Nowadays it’s easier than ever for pole fishermen to have a full set of rigs set up for all different situations. You can decide to create your own rigs to get them exactly how you want them, or you can buy a whole bunch of ready-made pole rigs ones that are available on the market today.
Me, personally, I have a mix of ready-made pole rigs and ones that I have made myself. Those of you that read the blog will know that I am a fan of Preston Innovations and for that reason, I buy their pre-made pole rigs.
I don’t buy them all the time, but if I have a match on a Saturday and I know I am off to a venue that’s deep and I haven’t any rigs currently made up in my box then I’ll call at the fishing shop on the way home and pick up some ready-made rigs that I think will do the trick.
Here are (in my eyes) the best ready-made pole rigs.
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Ready-Made Pole Rigs
Preston Innovation Ready Made Rigs
I buy a lot of their maggot, pellet, and f1 pre-done rigs. I always like to have a few of these in the bottom of my box as backups just in case I end up using a lot more rigs than I have planned. I am sometimes not the best at being organised.
I do wish that the range of their pre-made rigs was bigger as I have never seen a pre-done dibber or edge rig in their range.
Drennan Ready Made Pole Rigs
These are another brand of rigs that I buy. Their dibber rigs are particularly good and they also do some rigs aimed at bigger carp. 5-time world champion Alan Scotthorne has helped to make these so they are going to be pretty decent rigs.
FAQs
Should you stick to one brand of ready-made pole rigs?
I never used to do this, but a great angler once told me I should stay with one brand of floats as much as I can. That way, you get used to how they work and feel.
Will the ready-made pole rigs be shotted perfectly?
I don’t think any are shotted perfectly, as every angler will want a different length of the float bristle showing compared to others. They will, however, be shotted well enough to use straight out of the packet. I sometimes feel I have to put an extra number 11 or 12 on the line to get it to how I want as I only like a little bit of the bristle showing.
Stots or shots?
The Preston rigs will come with stots, as that’s their own patented version of shots. Some people love these, some people don’t like them. It all depends on your style of fishing and whether you think you will be moving the weights up and down the line.
Is it cheaper to buy ready-made?
No, it’s definitely cheaper to buy your own floats, line, and weights and make up your own. It’s up to you whether you have the time, skills, and patience to make your own.
Are ready-made pole rigs better?
Some of the top anglers and a lot of match men would never buy pre-done rigs. They like to tie all their own rigs so that they know the knots are how they want them and that everything is done to their specification. Personally, I am not the best at knots and I actually have more trust in knowing that they have been tied by another company and not myself.
Can I get ready-made pole rigs made to my specification?
There are people on Facebook who will make rigs and hook lengths for you to whatever specification you desire. This comes at a fee, but could be a happy medium between making your own and only having a limited selection from the big brands.
Mike has over 30 years of fishing experience in carp fishing and general coarse fishing. He is always looking for the latest fishing kit to try out and talk about and needs a bigger shed due to all the fishing tackle he owns. You can read more about him here.