Choosing the Right Pop-Up Rig: Spinner vs Hinged Stiff vs Multi

In carp fishing, there is rarely an absolute way of doing something that everybody uses, and that is especially true when it comes to rigs.

If you asked several top anglers what the best rig was, they’d probably all answer differently – even if they chose the same type of rig, they might fish it at a different length or use a particular pattern of hook they have confidence in. You’re unlikely to get the same answer from every angler on many questions about carp-fishing tactics.

That very much applies to pop-up rigs, and not just in terms of the type of rig, but how each angler actually fishes it, and what decision process they have gone through when deciding to use that exact rig.

Here we take an in-depth look at three of the most popular dedicated pop-up rigs – the Ronnie/Spinner, Hinged Stiff and Multi – and compare how they work, as well as the situations in which one might be more suitable than the others. These are part of a wide range of different rigs that carp anglers use, but are by far the most popular for pop-ups.

Why Use Different Types of Pop-Up Rig?

Whilst it is true that sticking to a particular rig that works can be a very good tactic, there will also be situations where the mechanics or presentation of that rig just don’t work very well

Many top anglers - such as Tom Dove with his spinner rig and Darrell Peck with his combi multi rig – will use the same set-up as much as they can, but are also very much aware of the fishing situations where they need to use something entirely different – rather than just tweaking their usual rig choice – and which is better suited.

The main factors that you will need to consider when deciding on which type of pop-up rig to use pretty much come down to the lakebed that you are fishing it on, and how high off the bottom you want your hookbait to be presented.

The Spinner, Hinged Stiff, and Multi rigs cover all of the situations you are going to find yourself in when fishing with pop-ups and conventional rigs – there are of course also chod rigs, but they are very different and not really a true comparison with these other pop-up presentations, nor interchangeable with them in most cases.

There are of course also variations on these popular rigs, whether that be anglers using their own favourite type of hook – although with some of these rigs it must be a specific shape to actually work, such as maybe needing an out-turned eye – or an alternative type of hook link material. Hinged rigs made with a softer boom material, such as a coated braid or more supple IQ2 fluorocarbon, are a popular choice, and plenty of anglers use a Ronnie rig set-up but without such a stiff boom section.

By knowing when it is best to use each of these rigs, that is pretty much all of your pop-up fishing covered, without ever having to need to learn other rigs for this hookbait type – unless of course something different and even more effective comes along.

Obviously these aren’t the only three pop-up rigs either, as you do have some more niche ones that have been around for years and which some anglers still use and find very effective – such as the Withy Pool rig – but have fallen out of fashion.

Which Pop-Up Rig Should You Use on Different Lakebeds?

What type of bottom you fish these rigs on is down to more than just the rig set-up alone, and will be affected by the lead system that you use.

It is important to think about that as it can drastically change how the rig sits on the bottom, where the lakebed isn’t clean, and some of these rigs – especially anything with a stiffer boom – can be awful in some situations, simply because the wrong type of lead set-up has been used.

So, when fishing these rigs over any sort of debris on the bottom, or where the lakebed is a bit softer, then a helicopter rig will give the best hooking potential.

If the lakebed is pretty much clear, then a lead clip, or even an inline lead, will give good presentation, as well as better hooking potential than a helicopter rig.

It isn’t just the lead system that debris on the lakebed might have an impact on, but also your choice of hook link material, and this is where variations of these rigs, especially the spinner and hinged stiff, often occur.

If there is something like silkweed growing on your spot, then fishing a very stiff boom on that can cause it to stick up at a funny angle and give awful presentation. So sometimes in this situation anglers will opt for a boom made from coated braid instead, which still is stiff enough to kick the hookbait away from the lead – whilst also giving enough movement if a fish picks up the bait and moves back towards the lead rather than away from it – but supple enough that it will roughly follow the lakebed contours, including over bits of silkweed.

So, within reason, you can actually adapt these rigs for most situations when you might opt for a pop-up.

You can of course fish them on clean gravel and some anglers do successfully, especially when doing so over a spread of boilies and where the carp are moving between each mouthful. But there are also times when a pop-up fished higher off of the bottom over gravel can make the fish very wary of picking it up.

How high you fish your hookbait off of the bottom will also at least in part be dictated by the make-up of the lake bed, and that will also determine which rig you opt for. Some pop-up rigs are designed for baits fished close to the bottom and basically popped up the length of the hook; whilst others like hinge rigs could see your bait several inches off of the bottom, and don’t really give the option of fishing lower lying pop-ups.

When you have a stiff hinge rig on, then the presentation is very different and actually very blatant, yet it is a set-up that has accounted for numerous big carp from some of the hardest lakes in the UK over many years – and in fact it is often seen as a big fish rig because it does often pick those out.

Ronnie vs Hinged Stiff vs Multi: Quick Comparison

When is a Ronnie/Spinner rig best?

The spinner rig is by far the most popular carp rig these days, and on a lot of lakes, the majority of anglers will be using one.

