How to assemble a spinning rod for a beginner and what gear is needed to equip it

Texas rig

This equipment is one of the most popular, and its main advantage is the low level of engagement, which allows you to comfortably fish in difficult areas with aquatic vegetation, floating branches, stones and other obstacles.

An indispensable element of Texas equipment is an offset hook, mainly of the Wide Gap type. First, the offset sting with a wide bend is passed through the head of the bait, and then the entire body is inserted along the length of the hook.

In this case, the sting is most often not brought out at all, or is placed in a special recess in the bait. This allows you to avoid even light hooks, but due to the softness of the bait, the sting easily comes out of the “shelter” during the bite.

If you want to understand the topic of offset hooks in more detail, we recommend our review - offset hooks.

When using Texas equipment, many fishermen are faced with the problem that the silicone bait simply slides along the forend of the offset fisherman.

To prevent the silicone bait from coming off the hook, you can glue it with a couple of drops of high-quality glue.

In addition, many manufacturers place light springs in baits, and there are also improved hooks whose bending does not allow the bait to slip (for example, products from Gamakatsu).

We also recommend an article about installing offset hooks, where you will learn about the types of offset hooks, options for equipping them and other useful information

Tackle

Rod

Choice is most often a search for a compromise between different requirements. When fishing with a retractable rod, it should provide active animation of baits combined with sufficient power.

Length

A long stick will not allow you to ensure controlled play of the bait, while a short one will not allow you to make a long cast.

The optimal choice is a rod of 2.4-2.7 m.

Build

Slow and medium action will not ensure proper play of the bait and will make long-distance casting difficult.
An ultra-fast action will not allow you to control the movement of the fish when playing and will not provide a sharp hook.

For perch this is not so important, for pike, pike perch, and bersh it is important. Without a good hook, even a sharp hook will not penetrate their strong mouth. . Expert opinion Nikolay Mikhailovich Knipovich Zoologist, hydrobiologist

I am interested in fishing at a professional level.

For fishing on the outlet, choose a medium-fast system (moderate fast).

Expert opinion Knipovich Nikolai Mikhailovich Zoologist, hydrobiologist. I am interested in fishing at a professional level.

For fishing on the outlet, choose a medium-fast system (moderate fast).

Test

Universal, i.e. A spinning rod with a test of 7-40 is considered capable of handling most reservoirs that do not have beyond ordinary characteristics.
On small bodies of water without a fast current, where there is no need to cast a heavy sinker long-distance, the choice can be made on “light” with a dough of up to 20 g.
In large and deep reservoirs, the upper limit of the test can be 60 g.

We can recommend spinning rods that specialize in fishing with spaced rigs. These are the series:

Maximus Legend-X for beginners;
Maximus Black Widow for the more experienced.

These models have an optimal price-quality ratio.

Coil

The reel is matched to the fishing rod; there are no specific requirements for it. The main requirement for the spool capacity is laying 120-150 m of fishing line of the required section. For braids 0.12-0.14, a 2000 coil is suitable.

Main line

For off-line fishing, braided fishing line is used, which fully meets the requirements.

The cross-section of the fishing line is selected to match the maximum expected weight of the catch.

Sinker

The sinker when fishing with a lead is the most important part of the equipment. The shape of the sinker determines the success of wiring in a particular body of water:

A pond with difficult to pass places, overgrown with aquatic plants or snags, will require the use of a streamlined spindle-shaped or olive-shaped sinker.
In a reservoir with a bottom covered with sharp stones or shell rock, you cannot do without the use of a “Tyrolean stick”. Such a sinker does not drag along the bottom, but seems to hover above it, preventing the leash from rubbing against sharp objects.
For reservoirs with a clean bottom, sinkers of any shape are suitable.
In a fast current, you need sinkers that hold well at the bottom - flat, with spikes, with wings.

Hook

Straight hooks are selected for clear water, where the likelihood of snagging is low.
For difficult-to-pass places, offset hooks are chosen, the sting of which can be pressed against the body of the bait or hidden in it.

The hook size must match the size of the bait:

For vibrotails and twisters, the hook is selected so that the sting comes out of the body of the bait approximately in the middle of the body.
Slugs and short worms are placed with the head on the bend of a straight hook when fishing in clear water.
In hard-to-reach places, slugs and worms are placed on an offset hook.

Expert opinion Knipovich Nikolai Mikhailovich Zoologist, hydrobiologist. I am interested in fishing at a professional level.

