The zig rig in its most basic form has been used by carp anglers for many years. The likes of the infamous Jack Hilton and co were using them many years ago. Anchored crust being a commonly used approach which in today’s terms would be classed as a zig rig. So it’s fair to say that since the first time it was used the zig rig have accounted for thousands of carp over the years. The anchored crust method was used throughout the duration of the trip - may it be day or night. Just think in recent years how many people use zig rigs all night? From experience I know that black baits suspended high up in the water column can produce takes when fishing on the bottom is quiet. I have found that dark colours to be the best in low light levels, this is because it silhouettes against the sky far better than bright colours so therefore is more visual. Also from my trout fishing days I would employ the tactics... ''if it's bright then use white and if it’s dull then use dark''.
My dad Graham told me a particularly interesting account of when, way back in the early eighties, zig 
rigs turned a seemingly blank winter trip on Bysen Wood in Faversham, into a productive session. After a cold night when the lake froze, which then luckily thawed out by early morning, my dad and his fishing partner at the time Sam Fox (not the model) couldn’t buy a bite. It wasn’t until my dad found some old polystyrene on the floor and stuck it on his 15inch hooklenth making it pop up straight off the lead that the bites started immediately. Once they both switched over to this method they enjoyed hectic action on a cold winter’s day which in my mind was top angling. I think that the carp had simply come off the bottom due to the influx of freezing cold melted ice water. I have witnessed this many times myself, even in my garden pond which when water colder than it is at the bottom layer enters the water; it causes fish to find a more suitable resting place. The sun's warmth on bright sunny days be it at any time of the year can attract carp like magnets. On deeper lakes this can present a real problem when targeting them on the bottom simply because there is more depth or water between the carp and your hookbaits. Air pressure also plays a big part of the depth carp like to frequent. I use a little digital barometer to tell me what the air pressure is doing. All year round carp will spend an awful lot of time in what I call their comfort zone. I have read accounts of this happening over the mighty lake Cassien in France where winter captures are generally in shallower waters. So what with the sun and air pressure making it hard to tempt them on the bottom then zig rigs may be the answer to putting more fish on the bank.
This summer I had a great time perfecting my zig rigs and catching loads of carp along the way, fishing a nice deep clear gravel pit, in my eyes perfect zig territory. Two incidents stand out above all as
being the most interesting. The first one was when I was looking down at my mates zig rig - a bright yellow pop up a few feet under the surface. I had told him where to cast it as from my vantage point I could see carp after carp crossing over the same point. Once his rig was in place the first carp went straight up to his bait and was so close to being hooked but at the very last second it violently turned its head just in time so as not to get hooked. From then on every single carp made a direct line to investigate his bait. The second incident was on another deep clear pit but this time I was dangling with my mate James ‘Vinny’ Vincent. After a morning of serious banter, we noticed the carp were using the upper layers. A swap from bottom baits to adjustable zigs was called for. Luckily for us the fish were at close range. After only a few minutes I could see a carp taking my bait and swimming down with it in its mouth. I was sure it was going to hook itself at any time but after it swam a few feet it simply spat my bait out. This occurred regularly throughout the day and only a few unlucky carp were banked. Also another point I should raise was that I was using mono mainline and Vinny was using braid. The amount of pick ups that registered on 
his bobbins compared to mine was amazing. I know that a few of them were liners but a lot of the time we could see carp getting away with it. He would get a short flurry of bleeps as apposed to me who had no indication or if I was lucky, a single bleep indicating yet another carp laughing at me. This convinced me to change over to braided mainline when zigging. So next time out fishing adjustable zigs, I was yanking my braided mainline down with my hand every time I got a few bleeps as apposed to striking which tended to spook the swim. Another advantage of my non-striking method was that if the fish was missed, the bait could float back up to the same spot. I went on to convert so many more picks up's because I was actually pulling that hook down and home. The way the carp were going down with the bait in their - mouth I decided to wrap a few turns of lead wire around the hooklength about 8inches from my hook. The idea of this is so that pressure is always being applied to the hook hold rather than having a bow of slack line caused buy the carps movements. Many of today’s popular bottom bait rigs have some sort of added weight along the hooklenth resulting in the desired affect as I described above. Again I’m sure that these little edges have helped to put a few bonus fish on the bank.