This isn’t because it will hook every carp that picks up your bait, but more so due to the combination of its mechanics, versatility, and ease of use, and anglers can cast it out knowing that it is fishing, and they have a decent chance of hooking and landing a fish on it.

When using this rig for pop-ups, the hookbait tends to be fished roughly the length of your hook shank off of the bottom – due to the fact that your rig putty or DM Balancing Weights will be attached to the special spinner swivel, which joins your hook to the boom.

Due to the rigidity of the boom material, and the way the rig is constructed, it is pretty much impossible to fish a spinner with a pop-up that sits higher off the lakebed.

This means that the rig works very well on a clean bottom, because the hookbait doesn’t look too obvious as it is still close to the deck, but can also be fished over very low lying debris, mud and the like, because the hookbait will still sit proud of it – although silkweed can interfere with the mechanics as the rig relies on the spinner swivel being able to rotate freely, which any weed or debris can prevent.

So, it really is a great all-round pop-up rig on any type of lakebed that doesn’t have sufficient debris that the rig will end up sunk into that. You can find out more in depth about exactly how to fish it, and all the tweaks you can make.

The Ronnie, or spinner, also has the advantage that it can be fished with any lead system, is pretty much tangle-free, and if it does get picked up and rejected, then it will re-set, so you are always fishing and in with a chance when you have it in the water.

Plus of course the ability to be able to change the hook very quickly and re-use all the other components over and over again.

Typically, anglers tend to fish it with a 5-6 inch stiff boom, but shorter or longer booms can be used depending on the situation – Danny Fairbrass loves a shorter boom when fishing on clean hard bottom and over tighter baiting with things such as pellets or particles mixed in with his boilies.

It can also easily be adapted by using coated braid instead of Boom fluorocarbon, and with Hybrid Stiff being a good option, or even N-Trap when using longer boom sections over a more uneven bottom.

In terms of hook patterns, this rig is very versatile and can be fished with almost any straight or in-turned eye hook, such as a Wide Gape, Krank, or Spinner. It is a fairly simple rig to tie, and once yo have the booms made they can be re-used multiple times.

When is a Hinged Stiff Rig best?

This type of rig was made famous by anglers such as Terry Hearn on famous lakes like Yateley back in the 1990s, yet can still be just as effective today.

It is one of those rigs which has never necessarily been seen as the best fish catcher, in terms of numbers, but it does seem to have a propensity for picking out the larger carp, and even some of those which don’t get caught often, and especially at certain times of the year.

A hinged stiff rig is actually far from subtle in terms of presentation, as it uses stiff materials for both the boom and the hook sections – although you can of course fish a soft hinge with a coated braid boom instead. The hookbait is usually sat 2-3 inches off the bottom, which makes it very obvious to a passing fish.

This is part of what makes it work though, the fact that the hookbait does stand out, and when that is coupled with a baiting style that gets the fish moving between each bait it picks up – fishing over throwing stick or catapulted boilies for instance. Yet can look terrible when used over a bed of particles where the bait is sat well above where the fish are actually feeding.

When it does get picked up, the mechanics are good, with plenty of movement and a hook that is set at an angle where it wants to turn – the stiff curved hook section is basically just an extension of the hook shank, and helps with the mechanics. This section is basically the same as a chod rig – but fished in conjunction with a boom – in terms of its shape and the fact it uses high memory materials such as Mouth Trap to allow you to shape it with just the angle of curve you require to make it sit perfectly. You even fish it with chod style hooks with an out-turned eye, which allows the rig to sit properly when using a very stiff bristle type filament.

Even where there is debris close to the bottom, the rig will still work well as you can make sure the hook and hookbait is sat above all of that. As well as adapting your boom material if you need something that will more closely follow the bottom contours or provide a bit more movement.

Whilst this rig is a popular spring time tactic, some anglers swear by it and will use it all year round, adapting it as they need to. It isn't as complicated to tie as it looks, if you follow this step-by-step guide. 

When is a Multi Rig Best?

A multi rig is very different to the other two, in that it doesn’t feature any sort of boom section, and is made from the same material throughout.

Rather than using some sort of stiff mono, the multi rig is made from coated braid, such as N-Trap, and for pop-ups the coating is generally left on, with just a small break being formed in the coating directly next to where your counterbalance putty will be moulded on (usually just below the loop knot that is used to make the hook changeable), which provides a hinge. This allows the rig to sit properly and with the hook at the correct aggressive angle, as well as allowing movement and rotation once the fish picks up the rig – a straight or in-turned eye would sit too aggressively when used with a coated braid, to the extent the hooking potential would be impeded.

This was one of the first types of carp fishing rig which allowed the hook to be easily changed and the hook link itself and other components to be re-used. This is done simply by using a figure-of-eight loop knot in the end of your coated braid, which is pushed through the eye and over the bend and point, to secure the hook but also make it very easy to take off and put on a fresh one, simply by reversing the process with the loop. This step-by-step guide shows you exactly how to construct a multi rig.

