Sea Fishing by daveonawave

Many different styles/types of rigs are available for the sea angler to utilise depending on the different locations, topography, conditions and species we face and seek. All are available pre tied from tackle shops with prices ranging from £1 to £3.50. If you do decide to buy pre tied rigs I urge you to steer clear from the very cheap ones as they are usually poorly constructed and could lose you a fish of a lifetime.  Buying readymade rigs is great for the beginner but I have found making my own to be very rewarding. There is much information available on how to tie your own rigs and I’m sure with practice you will not only be rewarded with a quality purpose built rig you can rely own but will save you money as well.

The 3 hook flapper (also known as a 3 hook paternoster) is one of the most widely shore rigs. It is known as a flapper because the hook lengths (snoods) are not clipped to the rig body but just flap about. I usually use snoods about 18inches in length with size 2 up to 2/0 hooks. It’s not the best suited rig for distance casting due to its poor aerodynamics but ideal for short range fishing or of piers etc...

The beauty of this rig is you can try different baits on each hook to see what works best in a particular situation. I have caught lots of different species on this rig including whiting, bass and dogfish and will always have a place in my rig wallet.

How I make them

Tie a lead link, split ring etc.. on the end of a 1.5 m length of mono. Slide on a crimp, a bead and then pass the line through an eye of a swivel.Slide on another bead then a crimp and repeat this process for how many hooklenght you will be using (in this case 3). Now tie on another good quality swivel.Tie the snoods of desired length onto the bead trapped swivels. Crimp all the crimps making shore that the snoods do not overlap each other as this may lead to tangles.

A good rig for rough ground work targeting sizeable fish like bass, codling, dogfish and huss. The main rig body line passes through the lower eye of a swivel with a bead either side. A swivel is then tied to the free end which takes the hook length. I usually use either a 4/0 hook for crab and sandeel or a pennel arrangement with size 2/0 on top and 4/0 on the bottom.

When a fish takes the bait, the hook length is pulled through the swivel eye until the bead jams against the split ring connecting to the weight. While the fish pulls on the hook length, the lead is lifted up out of the way of passing snags. This lifting motion can also lift a snagged lead at the outset of a bite.

How I make them

Tie a lead link, split ring etc.. on the end of a 1 m length of mono. Slide on a bead and then pass the line through an eye of a swivel. Pass line through another bead and then tie on another swivel. Now tie on your hook snood (I use about 70cm of 20lbs mono) to the other end of the swivel and tie on the hook of your choice.

The Pennel snood can be used as a snood in most rigs, it helps maintain bait presentation when large baits are used.

How I make them

You need two hooks, choose wisely depending on the bait you are using e.g. Aberdeen hooks for worm bait or short shank hooks for fish baits. I usually use a combination of a size 2/0 and a 4/0 hook. Slide the hook length (usually 15 -20 lbs clear mono) through the eye of the smaller hook and then tie on the larger hook. The top hook (the smaller one) should slide freely up the line. When baiting up hook the bottom hook through the the main part of the bait, wrap the line a couple of times around the shank of the top hook and hook it through the top of the bait.