The Chod rig for catching carp over silt
When carp fishing over a silty lake, it essential that your hook bait will not get buried in the soft silt. And the chod rig was specifically designed for just this purpose.
The chod has proved to be very successful and is a popular presentation among some of the best carp anglers including Terry Hearn and Jim Shelley. The main reasons for this is that it is virtually tangle free, lays perfect on the bottom and it is hard for the carp to eject.
The rig should be used with a very buoyant bait such as a cork ball design and constructed in such a way that the hooklink can be positioned anywhere along the leadcore leader, so no matter how deep the silt is the bait will always settle above it.
The rig is made up of a leadcore leader with tightly fitting beads to allow the hooklink to be semi-fixed. the rig has safety in mind, and the bead will pass freely over the spliced loop and allow the hooklink to pull free should a breakage occur.
How to tie the chod rig
1. Use the lightest lead possible for the casting distance required. because the hooklink is semi-fixed it will slide down to the lead when playing a fish.
2. A spliced leadcore leader of around 5ft.
3. placing a soft bead here between the lead and the hooklink swivel is a personal chose but must be semi-fixed. I tend to leave this one out for most of my rigs.
4. A Flexi ring swivel which offers a full 360 degree movement and will ensure the bait will be easily sucked up by the fish and should be heavy enough to just anchor your cork ball bait.
5. The top bead can be positioned anywhere up the leadcore depending on the depth of the silt.
6. The hooklink should be no longer than 5ins and made up of a stiff mono or Fluorocarbon.
7. A big hook with a D-Rig knotlessknot or a Sneal Knot works best with this rig.
