Terminal Rigs

Do you go for broke with a pennell or edge your bets with three hooks

Most anglers targeting cod fish a single bait, usually a clipped down pennell-rigged cocktail of lug and squid at maximum range. Logic says that one compact bait will cast far and be a good attractant. In practice ths works providing the bait is big and juicy, very little is gained if the angler concentrates on distance to much and fishes with a single small, scentless bait. The pennell hook configuration is a good plus for cod fishing because it's supports the bait and helps it stay intact for casting, and puts a hook at each end of the bait to increase the chance of a hook-up.

Bait size and it's potential scent are crucial to the cod angler and it cannot be overstated just how important to manage your hookbaits, especially in respect of scent potential and drawing power. Casting a large bait out and leaving it out for an hour before retriving and recasting the same bait is common practice among novices and experienced guys alike.
Adding another worm to a mushed-up bait is another common mistake, The best tactic is to retrieve and remove all the old baitand replace it totally every cast. Not only does this ensure the maximum scent trail but italso keeps the bait potent in terms of hooking a fish.

In the same vein, hook size should be related to bait size and to an extent the angler needs to decide what he is fishing for. If it's big only then large hooks ( 3/0-plus) and a giant bait are the way to go. Over the years this has been a proven method, although more popular is the " sit on the fence " tatic of using two rods, one with a large bait aimed at cod, the other with three hooks geared to catch anything. Invariably the 'anything' goes approach also catches big cod, and if you take that route make sure you are ready for the consequences of a lost big fish- although erring on the strong side ( 1/0 hooks ) can give you a chance in this situation.

Using two rods on a single rod rest from the beach is the classic cod fishing style, but it's not so easy to avoid the two lines crossing and tangling without observing a basic rule - always fish the shortest casting rod on the uptide side of the rest. This is also an essential tactic when a group of anglers are fishing together - the shortest caster on the uptide side.


Ron

a good read ron nice 1