Welcome to eight ways to avoid tangles your own carp fishing.
Recently I was asked the question ‘what is the best way to prevent rig tangles?’.
So I decided to write this mini guide for all those wanting some tips on prevent the dreaded rig tangle.
Let’s get started…
Anti tangle sleeves
Anti tangle sleeves are a great way to create a kicker between your rig and your lead.
Don’t get me wrong, you still will obtain tangles occasionally but using anti tangles sleeves can help aid the prevention of tangles.
Personally I use the ESP anti tangle sleeves nevertheless there other products on the market that do the same job.
A leader
Using a leader can as prevent tangles especially if you’re casting long distances. Leader materials that are ideal are leadcore, tubing or safezone.
Try stiff rig material
I am a huge fan of Korda’s N-trap hooklink material in soft but if I’m getting a lot of tangles I will move over to the N-trap semi stiff.
By using a stiffer hooklink material the rig will kicks out away from the lead. Using a fluorocarbon hooklink material is also a great option for hooklinks.
It’s all in the cast
If you stop the rig just before it hits the water on the cast it will kick the rig out giving you an effective presentation.
I would say 50 percent of the time, tangles are caused by a dodgy cast so a delicate, accurate cast is ideal so it’s never a great time like now to practise your casting.
Minimal rig components
I always believe that the less components you have on your end tackle, the greater the chance of preventing tangles. Keep things simple with your rigs and less issues will occur.
Solid and mesh PVA bags
PVA is a brilliant method for preventing tangles especially using solid PVA bags as you can get the whole rig including the lead into it.
PVA mesh bags are also very effective, one top tip is to thread the PVA bag through the bottom of your hooklink to cover the hook section of the rig which is a great way to prevent tangles.
PVA foam nuggets
PVA nuggets are a hugely underrated method to preventing tangles and are ideal if you’re casting our single baits especially in weedy/snaggy lakes.
A PVA nugget will push the hooklink in front of the lead and let the hooklink slink at the slower rate. PVA nuggets are extremely cheap and well worth keeping in your tackle bag.
Helicopter setup
Using a helicopter setup is probably the best setup to prevent tangles as the hooklink will never get wrapped around the lead. Using a helicopter set in conjunction a long, semi stiff hooklink with a PVA nugget and you will have a minimal chance of a tangle.
So what are you waiting for, follow these methods and catch more carp.
Conclusion
If you have any questions about anti tangle rigs and other anti tangle queries then leave a comment below and I’ll do my best to give you an experience honest answer.
If you enjoyed this post then make sure you check out my other carp fishing tips and tackle reviews.
[…] suggestion of the week is for you to check out my guide on how you can avoid rig tangles in your own carp […]
Morning
You suggest anti tangle sleeves , would it help using the extra long angle tangle sleeves , as notice the ones you are showing are small. Also in line lead or normal clip method works best .
Thanks
Jonathan
Hi Jonathan, I wrote this article over five years ago now a lot has changed in terms of tackle that’s available. You’re totally right about the small anti tackle sleeves, they are still great for helicopter style setups but longer ones by branch like ESP, Korda and Thinking Anglers are much better for kicking the rig out on clip set ups.
I’m not too sure if you’re having issues with tangles but this is my current set up that I use 90% of the time. A helicopter set up, leadcore leader, Korda notrace beads, a 6/7 inch rig, semi stiff or boom material spinner or german rig, Korda anti angle sleeve. I’ve been avoiding using pva bags as I found that at distance it’s possible it can cause issues with a helicopter rig. Make sure you catch/stop the line on the cast, it’s pretty tricky a first but (touch wood) I havnt had any issues with tangles for the past few years.
Hope this helps! and I will have to write an updated version of this article in the future!