What is the purpose of a kicker and how to incorporate them into your carp rigs

The use of ‘kickers’ in carp fishing rigs has been around for years, even if they weren’t necessarily called that back then.

A lot of carp rigs rely on the hook flipping over and taking hold when the hook link tightens, in terms of the mechanics of them.

This is often more pronounced where a hook with some sort of in-turned eye has been used, as the angle that the hook link exits at causes the hook to flip over, and hopefully take a hold in the mouth of the carp, as soon as any pressure or movement is applied, such as the fish picking up the rig and tightening it against the lead. This set-up is designed so that as soon as the fish sucks in the bait the hook will flip over and catch hold straightaway.

So whatever type of rig you are using, consider whether the simple addition of a kicker could make it even more efficient in hooking carp, or more user-friendly in terms of being able to get a bait back out faster after you’ve caught one.

Why use a kicker?

Back in the 1980s some anglers and rigs took these rig mechanics to extremes, with the famous ‘bent hook’ rig, which was initially a home-made variation achieved by bending a long shank hook in a very aggressive way, and later with commercially available bent hook patterns, but use of these eventually stopped over concerns that they caused excess mouth damage to the carp.

This bent shank caused the hook to flip over even faster and more aggressively than an in-turned eye and anglers quickly came up with alternatives that created the same effect but were much more fish-friendly, and less prone to causing damage.

The easiest way to do that was via some sort of shrink tubing, which could be steamed into the right shape to cause the fast rotation of the hook under hook link tension, but during the fight they would straighten and not act any differently to a normal hook of the same type, in terms of the potential for doing damage.

Back then they weren’t called kickers, but they did exactly the same thing and the reasons for using them were exactly the same as today, but now rather than having to make your own, you can buy various different types of kickers in a packet all ready to go, and the perfect length and angle for the rig you’re intending to use them with.

These ready made kickers are so easy to use, and simply slide onto your rigs, without the need to cut anything to length or steam it into shape.

Korda Kickers improve hooking efficiency by creating an aggressive hook angle that helps it to flip and turn when a fish takes the bait.

It isn’t just the mechanics of a rig either that these kickers can change, but also how visible it is, and whilst some anglers try to hide everything as much as possible with green or brown coloured kickers, brightly coloured ones that might visually attract the attention of a carp are also available in colours such as yellow, pink or white, or where they are being used to mimic something such as a bloodworm or maggot and are red coloured, such as the Korda Bloodworm Red Kickers.

Making your own kickers and line aligners from shrink tubing

The original ‘kickers, were just a piece of shrink tubing pushed over the eye of the hook and then steamed to secure it in place and to bend it to the desired angle, depending on the type of rig.

This could be anything from a very short piece of shrink tubing with a slight in-turn, all the way through to long and very aggressively shaped set-ups, such as the famous Withy Pool Rig from back in those days which had a really long and curved extension to the hook shank.

A popular adaptation of a home-made kicker back in those days was the line aligner set-up, which the late great Jim Gibbinson was involved in bringing to the masses via his writing.

A line aligner was the same piece of shrink tubing, but the hook link exited via a small hole in the side of the tubing rather than out of the end of it, and this made the set-up more aggressive, especially when using some sort of braided hook link or standard mono.

This line aligner style of set-up is still very popular with anglers today, including the likes of Darrell Peck where it features in his highly effective and easy to use Combi Multi Rig. Although there are now specially shaped kickers for that rig that do exactly the same thing as the shrink tubing that Darrell previously used, and are ready to go straight out of the packet and can simply be pushed over the eye of your hook, and with no steaming or line aligning necessary.

Perfect Korda kickers straight out of the packet

Ready-made kickers, such as the Korda ones, are made from soft rubber that is easy to slide over the eye of the hook – different sizes are available to match your hook size – and unlike shrink tubing kickers which are single use, this means that they can be used straight out of the packet, with no need for steaming, and can subsequently be used multiple times on new rigs or when you change the hook.

Korda kickers are pre-formed, angled rubber sleeves used in carp fishing to enhance the ability of the hook to catch hold in the mouth of the carp, and they are ready to use straight out of the packet.

All you have to do is slide them over the eye, and this makes them ideal for use with set-ups such as the Ronnie rig - where the kicker snugly sits correctly over the spinner swivel and onto your hook - or any sort of multi rig, where you are changing the hook often and relying on a kicker of some sort to hold it in place in the correct position. It is much quicker and easier than using shrink tubing each time that is for sure. These Korda Kickers are re-useable and durable, made from robust rubber that returns to its original shape even after being pulled straight under tension during a fight.

As well as the original Korda Kickers, there is also a Combi Multi Kicker which is manufactured to Darrell Peck’s exact requirements and has the same dimensions and angle as the piece of shrink tubing he used before these were available.

Again, they are designed to be multi use and to make it even quicker and easier to change the hook, and you can either thread them on as they are, or if you prefer, you can line align them by using a baiting needle so the hook link exits out of the side of the rubber near to the end of it.

Just like with a piece of shrink tubing, although these kickers create aggressive hook shank extensions, once a carp is hooked they pull straight and this greatly reduces the chances of the hook winding into the mouth, as could happen with the bent hooks of old.

Korda D-rig kickers

The success and popularity of the original Korda Kickers led to the development of a D-rig version, designed to make it as easy as possible to set up this rig.

Usually to tie a D-rig you need to either use whipping knots to form the D section, or use a lighter to blob the tag end of a knotless knot, depending on the exactly shape and positioning that you are trying to achieve – with the blobbed version this tends to be used with small/short Ds. These D-rig Kickers have been designed to make it easier to use this rig without having to tie a whipping knot or burn the tag end of the D to hold it inside the eye.

The D-rig Kicker is a big favourite of Korda boss Danny Fairbrass, who has long been a fan of using hugely effective D-rigs in general, such as his original IQ D-rig - the D-rig has been used by anglers like Danny for many years and is considered one of the best hooking rigs - and this kicker straight out of the packet makes it incredibly easy to set up, whilst also extending the shank/eye and helping to ensure the hook flips over in the mouth.

With one of these D-rig Kickers you simply add your choice of rig ring swivel or bait screw to it, depending on your preference and to enable you to attach your hookbait easily, and then push both ends of it over the hook and slide it into position, with different sizes available depending on your choice of hook.

These D-rig kickers help you make a perfect wafter presentation to fish close to the lakebed in a matter of seconds, and are now popular with various rigs, including for creating a D set-up on Ronnie rigs, such as when using wafters, and can be used over and over again when you need to change the hook for a fresh one.

Korda Kickers, in their various forms are available in various sizes, so whatever situation you find yourself in you will find the right size D Rig Kickers to accommodate hooks you are using, or the other versions.