Rig guide · Intermediate
Ronnie Rig: How to Tie and Fish It
The ronnie rig, often called the spinner rig, presents a buoyant pop-up just above the hook on a small ring or spinner swivel, so the hook spins freely and turns aggressively on the take. It sits low to the lake bed, looks natural, and has become the default pop-up rig on pressured UK waters.
Published by the GilledIt editorial team · Last reviewed 2026-08-19 · Part of the carp rig library
What you need
Ronnie Rig components
- Size 4 to 6 curve shank or medium curve hook
- Quality ring swivel or purpose made spinner swivel
- Shrink tubing or a rubber kicker
- Hook bead
- Micro ring swivel or bait screw for the pop-up
- 4 to 6 inch boom of stiff coated braid or fluorocarbon
- Buoyant pop-up and bait floss
- Tungsten putty (optional, for pinning the boom down)
Step by step
How to tie the ronnie rig
- 1
Mount the hook on the swivel
Open the crook of a spinner swivel (or the split link on a quality ring swivel) and slide on the hook by its eye, so the hook can rotate freely through a full circle.
- 2
Lock the hook with a kicker
Slide a rubber kicker or a short length of shrink tubing over the hook eye and the top of the swivel. This holds the hook at an aggressive angle while still letting it spin, which is what makes the rig hook so well.
- 3
Add the hook bead and pop-up mount
Slide a hook bead onto the shank and trap a micro ring swivel or bait screw against it, positioned roughly opposite the barb. This is where the pop-up sits.
- 4
Tie the boom
Attach a 4 to 6 inch boom of stiff coated braid or fluorocarbon to the bottom eye of the swivel. A stiff boom kicks the rig away from the lead and helps it reset if a fish moves it without being hooked.
- 5
Mount and balance the pop-up
Attach a pop-up with bait floss or a bait screw, then trim it down until it only just lifts the hook section. The hook should sink slowly under the weight of the metalwork with the pop-up sitting neatly on top.
- 6
Test it in the margin
Lower the finished rig into the edge and watch it settle. It should sit hook down with the pop-up riding just above, and flip cleanly when you draw it across your palm. If it sits over slowly or spins lazily, re-trim the bait or check the swivel quality.
When to use the 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.
When not to use it
Over deep weed, leaves or heavy debris, where the whole rig can be swallowed by the bottom. That is chod rig territory. It is also fiddly to tie well, and it punishes cheap components, so it is not the rig to throw together in a hurry with bargain bin swivels.
Get it right
Common mistakes to avoid
Cheap ring swivels. The whole rig hangs off that one component, and bargain swivels with rough crooks or weak rings are the ronnie's best documented weak point. Buy the swivel from an established brand even if you economise everywhere else.
A pop-up that is too buoyant. If the bait more than balances the metalwork, the rig sits up at odd angles and waves at every fish that passes. Trim the pop-up until the rig sinks slowly, hook first.
A kicker that stops the rotation. The shrink tube or kicker should hold the hook at its angle while still letting it spin through a full circle. Shrink it too far down the swivel and you have locked up the mechanism that makes the rig work.
A supple boom. A soft boom lets the hook section fall back against the lead and tangle on the cast. Stiff coated braid or fluorocarbon, 4 to 6 inches, is part of the design, not a preference.
Never testing it in the margin. Thirty seconds watching the rig settle in the edge tells you more than any diagram: it should sit low, hook down, and flip aggressively across your palm. If it does not, fix it before casting, not after a lost fish.
The bigger picture
How does it compare?
Where the ronnie 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(this guide) | 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 | 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 |
Ronnie Rig: common questions
The chod rig is a longer, stiff pop-up rig that sits on top of weed, silt or debris. The ronnie rig is a short, low presented pop-up rig with a free spinning hook held on a ring swivel. Use a chod when the bottom is rubbish; use a ronnie when the bottom is clean and the carp are pressured.
Small enough that the metalwork only just sinks it. Most anglers match a compact pop-up to the hook size and trim it down until the rig sinks slowly, hook first. If the pop-up is too buoyant the rig sits at odd angles; too heavy and it loses the low pop-up presentation entirely.
Purpose made spinner swivels make the rig quicker to tie, but a quality standard ring swivel works too. What matters is that the hook rotates completely freely and that the swivel is well made. Cheap ring swivels are a known weak point on this rig, so buy from established brands.
They share the same idea of a hook spinning freely on a swivel. The ronnie is generally seen as the tidier, safer evolution, because the kicker and hook bead keep everything locked in place, whereas the original 360 style left more exposed metalwork. Some fisheries restrict 360 style rigs, so check the rules.
Stiff coated braid and stiff fluorocarbon are both popular, usually around 4 to 6 inches. The boom needs enough stiffness to push the hook section away from the lead and avoid tangles; a supple boom undoes much of what the rig is designed to do.
Keep learning
Related rigs
Chod 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 guideMulti 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.
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 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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