Video by
Fox International
In this brand new episode of Underwater Answers Rob Hughes gets together with Harry Charrington, traveling to Thorpe Lea in Surrey. The pair to take a detailed look at Zig Rigs and how they perform under the water. Rob’s findings are eye opening and as well as being interesting the film should help you learn a thing or two about effective use of a Zig Rig.
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Well we’re back and this is underwater answers
and we’re going to be looking at an absolutely devastating method in this episode and that method is Zig rigging. Yeah Ziggs are a awesome method especially at this time of year, we’ve been asked loads and loads on Facebook for Hughsey to have a look at them underwater, so if you’re the man. Absolutely let’s get in the drink!
Before I have the chance to even get my kit on the heavens opened
and it threw it down. I’d already deployed a couple of three foot high black Zig aligners to the shallow bar that runs across the middle of Thorpe Lea and the rain had only just eased off when one of those Zigs ripped off and I was playing another carp. You know what Zigs are absolutely devastating even on days like today where there’s quite a big wind blowing and we’ve had bright sunshine, we’ve had pouring rain, we’ve had heavy cloud. Low pressure and high pressure coming in now as well, but it’s just so, so effective if you get it right and it’s actually not that difficult to get it right either. I think people sometimes overcomplicate what they’re doing and Zigs are really really easy and simple method and there we go that’s another one in the bag.
Just watch that fish go back in again lovely seeing them swimming off
but while I’ve been down here I’ve seen something else which is really, really interesting and also very important. There are literally hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of nymph larvae cases on the surface. Now what’s happening at the moment is that the sun’s out they’re coming up through the water, swimming up to the surface ,hatching out on the surface and these are the skins that have been blown down here on the wind. Now when you get a hatch like this the fish are all over it and that is why Zigs can be so effective.
With the rods reeled in I’ve geared up for the first dive.
I wanted to have a look at different colours and how each colour behaved underwater. I got Harry to cast out three eggs; a yellow one, a red one and a black one on a dip down to have a look the first thing you’ll notice is that the colour of the water is very green. This is the case with most venues in the UK with clear water and it really does affect how different colours look underwater.
Believe it or not I’m currently no more than about six foot away from the yellow zig aligner
and slowly getting closer but it’s nearly impossible to see it. It’s not until I change my position to look down on it does it become visible. Looking down the background is darker because of the lake bed meaning the light yellow colour does show up more. Interestingly looking laterally at the zig in close proximity I’m about two foot away here the colour is bright very bright and bizarrely with the sun’s rays shining through the ripple on the surface the zig is actually strobing flashing like a beacon. Now if I was a carp I would treat this with a lot of caution.
