[Mike_N]

Hi everyone,

Im due to be fishing aboard the Smuggler4 with Colin Dukes on September the 9th for a wrecking trip.

Im mainly a beach fisherman but had this opportunity to go out for the day with a few work mates.

We are all using the rods and reels supplied by the skipper but we have to take our own rigs and weights ect.

We are mainly fishing for Bass, pollock and fish like that.

I'll just rattle of a few questions, I would be very thankful if you could please help

I was just wondering what strength line I would need to use for the rig body?

What size weights?

Type of rig to use?

I asked about using red gills with 2 on one rig but I was told not too by Colin and he suggested storm shads but Ive seen them in lots of different sizes, what size would you recommend, Ive seen 4" and 6" ?

My friend has also got some of those rubber crab things for the trip, would it be worth me getting some of these or just stick to the storm shads?

If Ive left anything out please feel free to add stuff.

Thanks in advance

Mike

 

[Shropfisher]

Wrecking trips can be expensive on terminal tackle, get it wrong and you lose the lot on every drift, If the skipper is doing his job right he will give you all the advise needed to avoiding hooking the wreck, Anything from a simple flowing trace to redgills or Shads, As to weights, use a rotten bottom, it could save you a fortune, depending on tide, depth etc you may need anything from 5 oz to 2 lb, I have been out before when 3lb wouldnt touch bottom, not fun..
I have not used shads yet, but it appears any colour works some time some were, but blue seems to be the most used. As to line, I don't use anything over 20lb for leader, if you are going after Bass then thats more than enough, after Tope, Conger etc, you will need wire trace and 30lb + maine line. Personally I would use a simple boom, with a snap swivel, then you can add any leader / flowing trace as you need. Pirks are a good idea for Cod and Bass, you can make your own from crome tubing, use them as a weight and you have an extra chance to catch ( and more to lose ).

 

[paid4]

First question I'd ask is what happened to Smugglers 1, 2 and 3?

 

[Mike_N]

Thanks for the reply mate,

Ive got a few red gills and blue shads, I will make up some rotton bottom links to attach aswell.

What breaking strain would you suggest?

Im using 25lb line for the hook length aswell, one of my mates who is fishing with me told me I didnt need anymore than 10lb though and thats confused me big time...

I have got some french booms that I was thinking of using, with a lure coming off the end, now I've read somewhere that for weighted lures I should use a 4ft hook length and for un-weighted lures to use a 10ft length, is this too much??

As for smuggler 1,2 & 3... I dont have a clue what happened to them, Maybe they are the wrecks were fishing over... he he

I honestly think Colin has upgraded his boats over the years and the 3 & 4 were part of the boat model.. I hope so anyway..


Thanks again for the information, its been a big help.

 

[Shropfisher]

Thanks for the reply mate,

Ive got a few red gills and blue shads, I will make up some rotton bottom links to attach aswell.

What breaking strain would you suggest?

Im using 25lb line for the hook length aswell, one of my mates who is fishing with me told me I didnt need anymore than 10lb though and thats confused me big time...

I have got some french booms that I was thinking of using, with a lure coming off the end, now I've read somewhere that for weighted lures I should use a 4ft hook length and for un-weighted lures to use a 10ft length, is this too much??

As for smuggler 1,2 & 3... I dont have a clue what happened to them, Maybe they are the wrecks were fishing over... he he

I honestly think Colin has upgraded his boats over the years and the 3 & 4 were part of the boat model.. I hope so anyway..


Thanks again for the information, its been a big help.

For rotten bottom rig, I use 8lb, cos thats what I have lying around ( Trout leader actually ) As to Hook length, probably not far off, The key factor for me is when I catch, can I lift the fish up to the surface with this length leader ? So 10ft should be ok, 7ft Rod ? 4 - 5ft from deck to rod, 3ft from deck to sea ? What you don't want is arm in the air, with your best ever fish on the end and you still can't see it with the boom stuck in your top eye.
25lb leader may be a bit over the top, the heavier you go the stiffer and more visable it is , so your shad won't fish as well, thats the theory, but I find that if you use 10lb leader, you can catch 30lb fish without breaking the leader no problem, I have had loads of rainbows up to and over 17 lb on 6lb line and they were fit fish, 20 mins to land, I could have been using wire and not got them in any quicker. Since this is not a regular trip, I would use what you have or nick some off your mate, no point in splashing out for one trip.

 

[Mike_N]

Thanks very much Shropfisher and to everyone else who replied, Hopefully I will look as if I know what Im doing.. heh heh

Cheers all,

Tight lines.

Mike