Here is my favourite carp rig. I think this is the best rig I have used so far. Carp love hemp and many anglers use it to create a bed of bait, but most carp anglers don't fish with it on the hook. This means a lot of carp have learned to associate hemp as safe to feed on. If this critically balanced hemp rig is set properly it can be very effective when placed on top of a bed of hemp.

Why Not Try It?

Advanced Hemp fishing carp rig complex

How to create the critically balanced hemp carp rig.

For this carp rig I used a Korda long shank hook size 6, the hook link is Merlin 15lbs. The length of the hook link material will depend on the fishing situation you encounter. The hair is made of 5lb mono line.

How to make the complex Hemp Carp Rig - threading on fake hemp

Care should be taken when threading the fake hemp onto mono line. The enterprise brand of fake hemp is hard rubber and it is very difficult to get the needle through. I did find that the white area seems to be slightly softer. SAFETY!!! If you cannot protect your thumb and fingers when threading on the fake hemp, then I recommend you find a way to glue the hemp to a hair!

Add sponge to the hair to balance buoyancy

Thread hair through hook rubber then through its eye. I also thread it back through the rubber, this keeps the hair long and enables me to break this rig down (if hook becomes blunt) and create another hemp rig without having to thread on new fake hemp pieces.

Trimming the sponge to control rig buoyancy in water

I trim the sponge and test the carp hemp rig for buoyancy. You can add sponge or a shot to the front of this carp rig to control exactly how it behaves in the water. Click here for details on changing the hemp rigs buoyancy!

Critically balancing the complex hemp rig in water

Adjust the buoyancy until the hemp pieces sink very slowly to the bottom. You can add weight or sponge to the loop at the front to control how the hemp rig pivots in the water.

Overhead view of Hemp rig in water perfectly balanced

An overview of how the finished hemp rig looks in water. To help hide the size of the hook used I always surround this carp rig with lots of free hemp and particles. In fact, it's much better to cast it out in a PVA bag or dynamite stick full of hemp particles. Yes, it is possible to put hemp in a PVA bag without it melting!

Here's how it looks:

Hemp carp rig hidden inside hemp from PVA bag

Inject oils & flavours to the hemp rig for additional carp attraction

When ready don't forget to add liquid attract the carp. I prefer to soak them for a few days, this is the reason I prepare most of my carp rigs at home.

Adjusting the Buoyancy of the Hemp Rig

Adding the sponge to the hemp rig to increase its buoyancy.

Or can add shot / putty to drop end of hemp rig down further.

Loop & sponge for increasing buoyancy in water

The idea of having a small loop at the front of the hair is to gain complete control of how the hemp rig behaves in the water; such as how fast the rig sinks and how its pivots and lays on the bottom.

View the Complex Hempseed Fishing Rig!

Placing sponge in loop of hair on carp rig

It's not east to insert a small piece of sponge into a small loop, with a bit of fiddling it can be worked in.

Sponge ready for trimming

Always add more sponge than required, then you can trim it down until it behaves exactly how you want it to.

Trim the sponge to decrease buoyancy

Trim the sponge a bit at a time.

Carp rig hair ready for adding liquid oils

Adding sponge to the front loop of the hemp rig increases its buoyancy and will alter how it pivots in the water. If the fake hemp alone causes the front of the hemp rig to pivot too far you can squash on a small shot in the loop. this will drop the front down.

Our Complete Critically Balance Hemp Fishing Rig is Shown in More Detail Here!

Choose which flavours you wish to add to attract big carp