Deep Sea Reef Rigs

[apple]

Hi everyone,

I was at Long Reef today and donated 4 or 5 rigs to the sea floor.

Can anybody suggest the best rig for reef fishing in 40-70m of water, to avoid snagging? Does anybody know about sacrificial sinkers?

I was using a wire pre-rigged paternoster thing which you just clip hooks and sinkers onto- 2 hooks, one snapper lead on bottom. Very easy but does anybody think the wire trace would deter certain fish from munching on my bait?

By the way I hooked onto somthing really, really good until the line went limp half way up. The knot failed. What do you guys reckon is the safest knot for the main line onto the swivels? I am using mono not braid. There's a whole other discussion.

Thanks in advance to anybody offering advice.

Cheers

Mark

[Captain Spanner]

Hey mate,

If you are just getting started then i would just tie a 2 dropper paternoster using anywhere from 30lb to 60lb mono leader and see how you go. Just tie a loop on the bottom to allow you to easily change sinkers. If you are having trouble with snags then have at least 30cm from your sinker to your bottom hook and then another 30cm to your top hook, then a swivel about 30cm above that, that connects to your main line. I would not use wire unless you are losing lots of hooks to leather jackets. Just try using standard octopus hooks from anywhere from a 2/0 to a 5/0. Try a different type of bait on each hook. You can even use a soft plastic and a bait on your hook if you want. You can pre-tie rigs the night before and keep them in snap lock bags to save time re-rigging on the water too. I would use either a uni knot or full blood knot to attach swivels, whichever you are more comfortable with.

[pure spirit]

Hi everyone,

I was at Long Reef today and donated 4 or 5 rigs to the sea floor.

Can anybody suggest the best rig for reef fishing in 40-70m of water, to avoid snagging? Does anybody know about sacrificial sinkers?

I was using a wire pre-rigged paternoster thing which you just clip hooks and sinkers onto- 2 hooks, one snapper lead on bottom. Very easy but does anybody think the wire trace would deter certain fish from munching on my bait?

By the way I hooked onto somthing really, really good until the line went limp half way up. The knot failed. What do you guys reckon is the safest knot for the main line onto the swivels? I am using mono not braid. There's a whole other discussion.

Thanks in advance to anybody offering advice.

Cheers

Mark

Mate no expert but I'll take a shot at part of your question, i've learnt the hard way myself but have been lucky.. a mate has given me some great tips on longy fishing (and fishing in general only been doing it for 35 years but they say the first 50 is the hardest).

Firstly you fishing on anchor ? if so drop you line to the bottom then bring it up a couple of metres if your fishing on the bottom chances are your baits hidden in the boulders your lossing your gear to. When we fish longy we normal have one each dropped below the boat (often a livie) then free spool a floating bait down the berley trail.

I would not worry about wire just go a heavy ish (depending what your targeting) leader.I normal opt for weight above a swivel then leader to hook if the current picks up i'll clip extra to the swivel rather than re rig. I got a nice little bronzy out there last month on a bottom line set like that with no wire so wire is not always the answer and i think you'll put more off than you'll loss to bite off. Thing is out there there is so much structure if your already on the bottom you've lost half the battle before you start. Set your drag hard as well. There's no such thing as sports fishing there you might just get a 30cm snapper or it could be a metre plus king.... be ready for the king.

As for knots I tie a range depending on weight of the line etc but just remember "if you can't tie knots tie lots" the sacrificial sink is when you use a lighter line to your sinker than your main line so it breaks first, I use the method for deep drop but would not bother for what you are talking about, for me the only time you what to be on the bottom offshore is if you are drifting gravel beds for flatties but hey that's just me and I don't always catch fish.

[apple]

Thanks fellas for taking the trouble to reply in such detail. I will no doubt use every bit of that advice. Regarding anchoring, no I just drift when offshore, slowing it down with a drogue. Keeping baits above the boulders makes a lot of sense. I will definitely try a soft plastic on the second hook and see what gets most the hook-ups.

You guys have outdone yourselves, thanks again.

Mark