three hook flapper waste of time?

[roger de dodger]

just recently i have come to the conclusion that a three hook flapper for pleasure fishing is just a waste of bait ,hooks and crimps.
over my last 10 trips i dont think i,ve taken one fish on the top hook of a three hook flapper or cascade rig,last night i opted for a two hook rig on both my rods with the bottom hook being the most productive and the top hook taking the odd whiting or rockling,anyone else see this happening or is it just me or the time of year

[goldfish17]

just started fishing in the last two years but Ive only ever caught eels and whiting on the top hook of a tree hook
flapper

[miegas]

hi, it's true, 3 hooks flapper is wasting bait. only one time I catched fullhouse for flat's and that was year ago...

[nobuzz]

Never use more than 2 hooks myself. 50% more likely to snag or tangle but not going to increase catches by much.

If I fished competitions I would probably use 3 hooks.

[canning]

roger I have had some sessions were where i only got fish on the top hook of the 3 hook flapper. Thats why i continue to use it but most fish i catch are on the bottom 2 hooks

[saving private brian]

every 1 has there own opions on the 3 hook flapper.yes it can be a waste of bait but also gives u a chance to put various baits out at once.if u dont feel comfy with it change it to a 2hook flapper.u have as much chance with 1 hook as 3 hooks.its all bout luck too.being in the right area at the right time etc.i dont use 3 hook flappers any more but im gonna make up a 3 hook rig shortly which is known as the highlight rig.

[eeler]

roger, i caught 12 flounder on saturday, i think 8 of them were on the top hook, maybe that was just a fluke, i don't know. but usually for me the bottom hook fish's best, top hook next and i hardly get anything on the middle hook?

[gd]

Depends on alot of things...species...angle of rod...tripod height....Fishing platform...leads...rig lengths/materials....the list goes on......3 hooks for alot of my fishing anyway!

[sean2k11]

i prefer to use 2 hook flappers because i only ever get a max of 2 fish at a time so i would be just wasting bait. u should use a 1 up 1 down rig i think thats the best option if ur targething thing like whitning, flatfish and codling at close to meduim range.

[alby]

well Rog, If I could only use one rig for the rest of my days it would be the 3 hook flapper! Maybe a short snood and fishing a tightline to the lead is lifting your top hook off the bottom?? 95% of my fishing is done with 3HF or 3 hook clipped when needing some distance!

[evan699]

I've had a few nights where i caught fish on the 3 hooks consistently through the night. If you leave the line a bit slack and watch the line for bites instead of the rod tip then the top hook usually catches fish just as well as it's sitting hard on the bottom with the rest. I still use 3 hook flappers for scratching and i'll carry on using them.

[fishermannum1]

rodger i never bother with a three hook flapper, i find that a two hook one is quite sufficient for pleasure fishing.

[eric]

FISHING IS KING AND FOR LOADS OF TIPS USE SAI

THREE HOOK FLAPPER FOR THE WIN

[TubeNFish]

Just because you catch a fish on the bottom hook does not necessarily mean it's the only one any good.
it just means that it has better finishing power than the other hooks.
The scent trail from the top hook is going into the water, along with scent from other hooks, and will be drawing fish to the terminal rig.
So there is three mini scent trails going downtide, of which each baited hook is making 1/3rd of it.
So say we catch 10 fish all on the bottom hook, but three hooks are putting out a scent trail, then it's possible that 1/3rd, in this case 3 of the fish caught by the bottom hook, were drawn in by the scent from the top hook.
Just a thought to consider before going down to save bait.
If you had a feeder rig would you blame the feeder itself for not hooking the fish, or it is part of a team? The top hook works the same imo.

[willie bendit]

I dont think there's too many matchmen that would consider using 2 hooks only,I'm talking here about scratchin'?and the likes,I know there have been times where I tried to send a bomber or a single hook clipped down out looking for a dog ,but a 3 hook rig is always the first one i reach for. as for 5/0 pennell rigs!

[roger de dodger]

FISHING IS KING AND FOR LOADS OF TIPS USE SAI

THREE HOOK FLAPPER FOR THE WIN

do i know you?this fishing lark changes fast bud i think your out of the loop

dont get me wrong the 3 hook flap or cascade rig is always the one i go for in a comp when targeting anything that swims but for pleasure fishing if i,m after cod or bass i wont be using size 4 hooks or little neat baits ,i,m sure anyone who knows me will admit i,m fond of sending out some big baits