The Birth of the Combi Rig

A bit more rambling.

How I started using what became the Combie rig and I’m sure this is reflected in many other anglers fishing in the 80’s. As a young lad starting fishing with not a lot of cash and before anyone thinks I’m saying I invented it, most definitely not. It was a thing that we did on the lake I was fishing at the time, just started doing it to save money.

When other hook link materials started to become readily available, it was Kyston for me, Merlin is the one that springs to mind, probably because I used it for so long. I can’t really remember what or how came first.

It was expensive and needed to be used sparingly, along with most other things. I would dump all my old rigs in my tackle box and take them apart later. I would recycle all the good and not worn-out components. I just started doing the same with the hook links and then joining them together with different materials to cut down on the cost and save money. Over time, I began to realize that certain combinations worked extremely well. The hook hold and the positioning of the hook in the carp’s mouths were perfect and perhaps we were on to something. Especially when you used stiff heavy nylon with a sort peace of Merlin, as sea fishing lines were a lot cheaper. This combination resulted in plenty of carp landed and was pretty cheap as a spool of hook link material would last 3 times longer than before.

I’m convinced this story can be replicated county-wide, I’m sure this is how the combie rig was born. Once more materials became available and the fishing industry boomed in the 90’s it all changed for the better.

Until my next ramblings

Be lucky

Richard