Matchmans winning rig

Although many might be aware of this i just thought a few might be interested in the rig Chris Clark won the winter festival with.
He was using a long continental style rod with fixed spool. This enabled him to fish a 9feet long 3 hook flapper. It was tied straight to the mainline with no shock as casts were lobs of about 40 yards. The rig body was 15lb flouro carbon and the snoods were 3ft long and made from 6lb flouro. Size 6 hooks were used baited with 1/2inch/inch long sections of lug tipped with one or two maddies.
Not my preferred type of fishing but will be tying something similar and giving it a try on a second rod at some stage.( i think he won his section on each of the three days.)

Very good post.

The tactics used by Chris Clarke, an ex world champ and now manager of English under age teams seem quite dissimilar to those being advised by Donagh et al on other threads.

Clarke: Snoods of 6lb line and mainline of 15lb

Whereas we have been told by others on this site not to use snood line of less than 20lb and braid as mainline. What total and utter rubbish.


Who are we to believe????

FlounderKing I wouldn't be complaining about the tips and ideas put forward by people on this discussion group. They only do it to help people out and they don't have to do it at all.

What way your rigs are made up depends totaly on what kind of ground you are fishing. I'm not sure about Chris Clarke's fishing area but I know that a 15lb main body and 6lb snood would not last pissing time on the Shannon where Donagh, I and alot of others fish. Then again that kind of a rig might not work at all in a different area.


Just my two cent.

Eoin

I agree, Eoin. It depends entirely on the ground you're fishing on. Try fishing light snoods on any where near mixed ground and you will lose all you throw in. Try using too heavy a snood in calm clear and sandy waters and you will probably draw a blank.

Please don't throw back advice which has been given freely or people will stop posting. We are all here for one reason or another. Some enjoy sharing what knowledge they have and hope to learn something in the process. You don't HAVE to take everything as the gospel, just use that which you find benefits you. If you just stick to one type of rig, then you will miss out!!

Although many might be aware of this i just thought a few might be interested in the rig Chris Clark won the winter festival with.
He was using a long continental style rod with fixed spool. This enabled him to fish a 9feet long 3 hook flapper. It was tied straight to the mainline with no shock as casts were lobs of about 40 yards. The rig body was 15lb flouro carbon and the snoods were 3ft long and made from 6lb flouro. Size 6 hooks were used baited with 1/2inch/inch long sections of lug tipped with one or two maddies.
Not my preferred type of fishing but will be tying something similar and giving it a try on a second rod at some stage.( i think he won his section on each of the three days.)

this was only used for a small period of time on the last day to catch 2 small bass. normal fishing tackle was used the rest of the 3 days. (normal as in 13 foot beach rod, multiplier reel, 15lb line and 50lb shockleader). he did have 3 zone wins and just pipped stephen brennan who had 2 wins and a 2nd.

chris is one of the best and even if he wasnt using this tackle would still have been very hard to beat

I did say as a piece of advise on this forum to another Estuary angler not to go underneath 20lb mono snood. The severe tide runs and eels will destroy your trace in no time here. I often use 50lb mono snoods on my pulley rigs when pleasure fishing to discourage dogs and to deal with fish with teeth. I do use a similar length rig with shorter snoods of 15lb mono but it has booms otherwise it would get mangled.

Braid has great advantages as it allows longer casts with OHTs, less resistance to tide runs and has excellent bite detection. Understrain it will snap with slightest rub of rock and it can tangle something awful.

In the end we're only giving opinions and I can say in my case at least their non to expert. If you don't agree with the advise then ignore it.

Donagh

i would love to know the make of flourocarbon Chris was using. it was in the 'Anglers Mail' a few weeks ago and i thought i'd remember to buy it...he also one a comp. in england recently with 5 fish- plaice and flounder. the snoods were 5lb. line and they were 5 feet long as far as i can remember. sounds like trouble but some of the pro's use it to great effect. i have have better catches than those around me using 8lb. flourocarbon in clear, calm seas, so i can swear by the effectiveness of such light lines. it helps to have a few snoods made up as the crabs can make short work of 'em. it just proves how important presention is at times. like anything else there's a time and a place.

thanks Nick for the info.

what fluorocarbons do yee use?? i don't like that Vanish stuff. i checked it out in the water and the 15lb. was as easy to sea as the 20lb. amnesia- not good. i have been using drennan fluorocarbon and i quite like it. near to impossible to see in inches of water never mind the carpet!

Great honesty here flounderking is doing himself no favours by knocking people and their suggestions.

I suppose your one of the superstars of match fishing flounderking.............

I was just making a point which I felt was valid. :oops:

And yes I have won my fair share of big comps over the years and been on a few national teams...so I feel Im more qualified than most to comment on rigs...line...etc. And Ive actually met the man in question aswell.

Thanks for your interest though Sidewinder :lol:

Well your entitled to your opinion by the way who are you in the match angling circle can you give me a tip on snood lengths with clipped down rigs with cascades as someone told me length is important for different tides etc. :idea: thats the 2 up one down version

:D

Chris had a very bad accident a while back, the surgeons had to rebuild his shoulder, that's one of the reasons HE favors the long rod long trace method.

The other reason, He was pegged next to an angler (not sure from what country) in the world championships who stuffed him good and proper, Chris not being slow to find out why he got trumped, checked out what and why the guy was using.

Very thin hook snoods, the theory this guy told Chris was, larger fish tend to be line shy, where as smaller fish don't.

I have seen under size Mullet in gin clear water picking away at a baited hook without taking the hook, larger Mullet just swam around without even a sniff at the bait. The guy may be right, Chris tried it and it worked, not always but when conditions warrant, most of the other England team use the same method now.

With fishing being as hard and getting harder, its right to try new things.

Tom.