conger rig vs tope rig

I'm hoping to do a bit of tope fishing on Saturday , weather permitting. I have a few conger traces that I reckon will do the same job - 100lb suffix mono with 3/0 swivels each end , beads and a zip slider boom, tied to 18 inches or so of plastic coated wire, with a 10/0 hook crimped on. Will this rig fish alright for tope or do I need a totally different rig ?

I've searched the posts for tope traces and they results were fairly varied, though Luke Scully's reply seemed to be about the same rig as my conger trace.

The hook length of wire needs to be strong; thirty to fifty pound can easily be bitten through, especially by the big females around at this time of year. ( I use 2ft of 150lbs)Hook size is about right although 6/0 and 8/0 are also popular. Use bronzed hooks as they can be left in if unhooking is too difficult.

I think trace length is important. most tope marks have very strong tide races and if you make the trace too long then the bait can be lifted off the bottom. I made this mistake fishing a big spring tide with ziplock booms back a few years now and wondered why i was only hitting the odd spurdog. I fish east coast and find 5-6ft about right.

good luck with the trip

Hi Nick, so you reckon the zip slider boom should be replaced with a bigger boom ? Does the boom type really make that much difference? The traces I have are about 6ft long in total - about 18inches of this is strong wire 80 - 100 lb with a crimped on 10/0 hook , to a 3/0 swivel, then the rest is strong mono with the slider boom on it to another swivel.

Cheers for the other advice , much appreciated. Sounds like the conger traces should do then ! Hopefully we get out on Sat as I haven't wet a line in yonks !!

Sounds ok, Conor, I'd be happy nuff to have a play with that rig.... :)

You should have about 6ft of 80lb - 100lb nylon above the boom. This acts as a rubbing trace. Its also a lot easiert to grab when landing the fish.

You should have about 6ft of 80lb - 100lb nylon above the boom. This acts as a rubbing trace. Its also a lot easiert to grab when landing the fish.

Agreed. 8)

hi conor,
a bit late in replying but i feel a zip slider would be fine.. have used them and longer booms

cheers all, I have it sorted now. basically 10/0 hook to 80lb wire , wire to 3/0 swivel, swivel to 100lb mono with siding boom - mono to 3/0 swivel. Sounds grand - all I need to do now is get out and catch a fish on it !!

All advice much appreciated.