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THE MAG-ALIGNER Last Winter I wrote a piece about using maggots in the colder months and how good they can be if there aren't too many nuisance fish around. Rob Maylin at Big Carp magazine recently asked me to do some drawings for an article on his Mag-Aligner rig which he used last Winter with devastating results down at Swan Valley and other lakes. This could change your Winter fishing! You'll need for this rig: - Plastic hard maggots white preferably (Enterprise tackle)
- Baiting Needle
- Hooklink material needs to be a coated flexible braid (Stripper/ Sufix / Kryston )
- Hooks need to be small, strong and sharp, size 10 preferably unless your fishing near snags or in weed etc go up to size 8.
To start: push your baiting needle through maggot as shown (Fig 1) 1mm from blunt end side and out again on same side about 1mm from sharp end.  | Take a 10 inch length of hooklink and pull through maggot. |
 | Tie on your hook as shown, Now slide maggot down hooklink and over hook as shown. |
 | The next thing to do is strip about 1 inch of coating below maggot to help hook flip over (Fig 3). |
 | If you look at Fig 4 you'll see Rob's arrangement for the lead etc. By tying an overhand loop you can change rigs quickly if you use a quick change clip. Finish off with a couple of live maggots on the hook leaving the point exposed. |
By tying an overhand loop you can change rigs quickly if you use a quick change clip. Finish off with a couple of live maggots on the hook leaving the point exposed. The devastating thing about this rig is the use of large sock of live maggots attached to the rig, irresistible to any fish. There are plenty of stocking types of PVA out there but you need a sock with a very tight weave so that the maggots don't escape too easily. Rob recommends the tubing from Carp Quest. Give it a try.........  | A PVA sock crammed full of maggots about the same length as your rig is tied to the loop on your lead and the hook just nicked into the end of the sock (Fig 5). This rig is best fished on a hard clear bottom away from weed and snags, when the PVA has melted the maggots will move about but not that far when it's cold leaving a very attractive bed of bait. |
Many thanks to Rob Maylin for letting me use these drawings and coming up with this idea.
Cheers
Brian Atkins
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