An angler should have a large collection of hooks in his fishing box. It is better not to conduct theoretical research on the correspondence of the hook number to the size of the bait, but simply select a hook from the collection.

Theoretically, hooks numbers 6-10 are suitable for perch.

Leashes

Using rigid fluorocarbon fishing line as bait leaders has undeniable advantages:

rigid fluorocarbon line reduces the risk of overlapping and twisting of leads; fluorocarbon fishing line is invisible in the water, which is of great importance when presenting bait to wary fish; fluorocarbon does not lose its properties after prolonged use in water; Fluorocarbon is resistant to abrasion and sunlight.

Expert opinion Knipovich Nikolai Mikhailovich Zoologist, hydrobiologist. I am interested in fishing at a professional level.

A thick fluorocarbon leader 0.25-0.35 mm, along with the above-mentioned advantages, is likely to withstand the sharp teeth of a pike, i.e. it is more versatile than regular fishing line.

The leash must perform a safety function - to save the rest of the equipment from breaking in the event of a dead hook.

The leash for the sinker can be made of ordinary fishing line, the main thing is that it performs a safety function.

Texas rig sinker

Well-known bullet sinkers are used to load Texas rigs. The latter received this name due to the similarity of their body shape to the shape of a revolver bullet. The weight has a small axial hole through which the fishing line will pass. In the back of the bullet sinker there is a recess in which the offset eye will be hidden during wiring.

Previously, bullet sinkers were made only from lead, but now you can find products made from metals such as tin, brass, and steel. Excellent compact weights are made from tungsten, although they tend to be somewhat more expensive than others.

For information on how to choose a jig head for equipment, and what kind of jig sinkers there are in general, see our review - link.

Texas rig wiring

As for the wiring method, in the case of Texas equipment, a “step” is used. When the bite is bad, they practically do not make the “step” itself, but simply lower the bait to the bottom of the reservoir, and then animate it by lightly swaying the tip of the rod. In other cases, when moving in steps, the bait does not touch the bottom at all.

Since the weight will move freely, the fish will not feel much resistance, and therefore will not suspect danger. Sometimes, in order to ensure even better sliding of the bullet sinker, special inserts are used.

Carolina rig

The main difference between the Carolina rig and the Texas rig is some distance between the sinker and the hook with bait. Thanks to this, the game of the bait becomes more free and active, but the permeability is slightly reduced. The same offset presses are used with non-engaging bait mounting.

Regarding the shape of the weights used, it is worth saying that it can be more varied, that is, not only a “bullet” is suitable. The weight can be firmly fixed or slide on a selected section of the main line. In addition, sometimes the sinker is attached to a separate swivel.

Veki equipment

In this case, it is assumed that a silicone bait is placed in the middle of the body. This installation leads to the fact that when twitching almost any type, the bait will actively wriggle, imitating, first of all, the movements of a leech.

It is advisable to use special hooks with protection against snagging. Hooks with additional weight will be needed in cases where quick immersion of light, slowly sinking silicone is necessary.

Many fishermen don’t bother and simply pierce the bait in the middle, but this reduces its durability. To make the silicone last longer, small elastic rings are used that are put on the bait. The hook is inserted between the bait and the ring.

The Veki equipment involves the use of silicone sticks, which most often have a uniform thickness of the body, and therefore simplify the adjustment of the balance of the equipment.

The most common baits are multi-colored sticks (worms) with a length of 10-13 cm.

How to choose bait

To attract predators, you can purchase bait that is attractive to fish, of which there are many in the online store. Silicone models are often used for jig fishing. They are soft, translucent, and in water they cannot be distinguished from their real analogues - worms, larvae, centipedes. Fish love these silicone monsters. Soft silicone baits can attract more than just predators. They are also called edible rubber. Even catfish or carp can be caught on these tackles, attracted by their smell and structure. The “vibrotail” is made in the shape of a fish with an impressive tail; a special element at the end makes the fish wag its tail, which attracts predatory fish. A big plus is that the vibrating tail is suitable for any conditions and bodies of water. Even a strong current is not a hindrance to the vibrotail. Pike are perfectly caught with this bait. Twisters are a large part of the body shaped like a question mark. They look like worms, larvae, have varying degrees of transparency, and all kinds of colors. Wobblers are excellent spinning baits, they are: • pop-up - they float up after falling into the water • suspenders - are located in the water column • sinking - they sink to the bottom of the reservoir. A wobbler consists of a body, which is usually plastic or wooden, a blade at the front, and several or one hook. They choose it by weight, depth, length, buoyancy. It may be snag-resistant and usually has two tee hooks attached to it. The spinnerbait is an excellent tackle invented in the USA, the word means “bait” and “spinning spoon”. An excellent option for pike. Also useful for catching predators is a swimbait, a very realistic copy of a fish. Some swimbaits consist of several links, the fish seems to be cut across with a knife, but these links create the effect of movement when retrieved. Jig spoons are also used for catching perch at sea. You need to choose gear from such a variety based on the reservoir, time of year, type of fish, whether fishing will be done from a boat or from the shore.