The length of that loop is what typically sets how far off of the bottom your pop-up actually sits, and it gives you plenty of versatility – although very low lying pop-ups aren’t really possible as the loop needs to be long enough to allow the hook change, and the putty is usually moulded around the knot, or on the single strand of hook link material behind the loop knot.

This is also why you need that out-turned eye, as double up coated braid – as it is once the loop is tied – is stiff enough to make the rig sit horribly with other types of hook.

Although not as popular as it once was, it is actually a very versatile set-up in terms of the height you can fish your pop-up at, and also the fact that it can be used over all sorts of different lakebed types – providing you have the right lead system with it – thanks to the coated braid being a bit more supple than booms and more likely to follow the contours rather than sticking up.

It isn’t quite as tangle-free as a spinner rig though, nor does it have quite the same reset ability, or will push the hookbait away from the lead quite so aggressively. It is still a very good alternative though if you don’t want to use a Ronnie, but still want a versatile rig with a hook that can easily be changed quickly.

Do You Need to Know How to Tie All Three Pop-Up Rigs?

Whilst knowing all of these rigs, and not only how to tie them but also when best to use them, and how to tweak them, will definitely help make sure you always have a rig on that is fishing effectively, plenty of anglers will generally just know and use one, or maybe two of them.

The Spinner rig is arguably the easiest to tie, as it doesn’t even need to involve any knots, just two crimped connections and adding a few rig components, and this is the one that the majority of anglers will have as their main pop-up rig.

The multi rig is also relatively simple to tie, it just isn’t as fashionable these days; whilst hinged rigs are more complicated and do put some anglers off of even attempting to use one. It is still well worth learning how to tie them though as you could find ourself in a situation where you want to fish a pop-up but need it higher off of the deck than your Ronnie rig allows.

If you aren’t confident in tying these rigs yourself, or can’t quite work it out from a video or step-by-step guide, then the easiest option is to buy one of the ready-made versions to either use, or as something that you can copy.

All three of these rigs are available in a ready tied version within the Korda range, and using the same components that you’d be using to tie them yourself.

Ronnie vs Hinged Stiff vs Multi: Quick Questions

Which pop-up rig is best: Ronnie, Hinged Stiff or Multi?

There is no single best pop-up rig for every situation. The Ronnie or Spinner is a versatile all-round option, particularly when you want a low-lying pop-up and easy hook changes. A Hinged Stiff Rig is useful when you want the hookbait presented higher off the bottom, particularly over debris, while a Multi Rig offers considerable versatility in pop-up height and can follow uneven lakebed contours well when used with the appropriate lead system.

Which pop-up rig should I use on a clean lakebed?

A Ronnie or Spinner Rig is an excellent choice for a clean lakebed because the hookbait can be presented relatively close to the bottom without looking too obvious. A lead clip or inline lead can also provide good presentation and hooking potential on a clean bottom. Other pop-up rigs can also be effective depending on how high you want the bait to sit and how the fish are feeding.

Which pop-up rig is best over weed or debris?

The best pop-up rig over weed or debris depends on the type and amount of debris and how high you want the hookbait to sit. A Hinged Stiff Rig can present the hook and bait above debris, while a Spinner or Multi Rig can also be adapted for different lakebeds. A helicopter lead system can improve presentation over debris, and coated braid can sometimes be preferable to a very stiff boom because it follows the contours of the lakebed more easily.

How high does a Ronnie or Spinner Rig present a pop-up?

A Ronnie or Spinner Rig normally presents a pop-up roughly the length of the hook shank off the bottom. Because of the rigidity of the boom and the way the rig is constructed, it is difficult to fish a Spinner with a pop-up significantly higher off the lakebed.

How high does a Hinged Stiff Rig present a pop-up?

A Hinged Stiff Rig will typically present a pop-up around 2 to 3 inches off the bottom. This makes the presentation relatively obvious compared with a low-lying pop-up, but it can be highly effective when the baiting situation suits it, particularly when carp are moving between individual boilies rather than feeding tightly over a bed of particles.

Why use a Multi Rig instead of a Ronnie Rig?

A Multi Rig offers greater versatility in the height at which a pop-up can be presented and its coated braid construction can follow uneven lakebed contours better than a very stiff boom. It also allows the hook to be changed quickly while reusing the hook link and other components. A Ronnie Rig is generally more tangle-free, has better reset ability and more aggressively kicks the hookbait away from the lead, so the choice depends on the fishing situation.

Can you use a Ronnie Rig over weed?

A Ronnie Rig can be used over some types of weed and low-lying debris, but silkweed and other debris can interfere with the spinner swivel rotating freely, which is important to the rig's mechanics. In these situations, a different boom material such as coated braid may improve presentation, or another pop-up rig may be more suitable depending on the lakebed.

Do I need to learn how to tie all three pop-up rigs?

You do not necessarily need to use all three pop-up rigs. Many anglers mainly use one or two, with the Ronnie or Spinner being particularly popular because it is simple to construct and versatile. However, knowing how to tie and adapt all three can be useful because it gives you options when the lakebed, debris, baiting situation or required presentation height makes your usual rig less suitable.