The adjustable zig rig set-up I use is really simple (a bit like my dad's) so no need for stiff booms and loads of fiddly bits, its main 
criteria is to be tangle free. Firstly slide the lead of your choice, dependant on the distance being fished, on to your mainline; next you add a small bead and then the important bit a large Fox inline sunk float as used for pike fishing. You attach this on wide end first so the silicon sleeve fits over your swivel making it semi-fixed and safe. Now tie on hooklenth knotless knot style or like I have done in the picture using a palomer knot with fluorocarbon, I advocate the use of a fine diameter line and make it exactly three feet long. This is done so I know exactly how much line I have to adjust so that my hookbait is presented at my chosen depth. The hooks I prefer tend to have a nice wide gape so the hooking potential is greatly improved. Also I found that by using a hook with a larger gape improves hook holds and since I change over to a JRC MBT Connect 4 in a size 8 or a JRC MBT Connect 1 in size 10
I have hardly lost a fish. I wonder if you could get away with a big hook if you used really buoyant baits like we do when using cork ball pop up and chod rigs? This would certainly improve hooking potential and I think bigger hooks don’t have the same tendency to pull out during a fight than small hooks do.
Hookbaits have to be really buoyant especially when using the lead wire trick. I personally use plastic or pre-soaked foam/cork so that it can’t take any more liquid on; therefore once submerged the buoyancy stays the same. The liquids I soak the baits in vary anything from Tesco summer fruits cordial to the same attractor package that I use within my boillies. You can also use neat flavours as used in boillie making but be careful not to over do it with them because unlike bait soaks/dips they are very potent. Over powering you hooks bait can have an adverse effect actually repelling the carp as apposed to attracting them. I found it best to dilute these types of flavours with water or a bait dip/soak that are widely available because it can’t be over dosed. I start by adding a small measure of 
the neat flavour to the diluted liquid, then slowly increase the dosage with each new batch until the optimum level is found. Make sure that you record the levels used each time so that you can remember the results at each stage and determine which amount worked best. I use the excellent hairs stops made from Pro-Tech that are umbrella shaped and are available in a wide array of colours. The hook-bit of the hair stop pulls into the bait, and the head has a larger than normal surface area compared to most bait stops. This also acts as a visual aid at the top of your chosen hook-bait. I use the white, yellow or red hairs stops to add a flash of colour to darker baits such as black/ brown foam or cork. For bright baits such as a yellow piece of foam or pop up I match the colours up, but you can also use a completely different coloured hair stop creating many different colour combinations.
Recently I have been playing about with maggot hookbaits combining both real and fake. I come up with an idea of using a mag-aligner/ maduser presentation. I am sure this method will prove to be far better than conventional baits but only the test of time will reveal the answers. Finally before the rig is cast, I cut a short bit of pva mesh and pass it through the eye of the swivel, and simply pass the hook through both of the pva tags. Once cast out it won’t tangle mid flight even in the strongest of headwinds or at long range. I then feather the lead just before it hits the lakes surface to 
again prevent tangles then just let the line slide threw your fingers until it stops taking line or you can see your float on the surface. Then you can wind it down to your lead and pay off line foot by foot until the desired depth is reached or the other way around wind it down in the same fashion. I would then adjust the depth ever hour or so until I get a response or if nothing occurs I would re-cast to a new area and start again.
Due to the way the carp were swimming downwards with the bait in there mouth, I decided
to wrap a few turns of lead wire around the hooklength, about 8inches from my hook. The idea of this is so that pressure is always being applied to the hook hold rather than having a bow of slack line caused but the carps movements. Many of today’s popular bottom bait rigs have some sort of added weight along the hooklenth resulting in the desired affect as I described above.
The most important aspect of zig rigging is the depth the bait is suspended at. By roving the rods about and adjusting the depths, carp can be caught even in the grimmest looking of conditions but make sure you take notes of the productive depth of the day. Bearing in mind that depths and spots can constantly change but that in it self is what makes fishing fun, the unpredictability of it. So get out there and have a go,
Be lucky and bag a big un.
Jed Kent.