Drop Shot Equipment

Another fairly popular method of rigging, which involves attaching a sinker to the end of the main fishing line, and a hook with bait at some distance above it. When choosing the shape of the sinker, the nature of the bottom of the reservoir is taken into account, but in general it can be very different. However, regardless of the shape, the sinker must have a special clip instead of the usual eye, in which the fishing line is fixed. The presence of such a clamp will allow you to easily change the distance between the sinker and the hook with bait.

The drop-shot rig uses both standard offset hooks and special hooks with a wide bend and a short fore-end. You can also try unique Stand-Out models, which have two places for attaching fishing line; Such products are tied with a “Palomar” knot.

When using a drop-shot rig, fishermen most often use a light step-by-step retrieve or simply dragging a weight evenly along the bottom. In other words, this equipment is used for bottom fishing.

"Russian" equipment

To catch our predator, there is another similarity to the “Carolina” - “split shot in Russian” or simply “Russian rig”. If in the American original a “split shot” is a small pellet that is clamped on the main line approximately 30 centimeters from the bait, then in the “Russian” version it is a little different.

One eye of the Cheburashka is tied to the main cord, and to the other eye is a leash, about 1 meter long, made of monofilament (you can also use fluorocarbon line), to which the bait is already tied. The Cheburashka weight should have “ears” that are located in the same plane. The wiring can be the same as in the case of using “Carolina”, that is, uniform pulls, jerks and twitches with short stops. Our predator, even without any brass-glass sound accompaniment, responds very well to baits used with such equipment. And in cases where the predator does not react to such a supply of bait, you can also use step-by-step retrieving, thus forcing the bait to glide more slowly towards the bottom.

Retractable leash (Moscow equipment)

The essence of the Moscow rig is that it involves the use of two leashes, which are attached to the main line using a “triple” swivel. On one leash there is a sinker, on the other there is a hook with bait. Different types of offset presses are used; The weights are the same as in the drop-shot rig.

This method of rigging is also possible, when the leash with a sinker at the end moves freely along the main line thanks to the use of a swivel. Also pay attention to the fact that the longer the lead of the sinker, the closer to the surface the bait will pass, and the longer the lead of the bait, the more actively the latter will play.

Florida rig

A peculiar modification of the Texas rig, a characteristic feature of which is the use of a bullet sinker with a special spring. This spring is screwed into the front part of the silicone and is securely fixed in this position. The hook itself moves closer to the middle of the bait's body. All this makes it easier to pass through problem areas of the reservoir with obstacles and dense vegetation.

Kinds

Steel

Steel leashes can be factory-made or home-made. Do-it-yourself leashes are made from P-274 field cable and guitar string. Vole leashes are tough, durable, have no memory, but are susceptible to corrosion. There are rusting and stainless steel strings, and when choosing a material for a leash, you should certainly purchase the latter. The cost of such leashes is extremely low.

Fluorocarbon

The main quality of fluorocarbon is its wear resistance. Therefore, you cannot do without it when fishing in places where there are various obstacles on the bottom. Its second advantage is the refractive index, close to that of water, i.e. his invisibility. There is no doubt that it resists pike teeth better than a much thinner braided line, but it is still not recommended to use it when fishing for pike. The disadvantage of fluorocarbon is its high cost.

Titanium

Titanium leashes are the strongest and most durable. They practically do not bend when in contact with obstacles and fish teeth. Excellent for fishing with wobblers by twitching, for fishing with poppers and walkers. Unfortunately, they are quite expensive.

From leader material

There are leashes woven from 7, 19 and 49 fibers (7x7). The latter are the thinnest, most elastic, but less durable. Over time, any leashes made of leash material lose their original shape and begin to squirm.

Expert opinion Knipovich Nikolai Mikhailovich Zoologist, hydrobiologist. I am interested in fishing at a professional level.

Healthy! You can give new life to such a leash directly while fishing. It is enough to heat it on the flame of a lighter and it will become straight again.

