Zig rigs: what are they and how to use them

When the carp first start waking up, and as the water warms up throughout the spring, there will be periods of time when they aren’t anywhere near the lake bed, even at night, and especially so on any deeper venues.

This is where a zig rig really comes into its own, as it allows you to effectively present a bait anywhere in the water column inbetween the bottom and the surface, where any other methods of fishing aren’t really possible – in theory float fishing does of course allow you to do that, but in practice has limited range and also drifts around all over the place.

How do zig rigs work?

Whilst a zig rig might not look great and could leave you wondering why on earth a carp would ever eat the hook bait in the first place, as it looks so unnatural and is often just a piece of coloured foam with no flavouring, it certainly does work and at times can be deadly night or day, and is the difference between blanking and catching a load. It is also a method that can be used to target even the biggest carp, and not just on higher stocked venues for smaller fish.

Zig rigs have actually been around for years in various forms, even going back to the 1960s or earlier, when anglers used to fish anchored pieces of crust on the surface, which is basically an over-depth zig; and then a decade or two later at the famous Layer Pits venue in Essex where fishing baits mid water become very popular and caught a lot of carp.

In its simplest form a zig rig is basically a very long hook link – usually of lighter mono such as Zig Line, and a smaller hook such as a Korda Mixa, so it is less obtrusive in the water column – with a buoyant hook bait, meaning that it pops straight up off of the bottom from whatever type of lead system you are using. The depth it is fished at is set by how long you tie the hook link – the fish can be anywhere in the water column and do move around within that, but often a good starting point is one-third of the way below the surface, so in 9ft of water you would start with a 6ft zig.

Work the layers as conditions change

As conditions change, or throughout the day with varying light levels, or even after catching a carp at a certain depth, the fish can change depth, and sometimes a small tweak to your rig length of even six inches to a foot can suddenly make a difference and result in a bite.

This means that it can be a very active way of fishing, as you not only have to put your zig rigs in areas where the carp are moving, in order to have any chance of actually getting your hook bait in front of a fish, but also have to make sure that when you do find such an area – usually this can be quite a sizeable area that the fish are patrolling and moving around in rather than having to pinpoint a spot - you are actually fishing at the right depth.

Fixed zig rigs can be very effective, especially on shallower lakes of up to 10-12ft deep, but they also have their disadvantages, with the main ones being that playing fish, and especially netting them, on such long hook links can be very difficult. It also means that every time you want to change the depth you are fishing at, you have to wind in, change the hook link, and cast back out.

Adjustable zig rigs with a Korda Zig Float are much more versatile than fixed ones

In any situation where you are fishing with longer hook links on your zigs, and especially once you get beyond 9-10ft, a far better option is to use an adjustable zig rig.

This basically involves having a clear Zig Float on your line in front of your lead and then a hook link of 3-4ft coming off of the top of that, such that the float is popped up as well and allows you to fish at any depth – even 30-40ft or more on very deep lakes – with the hook bait sat a few feet higher in the water column than your float is. Because you are using a shorter hook link and the line can run through the lead, it makes it much easier to play fish as once you hook one the float ends up against the lead.

How to set an adjustable zig at the right depth

To get everything set at just the right depth you need to know exactly how long your hook link is, and then once you cast out you let the float up all the way to the surface – a pair of binoculars helps – and then pull it down a foot at a time. So, if you are using a 4ft hook link and want to fish 6ft below the surface, you pull it down by 10ft – the first 4ft pulls the float under until your hook bait is just on the surface, then the other 6ft you pull it down by sets the depth.

The big advantage with this is that you can easily adjust the depth that you are fishing at, without any need to recast, simply by letting out a bit more line or pulling the float down closer to the bottom, so you can really work the water column.

Bites on zig rigs tend to be very finicky, as the fish is hooking itself up in the water and your line is going down to the bottom and then through a lead and back to you, and will often involve just one or two bleeps, or you might even just see your rod tip pull down slightly or bounce, so don’t wait for a screaming take, as the carp can get often rid of the hook due to the amount of movement it has between it and the lead.

What type of hook baits should you use for zig fishing?

In terms of hook baits for zig fishing, you want something that stands out, but maybe not too much, and is also buoyant and won’t take on water and sink.

A lot of anglers favour pieces of foam - such as the Korda Zig Foam which is ultra buoyant - and whilst brighter colours like red and yellow can work, black is also incredibly effective, even at night, or a combination of colours can be used. These pieces of foam can be soaked in liquid attractors such as Supreme Goo and will take on some of the smell, or you can smear on some Smoke Goo (the thicker version that has a higher viscosity) before casting out.

You can also use pop-ups if you are looking for something with a bit more smell and flavour leak-off, although it is best to stick to small ones such as 12 or 13mm, and they need to be buoyant enough that they stay popped up and can easily lift the weight of the hook and hook link.

In situations where there aren’t hordes of small silver fish present, you can make your hook bait stand out even more with the addition of pieces of worm or maggots, so that the movement from them wriggling will also get the attention of any passing carp.