Line colour for rigs and catching rock conger tactics

RIG LINE COLOUR
I got in to a long conversation the other day in my local tackle shop about the pros and cons of line colour for rigs and hook lengths. Does it make a difference? Good question!

My home waters in Wales are very clear and I like matt finished hook length line for bright daylight. I know that bass over rough ground by day can shy away from clear glassy surfaced mono's, I've seen them do it. Bream are another fish that can be line shy from the shore and you can miss bites if there is any flash off clear coloured line or a line that contrasts with the seabed. Over this type of ground I'd choose Sylcast Super Snood brown, or Maxima Marine Green to mix in with the rock.

Does colour make a difference?

If I'm over sand after flats during the day, then clear mono like Amnesia or a yellow line makes some sense, but I'd go for the yellow if the water depth were shallower than 10-feet. Pale blue lines like Sylcast camouflage well over shingle banks. The same applies to rig bodies. My rock rigs are made from brown or green Maxima, with clear or yellow line used for sandy ground rigs.

Colours I won't use are anything fluorescent for rig bodies, even in badly coloured water. Fluorescent lines just look so unnatural to me and it plays on my mind. Red is another no no over anything but rocky ground. In my experience round fish in daylight over a paler seabed's like sand seem to avoid red traces.

Just to play Devil's advocate there are occasions when brightly coloured traces can help you put together a mixed bag of flats, pout and poor cod using multi colour line rigs as attractors, but it's desperate times and tends to be something I'd try when pushed in to a corner by a lack of bites.

In short, match your line colour to the seabed when daylight fishing in shallow clear water and choose matt lines to avoid flash for potential shy feeders like bass and bream.

Adding sequins and coloured or luminous beads to snoods will attract certain fish, especially flatfish, whiting and ling. You'll find though, that these work best when the angler physically "twitches" the bait back towards him occasionally, or when the sea has some movement and the hook trace can swirl about moving the beads and creating something visual that searching fish can home in on. This represents small fish moving about but it's the scent from the bait that really gets a passing fish's interest.

TIPS AND TRICKS
Aerodynamic bomb or torpedo shaped leads may be ideal for long-range casting but they tend to snag badly over rough ground because of their slim elongated shape. When casting distance is not so much of an issue switch over to the old fashioned flat watch leads designed for boat fishing and you'll find you lose fewer weights. These roll less in the tide and being wider are less prone to falling down cracks between rocks and boulders.

Always thread lugworm on the hook tail first. This places the juicy part of the worm nearest the hook point, which is where a fish is most likely to bite first.

ROCK CONGER TACTICS

Catching rock conger

Contrary to popular belief they do not frequently live in holes. Rock living conger use the shape of their bodies to lie along the cracks and fissures of rock crevices and surprise prey as they pass by. They are caught all year round, but expect hot periods for big fish from February to April, and again from October to January. Prolonged bitterly cold weather in the latter period can push them out to deeper water, though some stay and can die of hypothermia if caught in shallow water.

Favourite areas to find big conger are the edges of small rocky bays just outside a tide run, around small rocky islands within casting range just off the main shore, or along the edges of sounds between shore and islands where a fast tide is bottled up.

Conger are principally night feeders, but smaller strap conger will feed in daylight if the skies are well overcast and the water deep. The best days are when it's raining and light levels are minimal.

It's a myth that conger feed best when the weather is calm. Such nights can be good, but if you want big fish then wait for windy weather with some swell on the sea. Conger become very active in such conditions and can frenzy feed and in numbers. The often stir from their lair just as the tide is making or beginning to ease, but on neaps will feed through the running tide.

Another myth is that they take stale baits. Conger can be one of the choosiest fish regards bait It must be fresh and the ideal way is to catch small pout, whiting, poor cod or rockling and use a fresh fillet from one of these. A good standby bait is either cuttlefish or squid. Conger always take baits head first.

Conger tackle needs to be strong and able to bully fish from the rocks. Strong tournament type rods with low-geared multipliers loaded with 30 to 40lb line are ideal. Use either a pulley rig or running ledger, but use 100 to 150lb mono to the hook. The best hooks are O'Shaughnessy patterns size 6/0 for average fish and up to 10/0 for the specimens.

When you hook conger keep the pressure on and only give line if you're absolutely forced to. They spin in the tide and will try to crash dive when the feel the surface getting close. If you have to gaff conger, do so in the lower jaw where minimal damage will occur. Unhook them using a T bar disgorger and bounce the hook out to release them.