Rigs
Shore rigs, in plain language
Each has a diagram, the bits you need, when to use it, and the fish it is for. Difficulty is tying and fishing — not a promise of more fish.
Filters — mark, range, species
Mark type
Casting range
21 rigs
2-hook flapperBeginnerThe default UK beach rig. Two snoods above a lead, baits off the bottom, easy to tie, easy to fish.Close · Medium · Beach · Pier · Short range 3-hook flapperBeginnerThe same idea with a third bait. More fish when they are small and shoaling; more tangles when they are not.Close · Medium · Beach · Pier · Short range 1-up 1-downBeginnerOne bait on a snood above the lead, one on a flowing trace below. Covers the bottom and a few inches up.Close · Medium · Beach · Flatfish · General species PaternosterBeginnerSnoods standing off the main backbone on booms or stiff snoods. Useful in a tide so baits do not wrap the lead.Close · Medium · Pier · General species Pulley rigIntermediateThe lead hangs on a pulley so a fish pulling up helps break the lead out. A rough-ground friend.Medium · Long · Beach · Rocks · Big fish Pennel rigIntermediateTwo hooks on one bait — one in the head, one in the body. The way to fish a crab, a squid wrap or a big worm.Close · Medium · Long · Beach · Big fish · Night fishing Pulley PennelIntermediateA pulley lead with a Pennel hook length. The standard ‘I mean this bait’ rig for a winter or a ray session.Medium · Long · Beach · Big fish · Long range Running ledgerBeginnerThe lead slides on the line so a shy fish does not feel the weight. Simple and sensitive close in.Close · Medium · Pier · Short range · General species Fish-finder rigIntermediateA running lead on a zip-slider so a big bait sits away from the weight. The usual tope and big-ray running rig.Medium · Long · Beach · Big fish · Night fishing Single-hook clipped-downAdvancedThe bait is held against the leader with a bait clip so it flies as one and releases in the water. The way to punch a bait into a headwind.Long · Beach · Long range Two-hook clipped-downAdvancedTwo baits held to the leader for a long cast, then released. More chance, more to go wrong.Long · Beach · Long range · Flatfish Three-hook clipped-downAdvancedThree short baits held to the leader, released at range. A match-style rig for shoaling small fish when you already clip two cleanly.Long · Beach · Long range · Flatfish WishboneIntermediateA forked snood presenting two baits close together, often one worm and one strip. A scent and a meal in the same place.Medium · Long · Beach · Big fish Long snood rigIntermediateA single bait on a long flowing trace so it moves in the tide. Turbot, brill, a fussy bass.Medium · Long · Beach · Long range Short snood rigBeginnerA short, stiff hook length for a dumping surf or snaggy ground so the bait does not wrap everything.Close · Medium · Beach · Rocks · Short range Float rigIntermediateA bait suspended under a float for wrasse, mullet, garfish and the odd bass. You watch the float, not a rod tip.Close · Rocks · Pier · Short range Lure setupIntermediateA lure on a braid line, a fluoro leader, and a retrieve. No lead on the sand unless the jig head is the lead.Close · Medium · Beach · Rocks · Short range LRF / light lureIntermediateA very light lure rod, a tiny jig head or creature, and a close hunt for wrasse, pollock, school bass and whatever lives in the first drop.Close · Rocks · Pier · Short range Sabiki / mackerel feathersBeginnerA string of small lures under a light lead, worked through a shoal. When mackerel are in, this is the rig.Close · Medium · Pier · Short range Simple bass rigBeginnerOne bait, one hook, a trace a bass will not think about. Often fished close, sometimes with a light lead.Close · Medium · Beach · Short range · Night fishing Basic wrasse rigBeginnerA short, tough hook length and a small lead, fished into a hole in the kelp. Winch, do not give line.Close · Rocks · Short range