Daniel Novak

SBS Happy Carp Gang

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Nowadays there is a typical phrase in modern carp fishing, “the key to success is to choose different tactics to others along the lakeside”. When we are at competitions we have the same experience, we can catch more than the others with a smaller hook, thinner hooklink or with a new bait, groundbait or method.

Let's do something more than the others! But what?

In the spring of 2012 we were preparing ourselves for a carp fishing competition, therefore we visited the lake a week before the event. The weather was hot and it was really difficult to even get a bite with any of the bottom baits we tried. At the clear Mine Lake it was very noticeable that carp and grass carp were moving close to the surface, so we decided that in the first hours of the contest we would to try to catch them in the upper water levels. We thought that we would try as there was no risk, especially if the others will have difficulties in catching fish with the bottom baits. As we are regular readers of the international carp angling magazines we knew well the theory of how to use Zig-Rigs and now the time had come to use them in practice.

A few days later we participated in the IV. ABK Boilie-Shock competition and only a few minutes after the start we had the first fish of the contest. Thanks to the Zig-Rig technique, the SBS Happy Carp Gang (Otto Aubeli, Gabor Bali, Daniel Novak) won the 48-hour competition with 239.94 kg (528.98 lbs). In this event only carp and grass carp over 4 kg (8.8 lbs) were weighed by the marshals.

The members of the SBS Happy Carp Gang after the closing ceremony

Flumino Z-Code, the answer  

This method has been used by many of the official SBS teams with good success. During the development process the team members share their thoughts, ideas and experiences. The result of this collective work is a new range within the SBS Flumino range, called Z-Code. During the testing period of the hookbait and groundbait we always concentrated on developing the features of the product which makes it very effective for fishing in mid-water levels. See what products belong to the Z-Code team, enhancing each other underwater.

Flumino Z-Code products are going to be available for purchase individually, but also in All In Flumino Boxes

Despite the cold water we caught this nice carp with the assistance of the Z-Code hookbait and groundbait

In 2013 the Flumino Z-Code products are going to be available for purchase individually and with the All In Flumino Boxes Z-Code we offer complex packages which contain two kinds of hookbait, the groundbait mixer, and the groundbait.

Thanks to the bright and fluro-coloured particles and the lifting pellets with high protein content, Flumino Groundbait Z-Code works in the whole water column. As soon as the groundbait hits the water, it creates a huge cloud within a very short time, stimulating fish to feed.

All In Flumino Box Z-Code contains everything that you need for a one day session

The easily soluble groundbait contains highly visible ingredients lifting constantly in the whole water column

A Flumino Liquid Concentrate can be used to further enhance the visual effect in the water

It is recommended to mix the Groundbait with the Flumino Groundbait Mixer (available flavours are pineapple or black squid), it defines the final sweet or smelly character of the Groundbait. If you would like to put the Groundbait in the feeder or method lead, mix the 1 kg Groundbait Z-Code with 500 ml Groundbait Mixer liquid. If you plan to use a spomb or a spod, we recommend adding 500 ml extra lake water to the mix to get a soft consistency. After that, we can make the feeding material even more attractive with a liquid concentrate. The Flumino Liquid Concentrate, a greenish coloured and highly fluorescent, high amino-containing additive only requires a few drops on the feeding ball, in the feeder or on the PVA.

The easiest way to spod the soft consistency groundbait to the right spot, is if we use a Spomb

The extraordinary dark pop up is often doing the hard work for us

As soon as the sun started to shine, carp came close to the surface

As you will see in the video, the All In Flumino Box is available in cooked and soluble versions, this refers to the two types of hookbait included in the box. The soluble fluro buoyant baits are distributed in 16 mm diameter, the cooked ones in 14 mm with two small bottles of flavour to enhance the attraction effect.

The Z-Code series Pop Ups have extra buoyancy; this feature has an important role if you are using a Zig-Rig. The variety of the colours and the flavours of the Z-Code pop ups give you the chance to the find the best choice for any situation.

What kind of rig shall I use?

For the rig there are several options that you can use. The only goal is, to present the hookbait exactly in the huge groundbait-cloud. The easiest version is if you use a long hooklink you can lift up the whole length with the assistance of the buoyant pop up hookbait. In this case the casting technique is a little difficult if you would like to use a 4 m long hooklink to fish in 5 m water. Also a disadvantage with this solution is that we are not able to fish in different water depths, if we have to search for the fish at different levels we have to change the hooklink. All the same, if we decide to use this technique we can avoid the tangles if we put the end tackle into an empty bucket before we cast it out.

We are going to have more variety if we use a zig-rig floater. That is what we used during the competition. With this useful tool it is possible to change the position of our bait any time and the casting is much easier because we usually use only a 50 cm long hooklink.

With an adjustable float we can easily try different water depths to find where the carp are

Zig-Rig in action

5 tips for using a zig-rig:

• Use a fluorocarbon hooklink which is almost invisible under the water
• It is a false belief that carp are feeding only on the bottom. If we observe any sign which shows that carp are close to the surface, do not hesitate to cast out your Zig-Rig.
• Tie a short hair for the pop up to touch the curve of the hook.

Fish is charging at the hookbait at the mid-water levels, that is why the pop up should move close together with the hook to catch a perfectly hooked fish

• To avoid tangles use PVA foam. With this trick we can fix the hook and the hooklink at the plastic tube of the Zig-Rig floater before we cast out the rig.
• If you use a Zig-Rig, colour of your bait counts.  In the All In Flumino Boxes you will find two different flavoured and coloured (yellow and dark brown) hookbaits. Don't be afraid to be creative. We recommend using the different colours and flavours of these baits imaginatively on the hair to imitate insects or bugs.

As soon as we activated the Z-Code, the first applicant arrived

Click on the video for a more detailed presentation of the Flumino Z-Code products and watch the short movie about how to use them

By: Daniel Novak

Pictures: Gabor Bali, Janos Hudomiet, Daniel Novak

Video: Peter Takacs