There you have it, I hope that all makes sense, oh, and by the way, a further advantage gained by using my flexible 'Multi-Rig' version of the 'D', is if you need to change the hook for any reason, you simply reverse and repeat the process pictured and carry on fishing, something you can't do with a fixed 'D' without retying the complete rig.

Be lucky!

You'll notice the 'D' is created by tying off a piece of stiff line from the eye of the hook to the top of the bend, although that way of doing it does the job so far as creating the 'D' is concerned, the fixed position of the line at the top of the bend also presents a problem. Basically it gets in the way and can prevent the hook from achieving full penetration. If you look at the pictures below you'll see my version, also does the job but isn't fixed. And, because it isn't a fixed 'D', it also provides an opportunity for greater bait separation and ensures the hook achieves maximum penetration, both very important features when bites are hard to come by. The last thing you want is to prick the fish only to have it fall off because of a poor penetration and a weak hook hold.

The conventional way of presenting a hookbait is however, on the bottom. Purely I think because a great many anglers still have this vision of carp lying dormant on a soft silt bottom. I think that idea stemmed from carp being landed with leeches stuck to their bellies and around their mouth's. In actual fact leeches leap off of the bottom and attach themselves to the underside of carp while they rest, as I said earlier, in mid-water. I'm not suggesting there aren't times in winter when a carp might sit on the bottom for a while, but generally they spend the bulk of the time off of the bottom and for good reason. Cold water sinks, so a mid water position is going to hold the optimum temperature for a thermocline seeking creature like a carp. Despite that preference the bigger fish can be drawn down to feed if a regular supply of food is on their doorstep. Finding the holding area and keeping it supplied with food (birds
permitting!) is a must if you're going to have any chance of catching one of them, but the last piece in the jigsaw is the rig. Hopefully that's where I come in with the following suggestion.

The 'D'-Rig is a very efficient way of presenting a pop-up, because set up right, it can make it difficult for a carp to avoid getting hooked should it try to eject the hookbait. That's why when you're relying on very short feeding spells in winter, this type of rig comes into its own. A long shank hook has got to be the best pattern for the 'D'-Rig and ESP have recently launched their new 'Long-Shanx' hook which is perfect. Generally the 'D' is tied similar to the one shown in the picture of The Standard 'D'-Rig on the right.

depending on the stock level and size of the fishery, there could be several shoals. In a sparsely stocked fishery there will very likely only be one, possibly two shoals. Whatever the case may be, you need to find out where those shoals are holding up before you even wet a line, otherwise you could spend three long cold months just camping!

Once you find the fish you can concentrate on encouraging a few of them to drop down from mid water where they spend most of their time resting; to pick up your hookbait. You can of course plumb the depth of water where they're held up and present a pop-up on a 'Zig Rig' in mid-water, but it takes a man with divine confidence to actually do it. Having said that, if the water you fish allows three rods in winter, it's well worth trying a mid-water bait presentation on at least one of them. In fact, a grain of the excellent Enterprise Tackle imitation corn (glowing) mounted on the hair with a buoyant half boilee underneath it, is well worth a go.

Sean Bevan has been onto me for I don't know how long to put a few rig tips on the website, it's not that I couldn't be bothered to do something, but when you write a 3,500 word column called 'Rig World' for a national magazine each month, it's hard to fire up the enthusiasm to write more! Having made my pathetic excuse, here's a tip for this winter, STAY INDOORS BY THE FIRE! No, not really!

A highly attractive hookbait fished on its own in wintertime really is a good bet, particularly a white coloured pop-up. A white bait really does stand out on any bottom even when viewed from an aerial position, how do I know that? Well I was fishing on a 3.5ft deep gravel area last winter with a white pop-up when a passing seagull stopped in its tracks, hovered for a few seconds about 30ft above it, then tipped up and dived bombed straight into the water and took it off the bottom. Not once, not twice, but three times! That convinced me that a white hookbait is all you need to catch the eye of a carp in the vicinity of where you're fishing. Talking of which, for those of you that are new to carp fishing, carp gather into shoals in winter and