Sea Fishing Rigs - A Guide For Every Angler

When it comes to salt water fishing, the way you present your bait can make all the difference in a productive day on the beach and a day when you come home with your stringer empty. Because it is important that you use the right sea fishing rigs, a guide for every angler is an invaluable asset.

Many sea fish feed on the bottom, so it is important to be able to put the bait right on the bottom. One good presentation, and one of the most commonly used of all sea fishing rigs is the paternosters. The main objective with a paternoster is to be sure the bait rests on the floor of the sea. Put a swivel between a couple of beads. These swivels allow the rig to roll in the dips and holes more readily.

If you shorten your snood, you will find that the fish hook themselves more easily. If the fish are biting that way, you are good to go, but if you find them off the bite, just switch to a longer snood for a more natural presentation. If tangling becomes a problem, try a weaker line on the snood. It will allow the hook to come free if it really gets hung up on something. Just be aware that using a boom keeps the tangles down, but it also makes the presentation less natural and keeps you from casting as far.

If you are fishing for a more reluctant fish such as bass, you can run ledgers, and keep the fish from feeling the resistance other rigs create. The down side to running ledgers is that they snag very easily, and that being said...when you snap a snood, you can wind up losing the whole rig. So, if you want to run a ledger, it is best to do it where the bottom is clear. Running ledgers allows the bait to present naturally on the bottom of the sea bed.

Many other rigs keep the bait dangling above the bottom, making it look less natural and putting fish off the bite. You can use a double 4 fold blood knot or a leader knot to tie on your snood, but use a bead to keep it from moving past the swivel or lead. You might want to alter the 2nd rig by attaching your sinker with weaker line if you are fishing on rough ground using short casts.

A pennel rig is basically just two hooks on a snood. The first hook is a little bigger than the second usually. Be sure to make the hook size match the bait size, and the bait size should match the fish size as always. The second hook will make all the difference when you are primarily fishing for large fish, but the waters are rich with smaller panfish as well.

Wishbone rigs are designed specifically so that two baits may be fished at the same time, in close proximity to each other. It will work best when you tie with 20 pound test line. Tangling is a problem with the wishbone rig, but it is a good way to compare bait. This works best on piers and in harbors.