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I do like and make my own fishing rigs, but have notice a lot of ready made rigs,

5K views 49 replies 23 participants last post by  Forking lugs 
#1 ·
are available on line and in the tackle shops, in fact there are so many, and many different types of rigs to chose from, some even offer to make rigs, to your specification. Is it really worth making your own and who in your opinion makes the best ready made rigs?.
 
#6 ·
If you learn to tie your own rigs using the best components and your own favourite lines and catch fish the satisfaction factor increases, a bit more satisfaction if you gather your own bait and if the rig parts at a knot costing you a good fish no one to blame except yourself if a component breaks you know what not to buy next time!!
Eventually by trial and error you will be happy and confident that your rig is as good as it gets.
Pete
 
#8 ·
I've just started sea fishing and bought a ready made rig form a well known company, I am from a carp fishing background and I tested the hook points on a two hook flapper rig, they were as blunt as h*ll. I sharpened the points up and did the nail test until I was happy. My advice is to make your own rigs and use good hooks, it can make the difference between a hooked fish and a missed one...
 
#14 ·
Over the years i have bought and tried many rigs made by other companies and anglers i now have a small list of people i use as there rigs are reliable and made to a high quality as i work stupid hours and insane times in my job so basically i cannot be arsed to make rigs but that is just me. Most of my rigs are made by fellow sea anglers who use the money i presume to fund there fishing.
 
#16 ·
Mainly make my own but have some Gemini ready rigs which aren't bad, their own components with (I think) coxs and Rawl uptide Viking hooks.

Was talking to somebody who should know a couple years back about the rigs I'd bought from ebay. His main observation was how poor the hooks where and I've taken note of that ever since.
 
#24 ·
Got 3 kids ones a 1year old. Fingers in everything always round the feet. So tried premade rigs, 1 was ok but dubious hooks 2nd the bottom snood was too long for the clip waste of time. Chop the imps an swivels out and recycle them.
Rigs take a while to tie seems theres little money in it unless u in india.
 
#26 ·
About 20 years ago, when our kids were young, my missus used to work from home tying mackerel feathers for some random company, no doubt on behalf of one of the larger tackle companies. All the components were provided, she just had to tie and bag them. Think she got paid something like 10p per set of 6. There was quality control provided by the company she worked for which meant that she didn't get paid for all she did but most of them passed. The hooks were very cheap spade end and not good quality but care was taken with the knots. Don't know if this still happens or if this work is now done in the far east or by machines!
 
#33 ·
I spent all my childhood making rigs, rigs for fish I would never catch mostly. I used to have conger traces with me when fishing the Thames at Gravesend. I would never have bought a rig I used to enjoy making them more than fishing with them once. Plus the fact that in the 80's and 90's you couldn't easily buy decent made rigs. Nowadays, I am about 50/50. I make the rigs I like making and I buy the fiddly ones I don't like making. I have total confidence in the rigs I buy though as I know enough to chose the ones with decent components made by someone that knows what they are doing. I enjoy making big fish rigs, plaice rigs etc the general two and three hook flapper, especially clipped ones, bomber rigs, Portsmouth loops etc I would rather buy
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I wouldn't buy those rigs that were quoted earlier as I wouldn't use big clunky swivels if I were making them. I don't care about the price as long as it is sensible. The rigs shown are variously made by Tony Kirridge, Julian Shamrock and Kevin & Glyn Morgan. You are buying a bit of that experience. Have any of you won more matches than those guys? Even if they pay someone to rig build for them, they put their name on them so the quality still stands and I have been in plenty of tackle shops where the owner is sitting there rig making during the quiet times.

All of the rigs shown cost between £2 to £3 you reckon you can make them cheaper than that? Have a word, with yourself some of the hooks today are working out about 50p each. So price all the bits up and you may.....just.... be under but then price your time. If I get £30 per hour at work and I am struggling to make 5 rigs in that time I am better off being at work and buying the rigs. Folk often quibble about price and reckon they can do things cheaper when they don't price their own labour cost into the mix.
 
#36 ·
I would too if it was there but flat 37.5 hours on one contract and a flat 8 hours on the other is all I can get. I still have a class 1 licence so I could do a bit of driving at weekends but agency money is about £15 per hour at best. Lucky the missus has a decent job or I would have to trade her in for a Kardashian. :D
 
#37 ·
Luke, How can you charge yourself labour cost it's a hobby, pastime and pleasure fishing. Otherwise your be saying how much that Cod cost to catch:). But agree if you can get some, good well made rigs and happy to use them, pay for them, and save some time and money for the actual fishing, all well and good. You could bulk buy hooks or you used to in hundreds, to replace the ones on your rigs that would bring the cost down or do throw the whole rig away after using it?.
 
#38 · (Edited)
I still buy Kaman B940's in boxes of 100. Most of the others like Mustad 79515's you either get in 30's or small packets on the wall of the tackle shop. The small packets are a total rip off Mustad Demon Circle size 2 = £2.29 for 10, Kaman B940 size 1 £1.35 for 10. Sakuma Manta Extra 2/0 = £2.95 for 10, Sakuma Manta Extra 8/0 £5.60 for 10 as are small qualtities of lots of rig making bits which is why I try to buy stuff in bulk when I can.

If I was younger I would seriously look at tooling up with a ton of steel and a bit of machinery and see how many hooks I could produce. There has to be money in that at current prices.

I will replace a hook and re use a rig where possible but some of the clip down rigs with crimps are only good as flappers once you chop the hook off and tie another on. These latest shop bought 3 hook clipped became my inshore plaice rigs as I changed the hooks and added a few beads, blades and sequins at the same time. Only trouble is I haven't caught any inshore plaice yet :cautious: After a couple of sessions I will cut the rig up, salvage what I can and build another.

I dont charge myself labour, the point I am making is that you should put a price on your own time when you are comparing shop built rigs with ones you make yourself. I am not the quickest at making various types of multi hook clipped rigs and I don't particularly enjoy it so I don't begrudge paying £2 to £3 for a ready made one from a reputable source. We have already proved that the hooks alone could be about 40p of the cost if it comes with size 1 Kamasans. I wouldn't buy a cheap rig to try to save money but I am happy to save myself a bit of time.

Lots of folk think they re saving money when they would be better off using a professional and spending the time earning whatever they usually earn to pay them.

I like to keep a Tronix rig winder box full of 3 hook rigs, another full of 2 hook rigs another full of single hook rigs and pennels plus a couple of rig wallets full at home and have about 35 assorted rigs on winders in my tackle box. Which may be a bit OCD to some folk:confused:

Big fish rigs I would rather make myself as they are simpler, hence quicker to make, I want the added peace of mind from knowing I used the best components and tied all the knots myself and I always get lost in my imagination of the massive fish I am going to catch with them - which is usually better than the reality of weed, dead badgers and whiting. :cautious:
 
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