just 6-7mm is enough so you are left with this.

Crafty Carper 37

Crafty Carper Under-21sThe No.1 choice for thinking anglerswww.ccmoore.com

HOWTO...

CREATE A BALANCED HOOKBAIT

Next, gently push a cork insert all the way into the hole you have created, like so.

Now take a pair of scissors and trim away the excess cork close to the surface of the bait.

You should then be left with a semi-buoyant boilie hookbait that looks like this.

Strong hooks and coated braid are the only two components that Jake uses to construct his KD.

Jake cuts 12ins of Hybrid Soft, and then strips away 4ins of its outer coating.

The next step is to tie a simple overhand loop in the exposed braid to form the Hair.

HOWTO...

TIE JAKE’S PREFERRED KD RIG

Thread your balanced hookbait onto the loop and secure in place with a boilie stop.

Next, take a hook and thread the hooklink through the back of the eye, like so.

Now start to tie a Knotless Knot and whip three times around the Hair and shank.

Lift the Hair, making fi ve whips around the shank and bring the hooklink back through the eye.

Tie an overhand loop in the other end of the Hybrid for use with quick-change clips.

You have now created the perfect KD – look how aggressively the hook sits.

Now turn over to read two-time BYCAC winner Rob Sutton’s monthly blog

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