hairrigged superglued yes, hairigged to another hook no as you are then using two hooks, in fact a two hook rig which is allowed at some venues oop north! mind you there a bit peculier up there mushy peas, ferrets,pidgeons, flat caps and tripe spring to mind

They should just use a barbed treble and be done with it!~naughty

@Fred Davis wrote:

hairrigged superglued yes, hairigged to another hook no as you are then using two hooks, in fact a two hook rig which is allowed at some venues oop north! mind you there a bit peculier up there mushy peas, ferrets,pidgeons, flat caps and tripe spring to mind

Quite right Fred. on all points.

I know they use the technique around Leeds for hair rigging small whippets for pike, but not in matches.

got summat up mi sleave for sunday along these lines mate??????????????????/

I was told about this rig by a speci angler, by all accounts on some of the lakes down here they are cleaning up on maggots.

I pointed out to them that although that’s fine when fishing for big carp you can’t do it in matches as your using 2 hooks on a rig. What next 3 hook flapper rigs or pennel rigs?

Providing the barbed hook used for the hair has been bent straight, then I cant see what the problem is because obviously this second hook isnt being used to actually hook the fish, and is in no way offering any advantage over a single hook. Except that its a convenient form of hair rigging. I think it is a really clever little trick.
No doubt you will get some people who are negative towards it because they didnt think of it first. No doubt you will probably see these being commercially available soon and then it will suddenly be acceptable.

~naughty if said carp closes its mouth on a barbed pin/hook and it breaks the hooklength how can the fish get rid of it?
(this is why barbed hooks where banned,to protect the fish)
how can this be an acceptable method!?
Just my opinion~think

You can pinch the barb down.

Just use a size 12 barbless b911 with 12 maggots on it instead,lol.

Or a size 18 with 20 hair rigged maggots.lol

Can’t see why they don’t just use a Korda maggot clip!

To be fair though, from a speci point of view I don’t see a problem with it aslong as the fishery allows it, after all, when pike fishing most people (me included) use two trebles on a trace!

I might be wrong but didn,t Jamie Masson show Keith Arthur something very similar to this on Tight Lines a couple of weeks ago ?

We went with this argument last year because I posted the same question. I was heavily criticised for the thought of it. A 22’s fine wire barbless caster hook on a hair would straighten immediately if it became hooked on any half decent carp.

Not that i use the method but surely…..

A “hook” is named due to it being hooked in shape.
If you are using a second hook on a hair which has been bent straight, then it is no longer a hook but a bait spike????

The rig is called the medusa and has been devastating in winter for several years on many speci carp venues. A maggot ring is the simplest way of setting the rig up in the speci world. Alternatives are to hair rig a cork ball and super glu maggots to it. You can also use a baiting needle and cotton to create a ball of maggots then attach to the hair. However, for smaller commercial carp venues where maybe only 5/6 maggots are wanted as the hook bait rather than 10/20 maggots on the speci rig. Bending a small fine wire barbed hook into almost a full circle would do the same job and would be allowed in the same way as the speci maggot rings and would in effect be a bait spike. As long as there is no chance of hooking a fish with the maggot ring. Then it is likely to be allowed on many waters unless specifically banned. If some anglers are simply hair rigging a second hook then that should not be allowed.

An eyed size 16 with a size 20 hook where you would have your band is a 2 hook rig. So, is banned even in the N/W except on a few silver fish venues.

There are only a hand full of venues where double hooking is allowed in the N/W and commercials are none of them.

There are many ways to set the madusa rig up so that its legal and suitable for match type commercials.

Those lads your describing are cheating/breaking a basic match fishing rule and have not thought though the problem of using the madusa rig for commercial sized carp. Lots of ways of staying within the rules if they had only thought about it. Lazy, if you ask me!

If you use a small barbed hook and straighten completely I don’t see the problem with that. Its no different to using a bait spike and there is no danger of hooking anything on a straightened hook. No doubt that ll get a few bites on here though

I should have added to my first reply that I think it’s unnacceptable in match to use the hook un-doctered. Plenty of ways of achieving the same without resorting to two hooks.

Fred, I don’t think southerners have the cultural high-ground to be honest

pearly kings/queens, eel pie & flat wazzy beer spring to mind

also a tendancy to undercook red meat in a pitiful attempt to be french!