In order to make your own leash from leader material, you will need a spool with such material, crimp tubes, swivels and fasteners. Making a leash is quite simple: the material is easily cut with metal scissors, and the tubes are crimped with pliers.

On sale you can find soft leader material, for example, Canelle Supratress, which can be knitted to the fittings using a clinch knot. The disadvantage of all such leashes is their relatively high cost.

Nylon or monofilament line

Monofilament leashes made of nylon or regular fishing line are used when a certain wear resistance of the leash is required. They are quite cheap, but are inferior in their characteristics to fluorocarbon.

Tungsten

Tungsten leashes are lightweight, cheap and elastic, but during fishing they twist into a spiral, and it is impossible to straighten them.

Made of stainless steel

All driving material that can be purchased in stores is resistant to corrosion. Ready-made string leads also do not rust. When making leashes from string with their own hands, experienced fishermen purchase strings No. 1 and No. 2 from the Ramenskoye factory - these strings meet all the needs of spinning anglers. Having a low price or cost when made with your own hands, string leashes lose their shape after bites or hard contact with hooks.

Tube equipment

This equipment, as you can easily guess from the name, is suitable when using so-called tubes as bait. The latter most often have an oblong cylindrical body with something like tentacles at the end, somewhat reminiscent of a squid or octopus.

Tube equipment uses special weight heads, which are ultimately placed inside the tube cavity.

If you are interested in the topic of choosing spinning reels or fishing rods, we recommend our reviews via the links.

Author of the article: Vitaly Leonidovich Ivanov, 2021.

Fishing tackle

Spinning

A fishing rod with a retractable leash must be long enough so that the hook on a long leash does not have the opportunity to catch on something. The minimum length is 2.4 meters. The spinning test should be fast, but it’s better not extra-fast. This is due to the fact that it is more convenient to give the bait the necessary action with a slower rod. Rods made of high-modulus carbon will help you better feel the moment the load touches the bottom, but otherwise their advantages are so insignificant that you can get by with a budget spinning rod. The spinning test depends on the weight of the sinker used.

Coil

There are also no special requirements for the coil. Any reel with a front drag, smooth running and even laying of the cord on the spool will do.

Leashes

For drop leader fishing, two leaders are almost always used: a weight leader and a hook leader. Only when fishing with a ballerina sinker can you do without a weight leash.

Cargo

The cargo leash is made of monofilament fishing line. The breaking load of the fishing line should be less than that of the main cord. The length of the cargo leash is usually 20-50 centimeters. It is advisable to attach a clasp to the end of the leash.

With hook

Fluorocarbon is commonly used as a leader material due to its abrasion resistance and invisibility in the water. The length of the leash with a hook can vary from 50 centimeters to two meters, which depends primarily on the activity of the fish being caught.

Hooks

As a rule, offset hooks are used for fishing with a retractable leash. The most successful offset hooks are the Wide Gap series hooks. The bait attached to such a hook looks more natural, and the tip of the hook is positioned in such a way that the percentage of successful hooks increases significantly.

Lures

The main baits used with a retractable leader are the following:

Twisters.
Silicone worms. You can successfully use a variety of modifications of worms, namely:

with a twister ponytail;
with a spade on the tail;
with a needle in the tail;
in the form of a sausage without any additional elements;
with a ribbed body;

Creatures. Various crustaceans, squid and lizards are also considered catchable baits for fishing with a retractable leash.

Expert opinion Nikolay Mikhailovich Knipovich Zoologist, hydrobiologist

I am interested in fishing at a professional level.

Attention! When fishing with a retractable leash, the “edibility” of the bait plays an important role. However, it should be remembered that many edible baits have low strength.

Much less often, vibrating tails, foam fish, “mandulas”, etc. are used as bait.

Sinker

A fishing sinker with a retractable leash should have a streamlined shape. The following cargoes meet this condition:

pears;
sticks;
bullets;
bananas;
longs.

Separately, we should dwell on ballerina sinkers and Tyrolean sticks.

The first ones are a sinker similar to a zucchini vegetable, through which a piece of steel wire passes). Ballerina has increased maneuverability in stones, but does not always help when fishing in shell rocks.

A Tyrolean stick is a device consisting of a hollow plastic or silicone tube with a weight at the base. The air inside the Tyrolean stick gives the load a vertical position at the bottom, and its permeability is accordingly very high. However, it should be remembered that with the same mass as the lead load, the Tyrolean stick will have a much lower specific gravity and will not drag along the bottom, but will bounce, and sometimes even float.

The right sinker is easy to make at home. To make a pear or stick shaped sinker you will need:

Materials: