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Good or bad idea? I know they are less likely to snag, but are they also less likely to catch? Does anyone have any experience of this set-up?
Single hooks on pirks
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ask the whitby anglers who use this method with good success.
try posting in the northeast forum.
try posting in the northeast forum.
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Scottish commercial fishermen at around the turn of the century up to the 50s or longer, used to use single hook lead fish shaped lures called rippers. A legal lure not a foul hooking device. These had one or sometimes two single hooks. I don't think if they found it a disadvantage they would have opted for that setup.
It depends what fish you want to catch. I used single hooks on small pirks (15 to 150 grams) and it's no problem for coaly, pollack, and cod (big soft mounth fish). You're only more likely to loose small fish next to the boat, so now it's even more important to keep tension on the line next to the boat. Don't use barbless hooks, then you'll lose to much fish and normaal hooks are easy to remove (due to the soft mouth).
For species like lumbre, catfish, conger (don't know if you ctach them on pirks over there) you better use treble hooks, they have smaller and harder mounths and I somethimes get the idea there bite is more agression then hunger.
On big pirks (300 to 750 grams) normally use the biggest treble hooks i can get (I'm a spoiled with big cod in Norway) or a big single hook on a swivle (prepeare them at home in the workbech. The big treble hooks are easy to remove from the huge mouth of a cod, but small coalies have the habbit of swimming against them and hooking them selves (no problem some extra bait, but you won't reach the ocean floor).
So if you want to release small fish you better fish with a single hook. Don't use circle hooks, but rather baitholberhooks (the have a nice twist).
For species like lumbre, catfish, conger (don't know if you ctach them on pirks over there) you better use treble hooks, they have smaller and harder mounths and I somethimes get the idea there bite is more agression then hunger.
On big pirks (300 to 750 grams) normally use the biggest treble hooks i can get (I'm a spoiled with big cod in Norway) or a big single hook on a swivle (prepeare them at home in the workbech. The big treble hooks are easy to remove from the huge mouth of a cod, but small coalies have the habbit of swimming against them and hooking them selves (no problem some extra bait, but you won't reach the ocean floor).
So if you want to release small fish you better fish with a single hook. Don't use circle hooks, but rather baitholberhooks (the have a nice twist).
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notice Veals Mail Order (among aother places) sell "assist hooks" (single hook on a short, stiff strop - for attaching to the top eye of the pirk). these work fairly well, so long as the gape of the hook is greater than the diameter of the pirk.
The rippers still in use off Whitby have 2 or 4 single 8/0 (approx) silvery hooks on 4 inch long courlene (orange low-density polyethylene) cord attached fairly near the bottom of the pirk. They wave and 'float' about and Cod take the individual hooks (rather than inhaling them while trying to eat the whole pirk).
Take a look at www.chieftaincharters.com for some more details
The rippers still in use off Whitby have 2 or 4 single 8/0 (approx) silvery hooks on 4 inch long courlene (orange low-density polyethylene) cord attached fairly near the bottom of the pirk. They wave and 'float' about and Cod take the individual hooks (rather than inhaling them while trying to eat the whole pirk).
Take a look at www.chieftaincharters.com for some more details
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Hi tickety,
It's a choice you make, loose the od fish or loose the odd pirk... I fished with single hooks last time on the mvkaren and could not tell the difference in hookup (most of the catch was coaly though...).
Jan
It's a choice you make, loose the od fish or loose the odd pirk... I fished with single hooks last time on the mvkaren and could not tell the difference in hookup (most of the catch was coaly though...).
Jan
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I have used assist hooks to prevent loosing lures. Apparetly they were invented on the Japanese machine jigging commercial boats to actually increase the hook up rates. All to do with the way the fish take the lures apparently! Check out the Grauvell Leadknife pirks, Hiro pirks and the Williamson Speed jigs avilable at Veals. Expensive, although they do work well.
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The Rippers that were used commercialy in Scotland are a lead fishy shape lure weighing about 1.5-2lbs with a single or two single 12/0 or bigger hooks moulded in near the head.
The original North Sea rippers were not unique to Scotland and were more normally fitted with up to 6 single hooks (nothing as big as a 12/0 however). These were fished on a handline, sometimes in front of a lead boom to assist in combating some deep water and fierce tides. Rippers were typically pencil or cigar shaped, tapering back a point at the top. I still have the old ripper moulds and have had several specially made to produce lures that meet an angler's needs. These lures are made up with two single hook danglers off the bottom. In the right hands these lures are as deadly for cod today as they ever were; often taking more fish than flashy, expensive pirks. An instance that sticks out in the memory was a trip with Clive Gammon to the Faroes for Angling Times a few years ago: the humble lead rippers accounted for many more cod than all the other fancy lures together; so much so that stupid money was offered for the last couple in my bucket. But, I gave them to the old Faroese skipper's mate who worked his socks off to make it a memorable trip.
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How interesting. I love hearing about the old stuff that was used.
The information on the rippers I described came from the son of a commercial fisherman. I guess there would be variations on that theme throughout local fishing communities nationwide
The ones he were using were the ones his father left him and he used these right through the 70s when the Cod where still prolific in the Clyde sea lochs.
He also described to me an intersting device called a Bouncer. Ever heard of them?
Interesting watching a Norwegian fishing programme on pirk fishing on satellite at the weekend. The pirks were not big but the hooks were as Kveite previously mentioned in his post big. 12/0 or bigger trebles.
Haddock of 5-6lbs engulfed them no problem. They just dissapeared in several Cod of 20-30lbs.
The information on the rippers I described came from the son of a commercial fisherman. I guess there would be variations on that theme throughout local fishing communities nationwide
The ones he were using were the ones his father left him and he used these right through the 70s when the Cod where still prolific in the Clyde sea lochs.
He also described to me an intersting device called a Bouncer. Ever heard of them?
Interesting watching a Norwegian fishing programme on pirk fishing on satellite at the weekend. The pirks were not big but the hooks were as Kveite previously mentioned in his post big. 12/0 or bigger trebles.
Haddock of 5-6lbs engulfed them no problem. They just dissapeared in several Cod of 20-30lbs.
Glad to help. Not sure about the 'bouncer' thing. It might be another name for the commercials' lead boom (?) which was rigged about a fathom behind the cod ripper, but that's just a guess.
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As it was described to me it was for handline bait fishing over rough ground.
It consisted of a lead ball of about a pound or more (depending on the current and tide pull) of a thick wire, heavy duty fence type wire in a half round shape of about 3 ft in diameter which was moulded into the ball.
The hand line was attached to a link on the lead ball end. The other end of the hoop had a link to the baited line trailing from it.
The idea was that the hoop hit the snags or rocks and bounced the baited trace away from the snags.
It consisted of a lead ball of about a pound or more (depending on the current and tide pull) of a thick wire, heavy duty fence type wire in a half round shape of about 3 ft in diameter which was moulded into the ball.
The hand line was attached to a link on the lead ball end. The other end of the hoop had a link to the baited line trailing from it.
The idea was that the hoop hit the snags or rocks and bounced the baited trace away from the snags.
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The weight / wire boom is called a dodler up here in the far north. The ripper jigs used with them only weigh about 8 oz.
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Stevie,
Have you tried any of these in Scotland recently? I'm thinking of Scrabster in particular. Would it be possible to post a pic of one?
I used to use them quite a bit up at Scrabster and caught plenty fish back in the days when cod outnumbered pollack there. The competition fishing has changed quite a bit from that particular venue the last 10 years, with pollack coming more to the fore now, but I still cover the ripper option basically on venues from Yorkshire to Orkney.
I am crap at posting pictures, but I'll try and remember to put a couple of rippers in with that bag of leads I promised you for next weekend.
S
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i was in a hartlepool tackle shop the other day and the owner was making up some plain lead pirks with 2 single hooks on corlene ready for the boats at the weekend. lots here still use them. they actually look like a peice of solid lead pipe with an eye at each end.
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Was that at the Fraiaridge? Liam has got some nice pirks in at North easst tackle. The Abyss, Baltic and Nordic pirks they do for around £2.50 are good, but they need hooks and split rings. I have put some of those grauvell assist hooks on mine ans they seem ok.
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