Helicopter rigs – what are they and how to use them for carp fishing

Helicopter lead systems are certainly nothing new in carp fishing, but they’re an incredibly effective way of fishing your rigs in certain situations, and with some set-ups they’re essential.

The helicopter rig has been around for decades, even within carp fishing, and prior to that was used by sea anglers, before some carp anglers spotted the potential and adapted them for their own fishing – one of the earliest versions was known as a ‘whirling Ted’ after the guy who first started using it on the famous Harefield Lake, in the Colne Valley.

Back in those days it is questionable just how effective they were, in terms of the components used and the way the ‘helicopter’ movement happened, and how freely the hook link could rotate. Plus, just how safe they were in terms of the lead or hook link ejecting in the event of a breakage, and so as not to leave a carp trailing around with all of it.

Early commercially available versions of it included the Tadpole Leads, which were sold by renowned carp tackle shop Leslie’s of Luton, and involved two ‘tadpole’ shapes rubbers on an extended wire stem that was part of the lead – basically your hook link swivel was placed onto the stem between these two rubbers, but didn’t rotate particularly freely, and with the types of hook links used back then (often Dacron or other braid), tangles were still frequent. But at least the hook link could fairly easily detach from the lead.

The CV Safety System, designed by CV Products, was another early version and a lot more versatile as rather than having to be positioned right by the lead, it could be moved up and down the tubing that it was intended to be used with and positioned well away from the lead, much like modern helicopter systems, and was also designed to be safe, in that the hook link could fairly easily detach from everything else.

Over the years since those early versions of the helicopter rig, things have come a long way, and it is one of the most popular and commonly used types of lead system available. But it still relies on the same principles, with your hook link freely revolving around your main line, tubing, or leader, like a helicopter, which not only helps to aid tangle free casting, but also can give more distance on the cast, due to how streamlined everything is, and how freely the lead can fly through the air without minimal forces to pull it off balance.

Why use helicopter rigs for carp?

Aside from potentially being able to cast a bit further with them and arguably being slightly more tangle-free than some other types of lead system, helicopter rigs offer some even bigger advantages.

The biggest reason for using one is the type of presentation that it gives when the lakebed isn’t clean, such as when fishing in silt, low lying weed, or other debris such as leaf litter, and especially if using any sort of stiffer hook link material.

With a lot of lead set-ups, such as lead clips or inline leads, if they land on a softer bottom and sink into it, then it will leave the hook link exiting at a funny angle, and not one that is conducive to getting picked up by a carp!

A stiff hook link with this type of lead system – where the lead has sunk right into the bottom - has a high chance of sticking up out of the soft lakebed and bent over in a curve, with the hookbait on the bottom close by, making it extremely obvious to any carp. As opposed to pushing the hookbait away from the lead and lying relatively flat along the bottom, as you would expect when casting it onto a firmer lake bed.

With a helicopter style of lead set-up you don’t get that though, as the hook link sits above the lead, and you can even position your lower bead/stop on your helicopter system to reflect the depth of silt or similar that you’re fishing in, ensuring that the hook link will always be laying on top of it and sitting properly so that it works effectively.

Disadvantages of using a carp heli rig

All lead systems have their disadvantages as well as positives, otherwise we would all be using the same one!

In the case of helicopter rigs, they tend to be much less efficient when it comes to hooking fish, due to the positioning of the hook link relative to the lead, and how far the fish needs to move before it even feels the full weight of the lead and hooks itself against that. Certainly so, if compared to the effectiveness of an inline lead, or even a lead clip, where the weight of the lead comes into play very quickly, and especially with shorter hook lengths.

Another disadvantage with a helicopter set-up – as we have seen on the Underwater films and which Danny Fairbrass and Tom Stokes discussed at great length (as Tom usually opted for a helicopter rig) – is that it is impossible to determine exactly how the hook link is going to end up sitting.

Whilst it can’t end up sticking up out of a soft lakebed like you can get when using other lead systems, it also won’t push out and away from the lead in the same way as you get with those. This means that it is perfectly possible for your rig and hookbait to actually land on top of your leader/main line/tubing, making it far less likely that a carp will pick it up – something that we’ve also seen happen a number of times on the Underwater filming when helicopter set ups have been cast out.

Leader/tubing or naked

There are systems – including the Korda Naked Chod System – which allow you to fish a helicopter rig ‘naked’ and directly on your main line without any sort of leader or tubing.

