I posted a basic hair rig a bit back and that is fine for most waterways. However, as carp catch on to certain rigs it may be necessary to change them to more advanced versions, which is exactly what the blowback rig is, a more complicated hair rig.
The idea behind the Blowback rig is that a fish can’t eject the hook, as the bait will move back down the shank on the ring leaving the hook free to grab hold without the fish being able to use the weight of the bait to blow the hook out. This is useful if you notice fish are grabbing a hair rig, yet managing to spit it out before the hook really sets.
The one I am going to show you is a bit more advanced but can be quite useful in some situations. Lets begin:
What we need
For this rig we will need, pliers/scissor, hook length/line, a hook (size 6, some people prefer long shank for these), shrink tube(may have to purchase on line 2.4 mm for size 6 hooks, 1.5 or 2mm rings, a lighter, and a pot of boiling water. I know, I know it sounds strange but it will all make sense shortly.
Step one Crush the barb
If you fish catch and release, please fish barbless hooks, or crush the barbs down.
Step 2 Cut the tube
Cut a small section of shrink tube off, you don't very much.
Place the tube on the hook shank as such, we will do more with this in a bit.
Step 3 Thread the line
Cut about 12-18 inches of line/hook length. Thread your line/hook length through the eye of the hook, from front to back, then pass it through the tube
pull about 2 inches through the tube and leave that end which we will call A alone for now.
Step 4 Snell the hook
Wrap the opposite end, we will call it B, around the shank of the hook and the line about 6 times, then pass end B through the eye of the hook from back to front.
Step 5Boil
Dip the hook into a pot of boiling water, this will allow the shrink tube to, well shrink to fit the shank snugly, which in turn will hold end A snugly to the shank.
Step 6 The one ring
Thread a small ring onto end A. This part is hard if your like me with fat fingers and two left feet. Trying to keep your fingers mostly dry and stay close to a surface like the table..if you drop these rings onto the carpet you can probably bet you lost it as they are small, the one in the picture is 1.5 mm.
Step 7 Secure end A
Bring end A back through the eye of the hook, from back to front. This step gets a little tricky so I will try my best to make it clear. Pull end A till you have a nice loop, you may need to adjust the shrink tube a bit to get it in position, it should look like the picture.
Now, move end B out of the way and grab the lighter. What you want to do is slowly melt end A till it is a blob near the eye of the hook, but you do not want to damage end B which is the mainline.
Like so
and that is your Blowback Rig, least the hard part.
Step 8 Attach the hair
take a separate short piece of line, say 1-2 inches and tie a small loop in one end as we did in the Basic Hair Rig tutorial. Thread the opposite end through the ring.
Pull it through till you have about 1/2 - 1 inch between the ring and the loop. Then tie a double overhand knot to secure it to the ring.
Trim any tag/stray ends and there you have it
The bait now has the ability to move up and down the shank of the hook, giving the fish less initial weight to use when trying to spit out a hook. Hopefully this tutorial helps, if you have any questions please feel free to post/ask.
The idea behind the Blowback rig is that a fish can’t eject the hook, as the bait will move back down the shank on the ring leaving the hook free to grab hold without the fish being able to use the weight of the bait to blow the hook out. This is useful if you notice fish are grabbing a hair rig, yet managing to spit it out before the hook really sets.
The one I am going to show you is a bit more advanced but can be quite useful in some situations. Lets begin:
What we need
For this rig we will need, pliers/scissor, hook length/line, a hook (size 6, some people prefer long shank for these), shrink tube(may have to purchase on line 2.4 mm for size 6 hooks, 1.5 or 2mm rings, a lighter, and a pot of boiling water. I know, I know it sounds strange but it will all make sense shortly.
Step one Crush the barb
If you fish catch and release, please fish barbless hooks, or crush the barbs down.
Step 2 Cut the tube
Cut a small section of shrink tube off, you don't very much.
Place the tube on the hook shank as such, we will do more with this in a bit.
Step 3 Thread the line
Cut about 12-18 inches of line/hook length. Thread your line/hook length through the eye of the hook, from front to back, then pass it through the tube
pull about 2 inches through the tube and leave that end which we will call A alone for now.
Step 4 Snell the hook
Wrap the opposite end, we will call it B, around the shank of the hook and the line about 6 times, then pass end B through the eye of the hook from back to front.
Step 5Boil
Dip the hook into a pot of boiling water, this will allow the shrink tube to, well shrink to fit the shank snugly, which in turn will hold end A snugly to the shank.
Step 6 The one ring
Thread a small ring onto end A. This part is hard if your like me with fat fingers and two left feet. Trying to keep your fingers mostly dry and stay close to a surface like the table..if you drop these rings onto the carpet you can probably bet you lost it as they are small, the one in the picture is 1.5 mm.
Step 7 Secure end A
Bring end A back through the eye of the hook, from back to front. This step gets a little tricky so I will try my best to make it clear. Pull end A till you have a nice loop, you may need to adjust the shrink tube a bit to get it in position, it should look like the picture.
Now, move end B out of the way and grab the lighter. What you want to do is slowly melt end A till it is a blob near the eye of the hook, but you do not want to damage end B which is the mainline.
Like so
and that is your Blowback Rig, least the hard part.
Step 8 Attach the hair
take a separate short piece of line, say 1-2 inches and tie a small loop in one end as we did in the Basic Hair Rig tutorial. Thread the opposite end through the ring.
Pull it through till you have about 1/2 - 1 inch between the ring and the loop. Then tie a double overhand knot to secure it to the ring.
Trim any tag/stray ends and there you have it
The bait now has the ability to move up and down the shank of the hook, giving the fish less initial weight to use when trying to spit out a hook. Hopefully this tutorial helps, if you have any questions please feel free to post/ask.