The surf rig
A surf rig is a bottom rig cast off a beach or rocks with bait and a lead to hold it down. Two cover most shore fishing: a pulley rig for rough ground, which lifts the lead clear of snags as a fish is hooked, and a clipped-down paternoster for clean ground and distance. The bait hooks are snelled and the braid joins a mono shock leader with an FG knot.
| Both rigs | Spec |
|---|---|
| Main line | Braid (around 30 to 50 lb) or mono, off a surf or beachcaster reel |
| Shock leader | Heavy mono, around 40 to 80 lb, a rod-length plus a few turns on the spool, to take the shock of casting a heavy lead |
| Rig body / snood | Mono, around 60 to 80 lb for the pulley body, 25 to 40 lb for the hook snood or trace |
| Lead | Breakaway or plain lead, around 100 to 200 g (4 to 7 oz), heavy enough to hold in the surf and the tide |
| Hooks | Strong sea hooks, sizes 1 to 4/0 to suit the bait and the fish; a single, or two snelled in a pennell for a long bait |
| Bits | A pulley link / sliding swivel for the pulley rig; a bait clip and bait stops for the clipped-down paternoster; a strong swivel to join the rig body to the shock leader |
What it's for
Bottom fish off a beach or a rock mark, on bait, where you cast out, put the rod in a rest and wait for a bite. The ground you are fishing decides which rig to use. On rough ground, broken rock, weed and snags, use a pulley rig: when a fish takes, its weight pulls a sliding link that lifts the lead up off the bottom and ahead of the fish, so the lead rides over the snags instead of catching in them and costing you the fish and the tackle. On clean ground, sand and lightly broken bottom, use a clipped-down paternoster: the baited hook clips tight against the rig body for the cast, which streamlines it and gains real distance, then releases on splash-down to fish the bottom. Between them they cover striped bass, cod, bass and the mixed bottom fish you meet on the shore. It fishes the rocks and beaches at Montauk, the Chesapeake surf, and the shore marks off Sørøya.
The rig at a glance
Both start the same way. Braid main line joins a heavier mono shock leader with an FG knot, and the rig body ties to the end of that shock leader at a swivel. The shock leader takes the shock of the cast so a heavy lead does not crack off. Then the two rigs differ. The pulley rig: from the swivel, a length of strong mono rig body runs down to a snelled hook trace; the lead is not fixed to the end but clipped to a small link that slides on the body, so when a fish is hooked its weight pulls the link and the lead rides up the line, clear of the snags. The clipped-down paternoster: from the swivel, the lead sits on the very bottom, and a snood with the baited hook stands off the body above it; for the cast, the baited hook clips into a bait clip tight behind the lead to streamline the rig, then releases when the rig hits the water. The defining detail on the pulley is the sliding lead link that lifts the lead on a take; on the paternoster it is the bait clip that releases on splash-down.
How to build it
- Join the braid to the shock leader. Tie the braid main line to the heavier mono shock leader with an FG knot. It is the slimmest, strongest braid-to-leader join, so it runs through the rod rings on a long cast and holds when a heavy lead loads it. Wind a rod-length of shock leader plus a few turns onto the spool, so the shock leader, not the thin braid, takes the force of the cast.
- Tie the rig body to the shock leader. Tie a swivel to the end of the shock leader, and tie the rig body to the other end of the swivel. The swivel separates the casting line from the rig and stops line twist. From here the two rigs differ, so build the one that suits your ground.
- For the pulley rig, set the sliding lead link. Run the strong mono rig body from the swivel and thread on a small pulley link or sliding swivel that the lead clips to, so the lead can slide up the body. Tie the snelled hook trace to the end of the body. When a fish is hooked, its weight pulls the link and the lead rides up the line, clear of the rough ground.
- For the clipped-down paternoster, set the bait clip, and snell the hooks. Tie the lead to the end of the rig body, and tie a snood standing off the body above it for the hook, with a bait clip fixed behind the lead. Tie the bait hook, or two hooks in a pennell for a long bait, with a snell knot, which lays the line straight down the shank for a clean, strong hold. Clip the baited hook into the bait clip for the cast; it releases on splash-down. You are ready to cast.
How to fish it
Bait up, clip down if you are using the paternoster, and cast out beyond the surf line or onto the mark you are fishing. Put the rod in a rest with the tip up to keep line off the water, and tighten down so you can read the tip. A bite shows as the tip nodding, pulling down, or springing slack as a fish moves with the bait. Give a positive bite a moment to develop, then lift into it firmly to set the snelled hook, and keep a steady load on as you pull the fish back. With the pulley rig, that load is what lifts the lead and rides the fish over the rough ground, so do not give slack: keep winding and keep the rod up. With the clipped-down paternoster on clean ground you have more room to play the fish, but still keep contact so it does not bury in the surf. Recast every twenty minutes or so to refresh the bait and search new ground, and move along the beach to find the gutters and holes the fish work.
Where this rig works
The surf rig is cast wherever you fish bait off the shore. Across the atlas the pulley rig suits the rough rock marks and the clipped-down paternoster the open beaches. It is fished off the rocks and beaches at Montauk on Long Island for striped bass and the mixed bottom fish; along the Chesapeake Bay surf and shore for striped bass and the bay's bottom species; and off the shore marks at Sørøya in Arctic Norway, where the pulley rig comes into its own over the rough ground for big cod. As the atlas grows, every new water that uses a surf rig will link to this same page.
Surf rig questions
A shore rig for rough ground. The lead is clipped to a link that slides on the rig body, so when a fish is hooked its weight pulls the link and the lead rides up off the bottom, clear of the snags, instead of catching in them. Use it over broken rock, weed and snaggy ground where a fixed lead would hang up.
Distance and clean ground. The baited hook clips tight against the rig body for the cast, which streamlines the rig so it cuts the air and casts much further, and protects soft baits. It releases on splash-down to fish on the bottom. Use it over sand and lightly broken ground where you want to reach the fish.
Braid of around 30 to 50 lb or mono, with a heavy mono shock leader of around 40 to 80 lb to take the shock of casting a heavy lead. The lead is around 100 to 200 g (4 to 7 oz), heavy enough to hold in the surf and tide. Use a breakaway lead with wired grips to hold in a running tide.
Two. An FG knot joins the braid main line to the mono shock leader, the slim, strong join that clears the rod rings on a long cast. A snell knot ties the bait hooks, laying the line down the shank for a clean hold and letting you snell two hooks in a pennell for a long bait. Wet both before you pull them tight.
Because casting a heavy lead puts a sudden, large load on the line, and thin main line can crack off and send the lead flying, which is dangerous and loses your rig. A heavier mono shock leader, a rod-length plus a few turns on the spool, takes that shock so the cast is safe and the main line survives.