In carp circles it used to be said that “chods are for nods!” Primarily this was because these rigs are pretty easy to use but also because they can be very effective at catching carp.
Using a chod gave an almost unfair advantage on some waters, as it took away a lot of the legwork needed to find spots and present your hookbait properly. In fact, a lot of anglers’ catch rates shot up when they were ‘trendy’, but now chods are a forgotten gem.
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Where to cast a chod rig?
You can use a choddie virtually anywhere, over any bait. They really come into their own, however, when there’s a bit of rubbish on the floor, as the way they sit usually combats the problem. Equally, you can use them over a clean bottom, but they stand up a little too much for my liking, especially if you’re fishing a tight pile of spod mix rather than a wider spread of boilies.
As the hook arrangement is on the upper side of the lead, as opposed to below it, the lead does not drag the rig into problem areas like weed. And with the hooklink being so short and so stiff, it’s virtually impossible to tangle. You’re therefore likely to be presenting a bait well over almost any lakebed.
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Chod essentials
The hooklink part should be really stiff, and ideally not too long. Two inches would be about the max I’d use, unless there is seriously heavy weed. They can be fished on leadcore/lead-free leaders or ‘naked’ as required.
In the winter I like to move towards fluorocarbon and naked chods to disguise everything as much as possible. If you’re not using leadcore or a lead- free leader, it’s vital to use proper chod beads or a chod sleeve to protect your line, and to fish them on a semi-slack or slack line. If you tighten up too much your hookbait will be off the bottom and you’ll be flying a flag, not fishing a bait just off the deck.
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Time efficient
When time is short, I want to be fishing as quickly as possible without having to worry too much about what’s on the bottom. I really like fishing them as a single bait tactic, and they are ideal for casting at showing fish. Using a bait screw rather than blobbing the hookbait on means that the rods are out of the bag, the bait is screwed on and I’m fishing in no time.
More importantly, they are also great rapid reaction rigs. Use as small a lead as you can get away with and if you see a fish move, cast a choddie at it. In the winter a pink, yellow or white single bait can be devastating in this respect.
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Use them when you need them
You can cast a chod almost anywhere and it won’t tangle. The single biggest thing that affects catch rates after not being anywhere near carp is poor presentation, but the chod rig almost eliminates this. It’s also great as a single bait rapid reaction rig, especially on waters I don’t know.
I remember catching loads of fish over heavy weed at a lake a few years ago, fishing in places most people wouldn’t touch. It also worked really well at another venue that had loads of crayfish, as they didn’t seem to grasp it as much as they did a normal rig.
You’ve got to get used to them, as they are quite different to standard rigs but once you do, chods can be devastating!
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Top tip
When fishing over weed, establish how deep it is and semi-fix the top bead 1.5 times the depth of the weed. Add a piece of dissolving foam to the hook and cast the rig out using the lightest lead you can.
Hold the rod high, stop the line before the rig hits the water, and keep holding the rod high as the lead drops into the weed. Lower the rod, then wait for the foam to pop up. Once it has, carefully take up the slack by turning the spool by hand.
Don’t over-tighten, simply take out any obvious slack. You’ll now be presented safely on top of the weed.
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