Firetails and Sidewinder Shimmers

Generally speaking i dont lure fish because a) im lazy b) i usually end up losing the lures and c) since i dont do it often i have little faith in my abilities.

having been reading reports on this site for last year or more it would seem the general rule that if you want a bigger pollock you have to use lures. so i tend to put this theory into practice and do a lot more lure fishing over the summer, particularly with rubber worms\eels. mostly because they seem popular and effective and also becuase i like the look of them and have confidence in them if not myself. obviously the fish are fickle and may not want them everytime but its a starting off point.

i like to keep my set ups as light as possible, often too light and i know my float fishing rod cant lift a near pound fish out of the water, but hey, i fish for sport and the sport is in the fight, there has to be a chance the fish can fight free or its no fun.

my starting set up is a mitchell 7ft 8-25gm rod (ive had wrasse to 4lb on this rod so know it can handle itself) with a shimano catana 3000 reel (unused) which is perfect size for the rod. i have 2 spools for the reel. one loaded with 8lb braid and the other with 12lb mono in case i need to go heavier. will also be using a rubbing leader of probably 12 or 15lb mono.

i can get over being lazy and will have more faith in myself one i get the practice in and get a few fish since ive never got a fish in the sea on a lure before only when chucking feathers. to get around the always losing my gear side of things i have taken the advice expressed on this site of rigging them texas style with offset hooks. i know it wont eliminate losses but should reduce them from the loss every 5 casts i usually have.

so to my point.

im trying to decide how to rig the lure itself.

ive been praticing rigging them up on the hooks and feel ive got the hang of this but am himing and ha-ing about where to put the weight.

my 2 options are shown in the pics below. one is to have the weight right at the head of the worm secured with a float stop so it acts kind of like a jig head or have a few feet of line and then the weight higher up.(see pics). personally i think i would be more included to go for the first option. the drilled bullets i have are small (5, 10, 15 and 20gms) but will still be able to cast 20 to 40 yards depending on the wind which should suffice on a deep water mark.
i just think putting the weight up the line would be like adding a pivot point between the rop tip and the lure and i wouldnt be as in contact with the lure or be able work it over the weed as well as if the weight was at the head. i do have jigheads but cant get the worm to sit nice when trying to rig them weedlessly.

i dont know if it makes any difference where the weight is on the line...
all opinions would be welcome.


also i think i remember reading somewhere on here that people where have trouble finding offset hooks
i got mine here and they seem good value though havent used them yet
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180612034904&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

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Hi there, my first thought on your question of ' where to put the weight ' To me just lobbing out a lure and reeling it in, is missing the joy of using your baits to their full potential. Although i know that many fish are taken this way, to vary your retrieve rate, add a twitch, sink and draw all increase the effectiveness of your lure and add the thrill of finding out which method attracts which species. So to be able to do this effectively, the weight should be at the hook. Otherwise your efforts to put some action into your lure will be reduced when transferred from the weight. The correct size lead-head will give this action with the bonus of an upward hook, to avoid snagging the bottom I use this method regularly from both boat and shore, it remains my favourite form of angling. Happy Hunting.

yes the last post is spot on my friend, in my experience i find that pollock can be picky and choosy sometimes, i was in ballycotton the other day and the pier was lined with people and ide say i was the only person using a lure and wasnt catchin, every1 wer using feathers and they wer catchin!!!!!! i was so freaked out , but having said that at the same time i have cot big pollock on lures over there and think this is the best way for the bigger fellas, all the while the feather cot 1s were all small!!!!

have a look at this.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=HZaq8abrR_M

oh yes man, jus back from a night of spinning for pollock in ballycotton and im telling ya fire tails are the only way ta go man for pollock, got loads of smallies which i threw back of course and i got 2 nice size fellas bout 2r3lbs i would say!!!!!!!

Leadheads do have the advantage in that they present the hook upwards, they also offer more colour.

I am somewhat surprised that you use drilled bullets and not the small barrel lead which offer less resistance when retrieving

Hi there, my first thought on your question of ' where to put the weight ' To me just lobbing out a lure and reeling it in, is missing the joy of using your baits to their full potential. Although i know that many fish are taken this way, to vary your retrieve rate, add a twitch, sink and draw all increase the effectiveness of your lure and add the thrill of finding out which method attracts which species. So to be able to do this effectively, the weight should be at the hook. Otherwise your efforts to put some action into your lure will be reduced when transferred from the weight. The correct size lead-head will give this action with the bonus of an upward hook, to avoid snagging the bottom I use this method regularly from both boat and shore, it remains my favourite form of angling. Happy Hunting.

im glad my gut agrees with you, i would be more inclined to want to actually work the lure, have been researching on youtube, mainly largemouth bass tactics but they can be very informative on how to work a lure and use very similar methods, there even quite a few underwater videos which actually shows you what the lure looks like when it works and im sure the predatory instincts of largemouth and pollock arent totally disimilar.

have a look at this.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=HZaq8abrR_M

oh yes man, jus back from a night of spinning for pollock in ballycotton and im telling ya fire tails are the only way ta go man for pollock, got loads of smallies which i threw back of course and i got 2 nice size fellas bout 2r3lbs i would say!!!!!!!

yes i came across this video while doing my research and he nice pollock has really whetted my appetite,nice job on getting yours as well, 3lb pollock would be a new pb for me

Leadheads do have the advantage in that they present the hook upwards, they also offer more colour.

I am somewhat surprised that you use drilled bullets and not the small barrel lead which offer less resistance when retrieving

i havent had much luck with leadheads in the past and more often than not i get them snaggedand lose it. i like the way these off set hooks can be rigged weedlessly and that in itself will increase my own confidence which i think is important.

also i had intended to get barrel weight but the tackle shop i was in only had them in 2oz my wee rod can only handle 1/2 ounce plus lure so it wasnt an option

what i really want to get are the ones i seen on a bass fishing instructional video. purpose built for the job.havent found any in the uk yet and dont think it will be worth paying the postage from the states.
http://www.outdoorproshop.com/Top-Brass-Bullet-Weight-Brass-p/topbrass-bulletweightbrass.htm

thanks for the advice everyone, am heading out tomorrow night, if i get one pollock on a lure, whatever size, it will be a first, fingers crossed