Rig guides · part of the rig library
How do I shot a rig?
Four types of shot and weight, fixed or movable, and the rules of thumb that decide a pattern.
Part of the rig library: the rig specs carry the recommendation for a given rig, this page carries the facts.
The four weight types
| Round split shot | Stotz and Stops (cylinder shot) | Styl weights | Olivette | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A soft lead-free sphere with a slit, pinched on the line. The everyday shot from SSG down to No.13 | A short cylinder with a slit along its length, gripping the line over a longer surface. Preston Stotz, Guru Stops, Drennan Stotz | Long, thin cylinders of soft lead alloy, put on with styl pincers. The continental fine-shotting system | A single streamlined bulk weight, threaded on the line or locked with silicone and micro shot |
| Line it suits | Fine lines, 0.08 to 0.14 mm. On thicker line it has to be pinched hard, and hard pinching flattens and damages the line | Thicker lines, 0.15 mm and up. The long grip holds on heavy line without a hard pinch | Very fine lines for bloodworm, pinkie and squatt rigs | Any. It does not grip the line, so it cannot damage it |
| Fixed or movable | Meant to stay put. Once pinched it does not slide cleanly, so shifting a pattern means re-pinching and weakening the line | Slides. Push it up or down the line to change the bulk position and it grips again without marking the line | Fixed once crimped. Delicate and easy to bend, so they are for rigs that are made up at home and left alone | Slides freely on the line. Held in place with a small shot either side or a silicone sleeve |
| When it earns its place | Rigs where the shotting pattern must not move: strung-out droppers on a through-the-water rig, a spread of small shot on a slow-fall shallow rig, delicate canal and silvers rigs on fine line | Bulks you will want to move: margin and edge rigs on 0.17 to 0.22 mm, meat and paste rigs, deep-water bulks that get shifted as the fish come up or go down. A bulk of Stotz in the margin can be slid to the hooklength for a fast drop or spread out for a slow one, on the same rig, without re-tying | Canal and natural-venue silvers rigs where the fall of the bait through the last foot decides the bites. Strung out for a slow fall | Deep water and rivers where you want the bulk in one clean lump: 0.3 g and up, with one or two droppers below. Replaces a string of six or eight shot that would tangle |
| Sizes | SSG 1.6 g, AAA 0.8 g, BB 0.4 g, No.1 0.28 g, No.4 0.17 g, No.6 0.1 g, No.8 0.06 g, No.10 0.04 g, No.11 0.03 g, No.12 0.02 g, No.13 0.01 g | Numbered like shot: No.1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. A No.8 Stotz weighs about a No.8 shot | Numbered 7 to 14 by length, lightest first. Rarely seen on commercials now | 0.1 g to 6 g and more. Sold by weight, so match it to the float rating with the droppers in mind |
Rules of thumb
- Decide first whether the pattern will move. A slow-fall or through-the-water rig wants shot that stays exactly where you put it: round shot on fine line. A margin bulk you will shift up and down all day wants Stotz on thick line.
- Never pinch round shot hard on thick line. It flattens the line and it still slides. Use Stotz or an olivette instead.
- Bulk weight as one lump (olivette, Stotz bulk) drops fast and tangles less. The same weight as a string of small shot falls slower and shows the bait longer. Both are right on different days.
- A dropper is bite detection, not ballast. One or two small droppers between the bulk and the hook register the lift and the drop; more than that and the rig loses its speed.
- Dot the float down so only the tip shows. Shot that leaves half an inch of bristle out of the water hides the delicate bites, which on hard days are the only ones you get.
More guides
What elastic should I use?
Solid, hybrid, hollow and liquid, and how to look after them.
What line should I use?
Mono, fluorocarbon and braid, and the diameters that pair with each hook.
What hooks do I need?
Fine, medium and heavy wire, and the line each one pairs with.
How do I mount the bait?
Direct, bands, hair rigs, bayonets and screws, bait by bait.
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