What do you need to make the Ronnie rig and step-by-step by Lewis Reed

The mechanics of work and the conditions for the application of the critical and useful snap-on equipment for pop-up fishing – Ronnie Rig.

I’m 100% sure that Ronnie rig will work infinitely long like other “key equipment” that have the original design. Regarding the mechanics of action, this rig is similar to “stiff hinged rig”, but its advantage is that it provides a skilful presentation of the pop up near the bottom and a stunningly strong hook holds in the mouth of the fish.

How to tie the Ronnie rig?

•  Cut 1 cm of Covert Shrink Tube Large.

• Put this piece on the shank of the hook before attaching the carbine.

• Push the tab of the hook to the end into the buckle of the Kwik Lok Flexi-Ring Swivel carabiner.

• While doing this operation, the hook-shaped fastener of the carabiner will slightly bend.

•  Just tighten the buckle back with pliers.

• Now you should place thermotube at it is shown in the picture.

• Put the thermotube over the nose of the boiling kettle (be careful and keep your hands from fire).

• Put the Target Rig Swivel carabiner number 20 (if you use a cork ball as a cap, replace carabiner with a Covert Rig Ring).

• Put the Covert Hook Stop on the hook, as it is shown in the picture.

• Install the stopper opposite the “stinger”, as it is shown in the picture.

• To make an instalation of the bait easier, insert a piece of the bait-floss in the carbine’s eye and drag both ends through the pop-up.

• Put the required amount of Critical Mass Putty all over the thermotube to make your pop-up snap slowly sink (try it on a pre-test).

• Attach fishing line from the selected material (in this case it’s Trick-Link) to the Kwik Lok Flexi-Ring carabiner ring and connect the snap to your preferred plummet system.

In my humble opinion, the Covert Dark Mugga of size 4 is perfect for Ronny, simply because, thanks to its 25-degree bent eye, the attachable XT Flexi-Ring Kwik Lok Swivel is at an optimal angle, which guarantees quick and aggressive reaction of the hook. The newest embodiment of this model in the Covert Dark lineup is simply phenomenal! The sting is completely redesigned and has amazing acuity – in fact, I would say that this crochet cannot compare any other model with a curved fore-end.

In my humble opinion, the Covert Dark Mugga of size 4 is perfect for Ronny, simply because, thanks to its 25-degree bent eye, the attachable XT Flexi-Ring Kwik Lok Swivel is at an optimal angle, which guarantees quick and aggressive reaction of the hook. The newest embodiment of this model in the Covert Dark lineup is simply phenomenal! The sting is completely redesigned and has amazing acuity – in fact, I would say that any other mode with a curved fore-end can’t compare with this crotchet.

By installing the pop up on the Hook Swivel or Flexi Hook Swivel carbine of size 20, you ensure that the rotational mobility of the hook is maintained, even if the fish tightly compresses the lips on the fore and / or nozzle. This is a seemingly insignificant detail, but it is from the category of those tiny improvements that together allow the rigging to work at full power of its capabilities.

If we talk about subtle details, then the position of the Stop Hook is quite critical. Unlike the classic 360º Rig, this stop is set here opposite to the beard of the hook. We think that it is best to position it at the point, where the curved forearm begins to move into the main bend. This improves the snapping ability of the rig, which acts more like a claw, providing a strong hold on the hook in the mouth of a fish, stuck at least 2.5 centimeters behind its corner or lower lip.

New carbines Covert XT Flexi-Ring Kwik Lok Swivel are easily installed on the ear of the hook (as they’re specially designed for this purpose!) and their latch is stronger than the original model, which means, that they are easier to replace or reuse.

The compression of this connection by a Supa-Shrink tube guarantees a fixed position of the carabiner at the most effective angle. It can not be broken as a result of offsets or touchings to the rigging’s end by a fish that spins on your spot.

In essence, this is one of the critical advantages of the Ronnie rig – the ability to recover and fully maintain an effective presentation.

When and where to use?

I have already used Ronnie in most of my fishing situations – in the clearings between algae, with bait from large particles or scattering of boilies – and I was convinced that in all these cases it acts flawlessly.

I did not use this rig with a “rug” of small particles (like cannabis or a mixture of different grains), but I have no doubt that it would work correctly and with a shorter distance, probably with the addition of a tiny lump of tungsten paste on a shrink tube to prevent too frequent disorderly displacements under the influence of the turbulence of the water, created by the feeding fish.

I managed to catch on both silt and gravel ground – to adapt to this or that bottom substrate; you need to change the weight of the plummet and the length of the fishing line. The method of installing the plummets also dictates the type of the material, which I select by myself. If the bottom is clean and I want to use a helicopter installation, I usually use a monophyletic fishing line, Trick-Link or one of our proprietary fluorocarbon materials.

The small tricks on how to fish

• Ronnie rig, as in the case of many other snap-ins, really needs a choice of the proper pop-up. I personally found that it works better with a small pop-up. I use nice pink Carp Company Caviar & Cranberry balls with a diameter of 12 mm, which have excellent buoyancy and require balancing with a small amount of tungsten paste.
• If I decide to catch fish on a silt ground (or some unknown, but obviously soft substratum), then I prefer to use mounting on a secure clip in combination with a long fishing line with a soft cover. Such a “leash” guarantees, that the bait will not stick over a layer of silt, leaves or algae, where the plummet will be left.
• If there is a loose layer of algae at the bottom, I use a reticulated PVA bag with two boilies and attach it to the hook on the middle lenght (with an open “stinger”). It protects the “stinger” until the rig is not located at the bottom and provides perfect presentation.

Conclusion: some rewies of Ronnie rig

The most successful session

Last year was fabulous because of the large fish capture in several water bodies, and most of them were caught on the Ronnie rig. That would be unfair to call one of those sessions better than others to the carp which I got on this critical path.

The biggest carps caught on Ronnie rig

My most massive mirror carp weighed 24.5 kg and was caught on this rig at the end of November 2017. With her help, I managed to find my second largest carp with a weight of 24.5 kg. Last but not least, I will mention the capture of my biggest ghost carp in February 2017, which weighed 24 kilograms – and again on Ronnie rig!

The best per cent of bites realisation

Since I started using this rig, I lost only one fish (according to the notes in the notebooks). Generally speaking, I don’t count my carps, so this is a doubtful result. However, I can assume that the correlation between capture and loss is 50:1, and we are talking about a huge fish.