Basic wrasse rig
BeginnerAlso called Kelp rig, Close-range rough-ground rig
A short, tough hook length and a small lead, fished into a hole in the kelp. Winch, do not give line.
Extract wrasse from cover.
A short tough trace and a small lead. The hard part is the mark — kelp, swell, a winch when they dive — not a dozen components.
Diagram
When to use
A hole in the kelp, a harbour wall, pier piles, a crab or a rag for wrasse. Close, tough, no long snood.
Rocks, harbour walls, pier piles.
Ground and marks
Rock mark, Harbour, Pier. Ground: kelp, rough.
A hole in the kelp, a harbour wall, pier piles, a crab or a rag for wrasse. Close, tough, no long snood.
A long flapper snood in kelp, a floppy beachcaster, or a ledge in a rising swell. Giving line into the weeds is how you donate the rig.
A bit of movement. Low water can put them in reach of a drop. A huge sea on the rocks is not a wrasse day — it is a stay-home day.
Marks: Rock mark, Harbour, Pier. Ground: kelp, rough.
30 lb braid, a 12 in 40 lb hook length, a crab, drop it in the hole. When it dives, you lift. You do not ‘play’ it in the weeds.
Hooks 1–3/0 strong. Lead: 1–3 oz.
30 lb braid, 12–18 in of 40 lb hook length, strong hook 1–3/0, small lead 1–3 oz. Rotten-bottom if you insist on a grip. No long leader of 60 lb you then cannot pump.
How to tie it
- 0130 lb braid, a 12 in 40 lb hook length, a crab, drop it in the hole.
- 02When it dives, you lift. You do not ‘play’ it in the weeds.