Favourite wrasse traces?

Hi guys Im looking for information from experienced competition anglers about wrasse traces / tactics.

I normally catch them as a bi-product when Gilling for Pollack with Ragworm. However browsing this site and others some people seem to think adding different colours of beads work well, ie yellow, red or orange. Some posts have even said that the colour of lead can make a difference?

Im planning on making up some plain 3 hook flappers with size 2/0 Aberdeens, but before I do I want to gauge other people opinions on what works well for wrasse.

Some good information on this link

http://rinnashark.forumakers.com/shore- ... 9.htm#1902

For the boat I'd fish three down on a short trace like this - http://www.goangling.co.uk/general-3down-wrasse.htm

Great link David and I have seen that rig or similar used to good effect in the past. 40lb fluoro may seem heavy but that rig has to be ripped through kelp and rocks constantly. For my own part, on a dedicated wrasse trace, i prefer to fish 3 hooks on short snoods with 1 dangling over the lead, 1 6 to 8 inches above and another the same distance above. I just find that easier to work over snaggy ground.

As far as hooks go, size 6s and 4s in either a strong kamasan or hiro short shank pattern are what i use as they are the best out of whats available to me here. As far as beads etc go, 2 lumi beads and a yellow microbead work well, as do combinations of small red and yellow or pink and yellow with small silver or yellow blades.

As far as shop bought stuff goes, shamrock tackles bleeding glowworms in conjunction with a yellow lead work really well. Cut them down so you have one hook trailing over the lead though.

Hook sizes may seem small but anyone who has ever floatfished for wrasse will know how adept they are at robbing baits. Small hooks mean small baits and many more hook ups. Even big ballans can be shy. When all else fails, go small and plain. Coloured leads, for the most part rock by the way

Thanks for the info lads, some people regard them as an easy species to catch, but theres a big difference between catching a few, as I have mentioned above by accident, and nailing your quota of 10 or 15 in a comp in an hour or so!

Jim that trace looks handy enough, thanks for the link.

Pete, its funny you mention about the blades, because last year I tried gilling for pollack with a Jelly worm on a size 4/0 hook, with a blade inbetween 2 lumi beads, just infront of the worm, and I had 6 good big ballan wrassse in a very short space of time, and no Pollack (which was my intended species) I also lost quiet a few, which was probably due to hook size

for wrasse on the drift i like to use a 3 hook flowing trace, about six foot long constructed from 30lb clear mono. the hooks i use are from owner, cant remember the exact model, but there like a beefed up owner pint hook. fish the rig just off the bottom, youl will also pick up pollock this way. at anchor like the lads a three hook paternoster with short snoods, is your best option

For the boat I'd fish three down on a short trace like this - http://www.goangling.co.uk/general-3down-wrasse.htm

Nice link, I used this trace yesterday at the Culdaff Festival, made with Stren 50lb fluoro, size 1 hooks, yellow lead and caught 11 ballan wrasse in about an hour and a half. My only recomendation would be to use smaller hooks.

The boat skipper Gethyn actually pinched the rig setup from one of the Scots mates who hammered him on wrasse with ti at the Home Nations at Weymouth

Been spending a fair bit of time on tarting up rig drawings, there's a selection of boat and shore ones here - http://www.planetseafishing.com/rigs/