Preventing tangles

Barbelman

New member
I've been getting lots of success using 2 X 15mm boilies on a hair-rig. There are just times when the rig tangled, and that is when it was lying useless in the water.

I still use a mieliebom feeder as we are not allowed to pre-bait. I get more takes using this method than with using PVA bags. With conventional angling, no problem, I just stick the sharp part of the hook in the bom. That way, there is never a tangle.
But when doing the same with two heavy boilies, its another matter. The boilies weight pulls the hook out of the mieliebom.

Do anyone perhaps have a tip for me?
 

HennieB

Sealiner
Look at shortening the hair or use some silicone tubing on the shank of the hook, PVA stick or tape on the hook.
 

toli

Senior Member
When using PVA bags there is a art to it, double pva bagging makes sure the freebies goes to the bottom with your bait, then feeling your bait and line down to the bottom when casting, tightening your line without moving your hook bait away from your pva bag. one should be VERY delicate with this method

This is most likely reasons why you might struggle to get bites when using PVA bags and not the mieliebom feeder

I agree with Hennie's suggestions.

There is also pva foam, you can put it on your hook,this might also help to stop the tangles.

http://www.henkor.co.za/gardner/rigwise-disolving-foam.php
 

Barbelman

New member
toli wrote:
When using PVA bags there is a art to it, double pva bagging makes sure the freebies goes to the bottom with your bait, then feeling your bait and line down to the bottom when casting, tightening your line without moving your hook bait away from your pva bag. one should be VERY delicate with this method

This is most likely reasons why you might struggle to get bites when using PVA bags and not the mieliebom feeder

I agree with Hennie's suggestions.

There is also pva foam, you can put it on your hook,this might also help to stop the tangles.

http://www.henkor.co.za/gardner/rigwise-disolving-foam.php

I have this foam, I used it for the first time this past weekend. If you use it, it is then impossible to stick the hook into the mieliebom. But yes, it will stop the boilie tangling around the hook for sure.
 

Barbelman

New member
Hi Hennie. Currently my hook links are 12cm. If I make it shorter, it should totally prevent tangling. I have however found during testing of shorter hook links, specimen or conventional angling, that my bite vs land ratio is dramatically reduced. Otherwise this could have been my solution.
 

HennieB

Sealiner
You're confusing hooklink length with the length of the hair. If the space between the bait and the hook is too big you will experience tangles. Are you using coated or uncoated hooklinks?
 

Barbelman

New member
HennieB wrote:
You're confusing hooklink length with the length of the hair. If the space between the bait and the hook is too big you will experience tangles. Are you using coated or uncoated hooklinks?

Its never more than 10mm, it might go to 11mm at most.
I use soft hooklinks most of the time. I will with time use fluorocarbon hooklinks, but still with a soft hair on the hook.
I also use coated with a section stripped back. But I prefer soft braid hooklinks over all of them.
 

Beeslek

New member
I agree with the guy's comments above.The various PVA products they mentioned plus a stiff or semi-stiff hooklink should eliminate 99% of tangles.I fish a 20cm flourocarbon/braid combilink,only the last 10mm by the hook is soft.Wrap the hookpoint with PVA foam,or hook on a PVA mesh stick.Also ensure that there is rig tubing or leadcore above the lead,or the rig might still tangle.

The only sure way to eliminate tangles with a soft braid hooklink and inline lead is to use a solid PVA bag.Virtually ensures no tangles,every time.Just be aware that our warm water makes PVA melt very quickly.So if you are fishing deep water,double bag or dip the whole bag in a glug and let airdry for a few minutes,this will ensure the bag gets to the bottom intact and work as intended.

Lastly,even if a rig is cast out perfectly,it can still get tangled if rejected,or being moved around by water movement,or crabs.This is especially problematic with bottom baits,as the rig will not reset itself.Only way to ensure it will reset is to fish a critically balanced bait or a pop-up on a stiff or semi stiff hooklink.This last part is something that very few people consider,we all assume that we hook every fish the first time.A fish could reject the hookbait within a few minutes of the cast,if your rig doesn't reset you have 0 chance of another hookup.Food for thought...
 

Barbelman

New member
About the double bagging pva. Does the pva melt faster with fast moving water around it, ie when still sinking to the bottom, as opposed to lying in a bucket of water? I've tested pva bags in a bucket of water but it took very long to dissolve. The knot of the pva bag was still there, just half-size after more than 10 minutes.
 

HennieB

Sealiner
PVA melting time is dependent on water temperature or if you've added any liquid to the mix in the pva or whether you've dipped it in some sort of glug.
 

Barbelman

New member
I thought about using n lenght of say 20 centimeters of tungsten tubing right above the hooklink. That should help to not get tangles and give me a bit more confidence. Since so many of us believe in hiding our rigs, we even use fluorocarbon hooklinks, I am just a bit worried that the thick tungsten tubing might scare the bigger fish away. The tubing is at least twice as thick as the thickest lines I will ever use.
 

Barbelman

New member
I still get tangles, even with the tubing, since the tubing is not very stiff.

I then thought of using these wire traces that some use for catching barbels with. The ones I bought is coated with black plastic. I built a rig or two with it, still using a very short braid hook-link. I will be using it next weekend. I hope it can do the trick for me.
 

HennieB

Sealiner
You're making use of unsafe rigs by using wire traces. If you're getting tangles it's because you're doing something wrong, stick to basic rigs with a stiff coating or mono and it won't tangle.
 

Barbelman

New member
I hear you Hennie.
I am using a 100% free-running rig. The braid on my hooklink is only 8.9kg. My mainline is more than that.
 

Barbelman

New member
Basically like my foto in post no 1 in this link.
http://www.sealine.co.za/view_topic.php?id=107485&forum_id=79

My free-running mieliebomb holder gets on the other end.
 

HennieB

Sealiner
The free running mieliebomb holder could be the problem, there's nothing wrong with that rig. What you can also try is to press the hook into the mieliebom like the conventional guys do.
 

Barbelman

New member
I do press the hook into the mieliebom, but the extra weight of the boilies pulls it out.

To bag it will prevent a tangle 100%. But strangely I have never caught a fish on such a rig. Only when I use a mieliebom have I caught fish. So I prefer not to bag it.
 
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