Tangled rigs

As a relative novice who usually sticks to spinning, I've recently tried my hand at other methods/species.

I have to teach myself, and I make the rigs I see in magazines. The only problem is they always get tangled into a mess.

I don't know if I'm casting wrong or what. :x

Any tips?

I usually use a 2 hook flapper (3 is too complicated!)

Try using using 20lb amnesia for your hook snoods. This doesn't tangle as easily and is easier to untangle. Try to bait up as evenly as possible as this can cause the snood to spin. Theres also stiff rig tubing available that pushes the snood away from the rig body. A disused bic ink tube can be used instead or a twisted blood loop super glued together. You can also clip up or down a snood.

If your just starting out the sea angler Baits and rigs book is well worth getting.

Donagh

Good man Donagh.

I had been using 20lb mono for the snood lines, and around 30lb for the main body. I thought maybe that was too light.

How would you use and emtpy biro tube as a boom? Just put it on the snood up at the swivel and put a bead and crimp at the end closest the hook to hold it?

I also tried clips and all types fancy looking wee gadgets, but they only seemed to make things worse :(

Would casting technique cause your rigs to tangle in any way in mid flight? Or is is just the snoods all moving about inthe tide/currents?

Donagh,

Is that the Mel Russ book: "THE SEA ANGLER'S STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO BAIT AND RIGS"? First thing I bought when I started looking into methods other than spinning, very good book for learning how to make rigs and bait hooks properly. Got mine from Amazon, wasn't available in the book shops around here.

The general rule is the main body and shock leader should be 10lbs * onces of lead. If your using a 6 oz lead use a 60lb main lines. 20lb snood is generaly right for starting off. Some people go lower to catch flats. Most of my pulley rigs have 60lbs snood strength to catch conger and huss and to supposedly scare off dogs. I haven't used the inner biro trick but for the stiff rig tubing (uni-tube) it goes over the the eye of the snood swivel. Only put gadgits on a rig if you have to. If a rig gets tangled when hanging off a rod rest then it will tangle in flight and in the water.

The best thing I ever did in my rig making was use low memory snood monfilament.

Donagh

Ok - probably a silly thing to say but I assume that your snood lengths don't overlap? i.e. you should ensure that your hook/bait does not touch the beginning of the next snood length? It should be at least 2 inches away from it, when you make the trace.

You could also try using swivels (trapped by beads and crimps) to attach your snood to the main rig body. This helps to stop the rig twisting and tangling.

No, the snoods don't touch each other (any more... :oops: ) I caught on to that one quick enough.

I do use swivels as well, trapped on the main body with beads and crimps. I started using larger swivels to hold the snood further away from the main body, which has helped but I still find myself getting tangled most of the time. it did help though which is why I like the sound of the empty biro idea - but then again I've always been a firm believer in keeping things simple...

Just in case theres any confusion its the tube that holds the ink thats used. Not the outer plastic bit.

Donagh

Ha ha thanks for clearing that up! A novice - i tell ye! :oops:

If your snood swivels are too big they may accumalate weed, I generally use size 8 which are about half a centimetre long.

use 50 pond snods 40lbs shockleader unless yove got the pedulum cast off to a tea i dont use any most of the time the only time i ever use snods less than 50 lbs is when the line wont fit through the eye of the hook

Don't forget to stretch your Amnesia before tying rigs. That'll take the coils out of it.

Lovely stuff, Amnesia. 8)