Updated September 2026.
Swivels, rings, beads and clips rarely get their own mention in a rig diagram, yet a rig kit is really just these small parts assembled around a hook and a hooklink, and getting them right affects how well everything else works.
Swivels and Sizes
A swivel stops line twist from a spinning lead or a fighting fish transferring damage up the mainline, and size matters more than brand: a size 8 or 10 swivel suits most hooklink work, with size 11 or smaller favoured for finesse presentations where a bulky swivel would be conspicuous. Matching swivel strength to hooklink strength avoids the swivel becoming the weakest link in the chain.
Quick-Change Swivels
A quick-change swivel lets a hooklink be swapped in seconds without re-tying, useful for switching between rig types during a session or replacing a damaged hooklink quickly. The trade-off is a slightly bulkier profile than a plain eyed swivel, generally an acceptable compromise for the convenience gained.
Rig Rings and Micro Rings
Rig rings and micro rings create a free-moving connection point, commonly used to attach a hair or to link sections of a rig without a fixed knot restricting movement. Micro rings suit low-visibility presentations where a standard ring would be too obvious, while standard rig rings handle heavier everyday use.
Beads and Tail Rubbers
Beads protect knots from repeated impact against a swivel or lead clip, and tail rubbers on a lead clip both protect the knot and allow the lead to release cleanly under pressure. Both are inexpensive, easily overlooked components that directly support a rig’s fish-safety and durability.
Hook Beads and Kickers
A hook bead sits above the hook to help kick the hooklink away from the hook shank, encouraging better hook mechanics on the take, while a kicker performs a similar role using a small length of shrink tube or a dedicated kicker component angled off the eye. Both are covered in more depth in the hook mechanics guide linked below.
Bait Screws
A bait screw threads into a boilie or pop-up and clips onto the hair, offering a faster hookbait change than tying a fresh hair loop each time and reducing wear on the hair material from repeated re-threading. They suit anglers changing hookbaits often during a session.
A Rig Kit for £30
A modest rig kit covering a spool of hooklink material, a pack of swivels and rig rings, a tub of beads and tail rubbers, some hook beads or kicker tubing, and a box of hooks in a couple of sizes covers the vast majority of rig-tying needs without needing every specialist component on the market. Building this kit first and adding specific extras only as a particular rig demands them keeps costs down without limiting what can be tied.
For the mechanics these small parts support, see our guide to carp fishing knots, and for building a complete rig around them, our guide to carp fishing rigs.
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Last Updated on September 10, 2026 by Shane Stanford
Shane Stanford has fished for carp for over twenty years, in the UK and in France, and currently fishes a private syndicate water in West Sussex. He writes Fishing Again to put the things he learned the hard way into plain language: location and watercraft first, then bait, rigs and gear. He is straight about which kit he has actually fished and which he has assessed on specification, and says so on the page.
