Methods

Methods, Rigs and Traces

To provide information for crews that ask me about some methods, rigs and traces.

Rods
First you need a medium class 20lb-30lb Rod, around 7' 9" long. To begin with only go for 'good value rods', around £40. If you can afford it, go for a 12-30lb and a 20-50lb Class Rod as this covers most conditions.

Tip - Prepare your rods with a zip slider, bead and Breakaway Fastlink ready to clip your rigs on and off quickly

Reels
Basics - start with a medium sized sturdy value reel, a spare is good to have too.
Tip - I would recommend the Penn 220 cs at around £30 each.
Tip - Level winds on value reels, will not last long, so avoid them.

Leads
Basic - a selection that includes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10oz, 1lb, 1.25lb and 1.5lb lead weights (sinkers). Bullet or Ball leads are good for drifting and when fishing into rocky marks.

Line
Basics - 30lb-50lb Braid is the norm, with a 50lb Nylon leader at least 18’ long, joined with a grinner or shock leader knot.
Tip - As shown above, tie off with a zip slider, bead and Breakaway Fastlink, All your rig swivels will link onto this.

Rigs or Traces
Basics - all rigs must be prepared to clip on to the Fastlink attached to your main line.
Tip - Use a quality swivel not too small, as with cold hands they must be usable.
This is about the physical size you need and will have a breaking strain of 150lb or more.

Tip - For Feathers, Flapper and Hokkai rigs use an American Snap link for the lead weights as they are cheap easy to use and can sometime pull out if jammed into a rocky snag.
An American Snaplink.

Rigs ready to go

	Set or two of quality ‘Feathers’ with tinsel and day glow beads, add a swivel to one end (to connect with Breakaway fastlink on the leader) and an American Snaplink to the other (for the lead weight).
	Set or two of quality Hokkais (also prepared as above).
	A Flapper rig with size 6 hooks for Bream (as above).
	A flapper rig with size 1 hooks for Whiting etc (as above).
	A 150lb nylon rig with 8’ long flowing trace and Pennel 6/0 hooks for big biting fish (Congers, Tope, plus Cod) 8/0 hooks avoid the dogfish interfering, (swivel ready to connect to link on the leader).
	An 80lb nylon rig with 8’ long flowing trace and Pennel 4/0 hooks (Cod, Rays, Bass).
	A 20lb Vanish type invisible in water, rig with long flowing trace and 2/0 hooks or smaller . Ideal for smaller species in clear water. This may retrieve lip hooked Tope and Conger, but not very resilient to teeth.
	A selection of latex Shads, Sidewinders, Jelly Worms, Twin Tails and Eddystone Eels.

Bait
Mackerel, Squid and Worm for starters, then get fancy.

When and Where
That’s the secret; test and learn, watch, copy and listen.

More Top Tips

	Practice being efficient at setting up, as conditions are forever changing. So I recommend that you fit the reel to the rod, terminate your leader with a Breakaway C Link and clip on your starting trace. Have your spare rigs and leads to hand and be ready to change, experiment or copy.
	Use baited Hokkais at slack water, or during tide run for a mix of smaller species.
	Use long flowing traces as the tide starts to move away, for better specimens.
	More tide, longer trace, less tide, shorter trace.
	At slack water the fish move off the bottom, so fish the water column, under the boat.
	With neap tides in less than 40' of water avoid fishing under the boat, practice casting away from the boat. Be warned this is a team effort, shout when casting and try not to interfere with others.
	Small hooks can catch big fish!
	Keep hooks sharp. When drifting hooks become blunt.
	Big hooks don't catch the small and interesting species!
	Big fish have hard mouths and need a stiffer rod to 'set' the hooks.
	At anchor with the tide running, work your lead back down the tide, 'feeling' the bottom.
	Be mindful of other lines, as the less tangles means more fish.
	Keep hands, rods, reels and rigs, clean, organised and tidy.
	Up-tide casting is a good method that could be experimented with in anything less than 60’.
	If casting from a boat, always tell the others, that you intend to do cast and as you cast!
	Do not leave your lines unattended when fishing a rocky bottom, you will loose tackle.