The birth of the Kebab Rig
About eighteen years ago, I came up with a rig that I found to be very effective for catfish. It became known as ‘The Kebab Rig’ as it resembled something you’d cook on a barbecue. Applied on a length of heavy braid, but later on a rigid plastic pin, I would skewer chunks of bait which could include fish pieces, liver, luncheon meat, halibut pellets, prawns, in fact anything that would be appealing to a scavenging predator like a catfish. The pin was attached to the shank of a large single hook. It was very successful, and I used it to crack one particular hard venue and landed it’s two biggest residents. It achieved its aim, and I went on to catch big cats from other waters such was its effectiveness. Catfish are not so particular though, and I might have eventually caught those cats on other baits, but during the trials, something stood out that I wasn’t expecting. It also attracted pike!
The pike took all sorts of combinations, and even though I wasn’t targeting them in summer, they wouldn’t leave the kebabs alone. When the chunks consisted entirely of fish pieces that were absolutely dripping with blood and juices, that was when the pike were really interested in them. When autumn arrived, I decided to take things further and target pike specifically using kebabs on pike rigs with wire traces, and replacing the large single hook with a size four treble.
The results were quite amazing, and I caught pike from several venues, and on some days they proved quite superior to normal baits. I suspect that this was due to the pike homing in on them more quickly as they exuded so much scent trail. I didn’t get carried away though. They made a great pike bait that had some advantages over others, but it was just another weapon in my pike catching armoury. I liked the way that I could use up all the rubbish chunks of bait that one accumulates when piking, and could make the bait stretch further. The rig was very simple with just one treble, making handling and unhooking easier and safer. In swims that had been prebaited or groundbaited with fish chunks, they proved very acceptable, being similar to the bait the pike were hunting around for.
Other anglers met my idea with mixed feelings. The rig is often maligned, and usually by those who have not tried it. Anglers who have tried it often report of successes and good results with pike over thirty pounds falling to it. As I have said though, it is just another method, a good one I believe, and one worth trying at any time.
I have caught many big catfish on the rig, and more recently caught zander and chub on a scaled down version of the rig. I have also caught some very big carp too. I found that they loved fish chunks, especially sardines. There are so many untapped possibilities for those with a positive outlook and an enquiring mind.