METAL MICKIES
Since the advent of plastic the popularity  of metal booms for shore rigs has declined rapidly, but they still have their  uses, especially when it comes to offering a different form of bait  presentation.

Plastic tends to be semi buoyant, and  though even a small worm bait may counteract any buoyancy in the boom to some  extent, if you drop a baited boom rig in a few inches of water you’ll see that  the boom tries to rise in the water as each wave passes over and the bait moves  due to the lightness of the boom. That’s an advantage if you want to fish very  small baits and let them either bounce the seabed anchored to a wired lead, or  drift a little using a plain lead.

Remember too that the boom is free to swivel  fully around the rig body line even though it’s trapped in place by crimps and  beads. The semi taught rig between main line and lead does not need to move for  the boom to try and lift or cantilever upwards in the water. Of the different  plastic booms I’ve tried, the excellent Avis Boom seems to have the least  buoyancy.

What though, if you want to keep your baits  static on the seabed to deliberately target bottom feeders like flatties, and  if you’re match fishing, for rockling and the like. This is where the slightly  heavier metal booms come in to play. These have no buoyancy and fished on a  slack line will sit flat on the seabed, even with a very small bait on size 6  hooks and with decent waves passing by in relatively shallow water. This  presentation is a big advantage in dirty seas that are calming down after a  blow when fish can only locate baits by smell alone. If it’s anchored hard to  the seabed it makes it easier for the fish to locate it. The same applies at  night.

You can further control the static  presentation factor according to conditions by choosing heavier metal booms.  There are several types around from short lightweight wire twisted booms right  up to the much heavier 10-inch French booms, the KF tackle spreader booms or  the clip on no knots Knotless Paternoster booms. These are heavy enough to be  fished with a plain lead and allowed to trot along with the tide. Some shops  still carry the old brass booms, or you can reclaim these from old hand lines  the kids use for crabbing.

One of the most effective booms I use is  one I make myself. I use a size 4 three-way swivel and cut free the middle eye  to leave a hole through the swivel body. Using a 6-inch or 9-inch length of  18-gauge stainless wire I form a small round eye at one end, slide the wire  through the hole in the swivel and just bend a small tag end of wire over to  secure the wire in place. This creates a heavy boom with increased weight from  the swivel, which sits hard on the seabed in calm to moderate conditions and  has proved extremely effective at close range for winkling out flatties,  rockling and whiting when traditional ledger tactics have failed.

Metal Booms, sometimes called Metal  Mickies, still have their place then. Adding a few varied boom rigs to your rig  wallet gives you another option to try when bites are scarce.

TIPS AND TRICKS
Small freshwater spoons and spinners make  excellent attractors on boat drift rigs for all types of flatfish and gurnards,  but also work well for winter whiting, codling and coalfish.

Remove the treble hook and replace it with  a small split ring, then add a size 8 swivel to the split ring. To the split  ring tie on about 9-inches of 20lb or 25lb clear mono, slide on a few coloured  beads or sequins and add an Aberdeen  hook size 1 or 1/0 to complete. You can rig them without the split ring and  swivel, but I find the swivel helps cut down on line twist and gives better  presentation.

They are best fished on a 36-inch flowing  trace and plastic boom and work well with both fish and worm baits.

WINTER BOAT ROUGH GROUND LING TACTICS
Ling are slim line predators used to  flushing prey from their hidey holes. Good areas are the reefs and rough ground  in the English Channel, off Cornwall, and pretty much the whole coast of Scotland. They  live around the base of high rising rock pinnacles and in areas close to cliffs  in deep water tight to kelp weed beds. They will also occasionally work across  broken ground close to sand targeting whiting and codling.

They like deeper water, with most of the  double figure ling found in depths exceeding 75-feet. Though not afraid of  working in fast tide areas, they seem to favour marks and features that put  them just on the outside edge of the main tide run protecting them from the  full force of the passing tide.

Ling hunt close to the seabed, usually  rising only a few feet above to intercept food. Good baits for ling are whole  flapper mackerel and herring, but also whiting, pout and codling flappers.  They’ll even take fillets of pollack and coalfish.

Most ling are taken on the drift using a  long flowing trace to maximise bait movement. You feel the ling tap initially  before the rod tip lunges over to the weight of the fish. Just tighten up to  set the hook. Ling can also be caught at anchor on baits using a two hook rig  with muppets for added attraction, though you’ll catch more fish if you either  jig the baits up and down bouncing the lead on the seabed, or working the baits  just off the bottom lifting and lowering the rod tip. Ling really go for the  luminescence and can be attracted to your baits by putting a short length of  luminous green tubing above the hooks. Also try rattling Booby Beads too.

Ling have sharp needle like teeth but hook  traces be made from 100 to 150lb mono are more than adequate. Use a big strong  hook such as a Mustad 6/0 to 10/0 3406 pattern, depending on the bait size  used. 30lb class rods and reels are ample, even for big ling, though in deep  water and faster tides switching from mono to braid means you get better bite  detection and can use less lead.