boat fishing rig

right lads, going boat fishing for the first time on the weekend.
I've been beach fishing for a while and as such all my rigs
are for fishing from the beach/rocks. What rigs/weights should I
be using for fishing near a reef for pollock, coalies etc?

I see that using half your spinning rod can work from a boat?

Any other tips for a first time boat trip would be appreciated :)

baited hokkais for dropping over the side.
baited black feathers (better than white or coloured I reckon)
spinning leadheads with mackerel strips , or jellies.
eddystone or similar eel on boom and flowing trace.

weights depends on depth and current.

what's this about using half your spinning rod ?

http://www.sea-angling-ireland.org/bull ... php?t=2655

re: what's this about using half your spinning rod

see the fifth post down

Kiwijbob

Where are you going to be fishing??, Skerries, Howth, Bray, Greystones further South?? Lets know and I might be able to point you in the right direction.

Damien

I'm told there is a reef near lambay to the west of
the island near where the buildings are on the island?

That's the plan I think

Damien,

just read your post on lambay, very informative but I have one question -what is gilling?

http://www.sea-angling-ireland.org/bull ... ght=lambay

It comes from redgill - an artificial eel

basically you attach an articificial eel (or jelly) to a long flowing trace and retrieve slowly...

Yeh as JD say's but instead of Jellys or redgills we use Ragworm on the hook (as big as you can get) and it seems to work much better for the Pollack in these waters. You will often get a Wrasse following the rag and will also take the bait. Just to fill you in on the other post, I was talking about Irelands Eye there but Lambay fishes much better. There's a number of places that hold Wrasse, Pollack and Conger around Lambay so you should manage to get into a few fish. If you anchor a bit off the NE corner you might get into a decent Bullhuss as well as plenty of Doggies.
A word of warning though, the sea can whip up a bit on the Southern side so check the forecast first.

Damien

http://www.sea-angling-ireland.org/bulletin%20board/viewtopic.php?t=2655

re: what's this about using half your spinning rod

see the fifth post down

This would not be a good idea, very high risk of loosing fish due to line breaks and even breaking the rod, not enough rings and not enought give. You could probably use your spinning rod as is for gilling, it tends to be the length of spinning rods that cause a problem on a boat as Salt water spinning rods tend to be over 10ft long, a 6 or 7ft rod is quite manageable on a boat, these tend to be fresh water rods.

Any other tips for a first time boat trip would be appreciated

Have a look here, read the section on "flying colar rig":
http://www.worldseafishing.com/index.ph ... &Itemid=71

I was in the same position as yourself this time last year, reading this thread will give you a rundown on how to spin with a leadhead, which is a good alternative to uptiding:
http://www.sea-angling-ireland.org/bull ... d+spinning