How To Tie The Blowback DF Rig

Rigs Beginner

The Blowback Rig remains one of the most effective, long-standing carp rigs for presenting bottom baits and wafters. Its design creates an anti-eject effect that makes it incredibly difficult for carp to shake the hook. Despite its effectiveness, it is relatively simple to tie with minimal components. Follow this step-by-step guide from the Korda team to master the Blowback Rig and improve your presentation.

You will need:

20lb Hybrid Stiff

Size 6 Wide Gape Hook

Medium Shrink Tube or a Kicker

Hair Stops

Small Rig Ring

Razorblade Scissors

Baiting Needle

Krimp Tool

Large Krimps

Pulla Tools

Step 1

Strip the last six inches from some Hybrid Stiff coated braid

Cut off 14 inches of Hybrid Stiff and then use your Strippa Tool to remove the last six inches of the coating.

This Blowback Rig is tied using Hybrid Stiff with some of the outer coating removed to give it free movement and make it a very effective rig

Step 2

Tie a knotless knot onto a Wide Gape hook, leaving an inch of stripped braid above the eye

Take a Wide Gape hook – of a size suitable for the hook bait, a six is popular – and thread the stripped braided part of the Hybrid Stiff through the eye from front to back. Tie a knotless knot so that there is roughly 1 inch of braided section between the hook eye and where the coated section begins, once the knot is finished and pulled down tight.

This highly effective rig is tied using a simple knotless knot with a supple exposed part of the hooklink material between the eye of the hook and where the coating starts

Step 3

Create a kicker using a piece of shrink tube - or use a Korda Kicker

Cut off a piece of shrink tube of around 1cm and thread it onto your hook link and down over the eye, then use steam from a kettle to shrink it securely over the eye and so that the piece protruding along your hook link has a bend in it that will help the hook to flip over. Instead of shrink tube you can use a Korda Kicker to do the same job.

A small piece of shrink tubing over the eye of the hook creates a more aggressive angle and increases the chances of the hook point catching in the bottom lip

Step 4

Thread a rig ring onto your hook and around the bend until it is positioned opposite the barb and secure with an overhand knot

Pass a small Rig Ring over the point of your hook and round the bend until it is positioned opposite the barb. Thread your hair through the Rig Ring and tie a simple overhand knot, so that once that has been tightened, the ring is sitting in the correct place, which optimises the hooking potential of this rig.

A micro rig ring is positioned on the shank opposite the barb and can freely slide up and down - hence the name, Blowback Rig

Step 5

Tie a hair loop that sets the separation you want between the bait and the bend of the hook

Tie a loop in the end of your braided hair using a simple overhand loop knot – it needs to be large enough to fit a hair stop through it. The length of your hair is determined by the size of hook bait you intend to use, and also the separation you want between the bait and the bend of the hook. A centimetre or so is a good option for a buoyant bait like a snowman, as it gives plenty enough movement for the rig mechanics to work effectively – on a bottom bait you can go even longer if you wish to.

Tie a loop, leaving your hair long enough for your hookbait to sit the desired distance away from the bend of the hook

Step 6

Thread the other end of the Hybrid Stiff through a Krimp and a QC Swivel

Thread the other end of the Hybrid Stiff material through one barrel of a 0.6mm Krimp (small), then back through the other barrel, so that it forms a small loop, which you can attach to a QC Swivel, and which allows you to quickly change the hook link.

Create a loop in the other end of your hooklink, using a crimp - this can be attached to a QC swivel using an anti tangle sleeve

Step 7

Use a Krimp Tool to crimp it securely and to set the length of hook link to exactly what you want

Take a Korda Krimp Tool and carefully locate the crimp into the correct size slot, making sure that it is sitting flush, otherwise you won’t get a good connection and it is likely to fail. Squeeze the Krimp Tool firmly to crush down the crimp. It is important to note that Hybrid Stiff is the only coated braid that can be crimped and will give a reliable, strong connection.

Unlike others coated braids such as N-Trap, Hybrid Stiff can be crimped and makes the Blowback Rig very easy to construct

Step 8

Use two Korda Pull Tools to check that everything is secure and won't slip under pressure

Use two Korda Pulla Tools – one in the crimped loop and the other around the bend of the hook and steam the hook link straight over a kettle, also give it a good pull to test the crimps – if they are going to slip or fail it will happen now, so is worth testing them properly.

Steam your Blowback Rig hook link straight using Pulla Tools, and also test that it has crimped securely

Step 9

Add your choice of hook bait - this rig works very well with a snowman (a bottom bait and a small pop-up)

To use this rig with a snowman hookbait, take a bottom bait and use a pair of Razor Blade scissors to cut a small slither off of it, leaving a flat side. Now do the same with your pop-up – usually a smaller size pop-up is used than the bottom bait, e.g. 14mm and 18mm, and hence the name ‘snowman’. Thread a Braided Hair Needle through the pop-up, so it protrudes through the centre of the flat section, then push it through the bottom bait, starting in the centre of the flat section, such that the two flat sides are sitting neatly against each other. Thread this onto your hair and add a Hair Stop to secure your hook bait in place.