Thanks for the responses
Here is a diagram to illustrate the situation:
- Drop-offs
- Untitled.png (20.13 KiB) Viewed 462 times
The problem was getting the rig/fish up and over the underwater drop-offs on the retrieve. The red 'X's show where we were commonly getting snagged.
First off, we were not necessarily casting out onto a snaggy seabed; as I say, the problem was on the retrieve when trying to clear the drop-off ledges on the way in, which often had dense kelp patches along them. Once snagged it was almost impossible to get our stuff back, we lost a lot of gear and fish.
The issue as well was that we were hooking big fish (with the potential of hooking bigger) to include double figure cod and wolffish, and even bigger halibut, so we needed something that would get these heavier fish up as quickly as possible - things were made worse too of course when we would cast close-in to the bottom of the underwater cliff when targeting wolffish.
This is very deep water (100m+) and it was very difficult to retrieve over the snags using conventional rigs. We were fishing in Norway where a lot of the rock marks had these underwater drop-off, they seemed a common feature in this country's landscape and they make things very difficult. We wish to return and hope to be better prepared next time...
A lot of people swear by lead-lifts whereas other people say that they have their limitations; I am just wondering if they would work in this case, given the depth of water - they might well help with retrieving tackle from a distance and at a lesser angle in comparatively shallow water but there could be limitations in deep water, even more so when a big fish is attached above the lead.
A solution might be putting a lead-lift or some other device
above the hook/fish?
Has anyone had experience under similar circumstances and come up with a solution?
Indeed, any ideas on a solution to the problem would be greatly appreciated.And no smart craic about 'just getting onto a boat' lol, as we are there to mainly shore fish!
Thanks
gearoid mc s. Yeah, appreciate the idea of lifting the slack and initially retrieving hard, must give this a go when I try out the lead-lifts. And yes, we were certainly using good line and good knots.
Thanks
Shane H We weren't fishing rough ground as I say and we weren't too worried about distance. But I certainly agree with keeping the rig as simple as possible, defo not to use grip leads for starters at least, maybe even to use rotten-bottom rigs that would drop the weight if we got snagged on the way in..
donal domeney wrote:fitted about 4" above the hook they make a great attractor for flat fish from the boat
The local Norwegian fishermen agree Donal. They insist that flatfish (esp. halibut) will quicker see something in the water above them than on the bottom, it makes sense. We were told how many halibut often come up into mid water and above to chase food, something flashy up the line can only help. Does the lead-lift work well when placed up the line and above the hook? would it lift the whole trace (and fish) up quickly do you know?
eoghanb wrote:I always use them over rough ground ,especially good for getting above the snags on the retrieve,I just use some rubbery plastic,eg ice cream tub.just cut out kite shapes fold a bit lengthways then put a hole on each end and thread on the line above the weight they work a treat and cost nothing to make
Sounds good Eoghan, thanks. Do you think that they will work in this scenario though, especially with the given depth of water?
johnwest wrote:I have a couple of packets of lead lifts though I've never actually used them; I never got around to fishing the marks I got them for. I'll give you a couple the next time we meet up, if we manage to arrange it!
Thanks JW, can you bring them with you on Sunday..
- Typical Lead-lift