Whilst this has the advantage of being far less obtrusive on the lake bed, especially if using some sort of short fluorocarbon leader rather than just your standard mono main line, it also has the potential to put excessive pressure on your line from a funny angle, given the way that the swivel is sliding on your line.

In extreme circumstances that can even lead to breakages, especially in situations such as thick weed where the pressure on your mono ends up being from an extreme angle. Some anglers who do want to fish with a largely naked set-up will still incorporate a few inches of leadcore right above their lead, so that during the fight your hook link swivel is sat on this and is less likely to cause damage, as compared to being on bare mono.

Some sort of leader will protect your line, either made from leadcore or a fused one impregnated with Tungsten, like the Korda Dark Matter range which come with various helicopter set-ups already set-up on them and can simply be tied to your main line and a hook link and lead added to them. The same is true for leadcore if you don’t wish to construct your own helicopter system from the various rig components, and the Korda Kable range includes a couple of different types, including the very popular Heli-Safe System.

The same goes for using rig tubing, which can also protect your line as well as having other advantages over a naked set-up, and is useful on venues where leaders are banned. The Heli-Safe Tubing Kit means that you can fish this popular lead system in conjunction with rig tubing and comes with all the components that you need to make it work.

Carp helicopter rigs for chod fishing

One of the most popular uses of a helicopter rig, especially in more recent years, has been for fishing chod rigs.

It is perfect for this – and the only lead set-up that you can really use – as it allows the top bead to be adjusted so that the chod hook link can travel a long way back up the line or leader (depending if they’re fished naked or not) in situations where you are casting them into thicker weed and trying to present a pop-up hook bait on top of it all.

The actual helicopter set ups for fishing standard rigs are the same as those for use with chods, you simply just allow the chod rig to travel further back up the line to achieve the presentation that you’re looking for.

Although whatever you’re using it for, you want your top bead on your helicopter rig, the one which determines how far the hook link can travel back up the line, as close to the lead as is practical – the further away it is the less impact your lead has in terms of helping to hook any fish that picks up your bait. With chods fished further up your line or leader, you are largely relying on the weight and tension in that line/leader to help the hook take an initial hold as the fish lifts up off of the bottom with your hook bait and rig in its mouth.

Fish safety – dropping the lead and/or hook link  

Like with any type of lead system, the most important thing is that it is as safe for the carp as possible, in the event that your main line were to break.

With a helicopter rig, this means your hook link must be able to come free from your line or leader, so the fish is just left with your rig and there is a very low risk of that causing it to become tethered or doing any damage prior to it being able to get rid of the hook.

That is even more important if using any sort of leader or tubing, as the hook link must be able to detach from it and either slide off of the tubing or pass over the leader knot.

The easiest way to ensure that can happen is via the Korda No Trace beads, which are designed to be used as your top bead and will stop your hook link swivel travelling any further when you cast, but should your main line break, the split bead can easily pull off of the rubber it sits on, and fall off of your line/leader, leaving your hook link swivel – some sort of size 8 ring swivel is ideal, with the large ring being on your line – to easily pass over any leader knot and completely detach.

Depending on whether you are using your main line all the way through, or using some sort of leader, or even tubing, both the Leadcore Chod System and the Naked Chod System are the perfect choice for a safe helicopter set-up, and can be used with conventional rigs as well as chods.

As long as your rig can detach then you don’t have to drop the lead, but there are plenty of situations where it is a big advantage to be able to do so and will give you a much better chance of landing anything that you hook – especially when you consider that with a helicopter rig the pressure you’re putting on a fish during the fight is always at an angle, rather than directly through to your hook link swivel, like with any other type of rig where the swivel is attached to the end of your line.

The Korda Hele-Safe – or the more recently released Mini Heli-Safe version of it, which is more compact – is perfect for this as it will easily allow the lead to be released as soon as the hook link swivel is pulled against the top of the Heli-Safe system.

You can even adjust how easily it releases, by simply changing the spring inside the system, so that you are only jettisoning the lead when you really need to do so. Or you can add the collar which comes supplied in order to stop the lead coming off at all, leaving you with a neat way of attaching it, which is also versatile if you do suddenly find yourself in a situation where dropping the lead is advantageous, and can be achieved very quickly and without having to change your whole set-up.

This lead system can be used in any situation where you want to fish a helicopter set-up, and is strong enough for extreme range fishing and is able to take the force of the cast.

Whatever type of set up you opt for, always make sure that it is as safe as it can be, and the chances of a carp becoming tethered are reduced as much as is possible.