How to tie a solid PVA bag and my preferred rig for this method.
Firstly I'm going to start with the rig it is not to complicated but I would suggest you use in-line leads for the rig to be more effective.
Rather than a lead clip set up or helicopter set up, because you want the heaviest end of the lead to bed the hook in the carps mouth.
The components you will need to tie this rig with are:-
Nash fang twister size 10
Fox micro rig rings,
TFG putty,
Korda shrink tube
Korda supernatural 18lb
Nash Triggalink.
Any other braided material, hook, putty, can be used in this rig.
But Nash Triggalink is a must as it is the only stretchy braid on the market that I know of and what makes the rig so effective, when the fish picks up your hook bait and feels the weight of the lead the carp will try and drop the hook but the stretchiness of the Triggalink will act as a shock absorber and will reduce the chance of the hook pulling.
To tie the rig you start by cutting off 4 inches of korda 18lb supernatural braid then tie a hair for your chosen bait and place your bait on the hair in this case I'm using Celtic baits 14mm Le Crunch boilie tipped with a bit of pink fake corn.
Once this is done slide on a fox micro rig ring followed by the Nash fang twister do a overhand knot to secure the rig ring in place then do a knot-less knot, I tend to do 5 to 7 turns up the shank of the hook.
Now you cut off 6 inches of Nash Triggalink and then grab the tag end of the korda supernatural braid and then tie them together by using a double grinner knot making a combi rig, cut of the tag ends to neaten up the rig then slide a bit of korda shrink tube up the braid to your hook then tie on your swivel before steaming the shrink tubing as the Triggalink will retract when it comes in contact with water and make it difficult to tie it to the swivel.
Now your rig is nearly completed but the Triggalink has poor camouflage but this can overcome by grabbing a bit of TFG putty and rubbing it up and down the Triggalink this will make it darker in colour also give it some weight to keep it to the deck and harder for the carp to detect.
Now solid PVA bagging.
I've been messing around with this a lot recently especially in France and had some nice fish whilst using this tactic.
The components you will need are.
PVA bags
Foam nugget,
The rig
2oz Flat pear lead
TFG clear leader
My preferred size of PVA bags are 70mm x 200mm these may seem big but I prefer them as they give me enough material to work with.
Now to start off grab a PVA bag then start filling it, I tend to fill about half an inch to an inch of bait Personally. With a mix of ground-bait, boilie crumb micro pellet. (The smaller the baits the tighter the bag)
Then mask your hook with a bit of PVA foam so your hook wont get any bait on the hook-point whilst filling your PVA bag.
Next thing to do is to push your hook-bait down the side of the bag and hold up the lead continue filling the bag until you get halfway up your rig then pack it down and place your lead in the bag and continue to fill and pack until your happy with the size of the bag.
The size of the lead is up to you but I usually use a 2oz flat pear lead because once you have filled the PVA bag full of bait the overall weight can be as heavy as 4oz.
Now this is the reason I like to use big bag because it can be fiddly using small bags and tying the bags tight,
Firstly spilt the seems down the side of the bag Then do one overhand knot on one side of the TFG leader and another overhand knot the other side of the leader and one more again on the other side then pull down tight and cut the tag ends to tidy up the bag and make it as aerodynamic as you can.
Also do what I like to call 'lick and stick' basically lick and stick the edges of the bag and fold them in tidily so you can cast the bag in a straight line and long distances if needed.
One of the carp caught during a trip to France on solid PVA bags 34lb 6oz
If you wish to ask any questions mail me at
dan@celticbait.com or go to my web page www.celticbait.com
