Sea Coach
All rigs

Pulley rig

Intermediate

Also called Pulley dropper

The lead hangs on a pulley so a fish pulling up helps break the lead out. A rough-ground friend.

Land fish over mixed and rough ground without burying the lead.

Beads, a pulley cord, a rotten-bottom and a single hook length. More components than a flapper, and you have to understand why the lead must be able to slide. Not a first-night rig.

BeachRocksBig fishLong rangeMedium rangeLong range

Diagram

Pulley rig diagram
Tap a part — lead, snood, hook, clip — to see what it does.

When to use

Mixed and rough ground when you want one decent bait and a chance of breaking the lead out as the fish comes in. Cod, huss, conger, a kelp edge.

Cod, huss, conger on mixed and rough. A single bait.

Ground and marks

Beach, Rock mark, Pier. Ground: mixed, rough, kelp.

Mixed and rough ground when you want one decent bait and a chance of breaking the lead out as the fish comes in. Cod, huss, conger, a kelp edge.

A clean sand dab session, or a shoal of whiting. Overkill, and you only have one hook. Do not skip the rotten-bottom on a snag.

A moving tide over mixed ground. Slack on a snag mark just lets crabs work. Match lead to the run so you hold without burying.

Marks: Beach, Rock mark, Pier. Ground: mixed, rough, kelp.

One bait, a proper wait, a rod in a rest. When you lift, the fish helps slide the lead up the pulley so you are not winching a 6 oz grip out of the kelp as well.

Hooks 2/0–6/0. Lead: 5–6 oz, often a rotten-bottom.

Shock leader 60 lb into a pulley bead and swivel so the lead can slide up a short cord. Weak link (rotten-bottom) to the lead. Hook length 18–36 in of 40–60 lb. One strong hook.

How to tie it

  1. 01The lead slides on a short pulley cord so a fish lifts it.
  2. 02One hook, a proper bait, a weak link to the lead.