Rig guide · Intermediate
Multi Rig: How to Tie and Fish It
The multi rig holds the hook on a stiff looped hooklink passed through the eye, so you can change the hook in seconds without retying anything. Fished with a pop-up mounted on a ring swivel riding the loop, it gives a low, aggressive presentation and keeps a genuinely sharp hook on your rig at all times.
Published by the GilledIt editorial team · Last reviewed 2026-08-19 · Part of the carp rig library
What you need
Multi Rig components
- Coated braid or stiff filament hooklink, around 15 to 25lb
- Size 4 to 6 curve shank hook
- Micro ring swivel for the pop-up
- Buoyant pop-up and bait floss or a bait screw
- Tungsten putty
- Size 8 swivel for the lead end
- Shrink tube kicker (optional)
Step by step
How to tie the multi rig
- 1
Tie the loop
Tie a figure-of-eight loop about 2 inches long in the end of your coated braid or stiff filament. The loop is the engine of the rig, so make it neat and test it with a firm pull.
- 2
Thread on the pop-up swivel
Slide a micro ring swivel onto the loop before it goes anywhere near the hook. This swivel carries the pop-up and rides freely around the loop.
- 3
Pass the loop through the hook eye
Push the end of the loop through the back of the hook eye, from the point side, so the loop hangs down the shank.
- 4
Pass the loop over the hook
Take the loop over the point and the whole hook, then draw it back so it seats snugly around the shank behind the eye. The hook is now held by a lark's head style hitch, with the ring swivel sitting on the loop near the bend.
- 5
Mount the pop-up and balance
Attach the pop-up to the ring swivel with floss or a bait screw, then mould a small piece of tungsten putty onto the hooklink just below the loop so the rig sinks slowly and sits low, hook down.
- 6
Check the seating, and change hooks freely
Give the loop a firm pull to confirm it is seated, then palm test the turn. When the hook dulls, push the loop forward, slip it back over the hook, swap on a fresh one and reseat: a ten second job that keeps a sticky sharp point on the rig all session.
When to use the multi rig
Pop-up fishing over clean to lightly silty bottoms, and any session where hook sharpness matters more than anything else, because the loop lets you swap hooks in seconds. It shares the low pop-up presentation of the ronnie with less metalwork.
When not to use it
Over weed and heavy debris, where a chod or helicopter presentation keeps the bait visible. Some anglers also avoid it with very small hooks, where the doubled loop through a tiny eye can be bulky; if the loop cannot seat cleanly, tie a ronnie instead.
Get it right
Common mistakes to avoid
A loop tied too small. If the loop will not pass comfortably over the whole hook, you stretch and strain it into place, and a stressed loop is the one part of this rig that must never be under-strength. Two inches is the working size.
Soft braid for the loop. The loop must hold its shape to seat around the shank; supple material collapses into a tangle and defeats the quick-change mechanism entirely. Coated braid or stiff filament only.
No tungsten putty. Without a counterweight the pop-up lifts the hook section into a strange, visible angle above the bottom. A pea of putty below the loop is what pins the rig down looking natural.
Not reseating the loop after a hook change. The ten-second hook swap is the rig's party trick, but the loop must be drawn back snug behind the eye afterwards and given a firm test pull. A half-seated loop can slip at the worst moment.
Forgetting the ring swivel before the loop goes through the eye. Thread the pop-up swivel onto the loop first; realise too late and the only fix is dismantling the rig.
The bigger picture
How does it compare?
Where the multi rig sits among the ten rigs in the library, by the bottom it presents over, the bait style it carries, and how hard it is to tie.
| Rig | Bottom type | Bait style | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hair Rig | Clean or lightly silty | Bottom baits and snowmen | Beginner |
| Ronnie Rig | Clean or lightly silty | Low pop-ups | Intermediate |
| Zig Rig | Any (bait suspended in mid water) | Zig foam and small pop-ups | Intermediate |
| Chod Rig | Weed, silt, leaf litter and debris | Buoyant pop-ups | Intermediate |
| Method Feeder Rig | Clean commercial bottoms (not heavy weed or deep silt) | Banded pellets, mini boilies, wafters, corn | Beginner |
| PVA Bag Rig | Silt, soft bottoms and low weed | Small pop-ups, wafters and pellets | Beginner |
| KD Rig | Clean to lightly silty | Wafters and balanced baits | Beginner |
| Multi Rig(this guide) | Clean to lightly silty | Pop-ups (quick hook changes) | Intermediate |
| Helicopter Rig | Silt and weed; long range (lead arrangement) | Any — classic partner for chod sections | Intermediate |
| Running Rig | Clean to lightly silty; margins and short range | Bottom baits (lead arrangement) | Beginner |
Multi Rig: common questions
Both are low pop-up rigs for clean bottoms. The ronnie spins the hook on a swivel locked at the eye, while the multi holds the hook on a stiff loop, with the pop-up on a ring swivel riding that loop. The multi's party trick is hook changes without retying; the ronnie's is its fully rotating hook.
A properly seated loop pulled up snug behind the eye holds firmly through casting and fights, and the pull of a hooked fish tightens it further. If you want extra security, a small section of shrink tube or a hook bead over the seat locks it in place. Always give the loop a firm test pull before casting.
A coated braid or stiff filament of around 15 to 25lb is usual. The material needs enough body for the loop to hold its shape and seat properly around the shank; very soft braids collapse and defeat the quick change mechanism.
The putty counterbalances the pop-up so the rig sinks slowly and sits pinned to the lake bed with the hook down and the bait just above it. Without it the buoyant bait can lift the rig into an unnatural angle that pressured carp will avoid.
Keep learning
Related rigs
Ronnie Rig
Pop-up fishing on clean or lightly silty bottoms, especially on hard fished waters where carp have learned to deal with simpler presentations. The low profile and free spinning hook make it very hard for a feeding carp to eject.
Read the guideKD Rig
With wafters and balanced baits over clean to lightly silty bottoms, and on pressured waters where carp have learned to deal with the standard hair rig. It costs nothing to tie and often buys you a slightly better hookhold.
Read the guideChod Rig
Whenever the bottom is dirty: weed, silt, leaf litter or unknown ground. It is also the classic choice for casting at showing fish, because it presents effectively wherever it lands.
Read the guideFor the bigger picture of which rig fits which situation, read carp rigs explained, or browse the full carp rig library. The knots that hold it all together are in the knot library.
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