pennel v paternosta with a big hook

paulthespark

Well-known member
just wondering what your opinions are lads on the difference between cod fishing with a pennel set up or a single hook paternoster rig, i normally use a 4.0 pennel rig for all my winter cod fishing and have had no problems with it. a couple of weeks ago i had a walk along the hartlepool prom when the easington open was on to see how the guys where getting on, [couldn't fish myself as I've had sciatica for the last two weeks and no way could i cast] anyway i got chatting to one of the lads who was fishing the comp and i noticed when he was baiting up that he was using a 8.0 single paternoster rig, the trace was about 4 foot long, he told me this set up was much better than a pennel rig because [1] you only catch cod on it [2]if you have a big lift the hook won't bend out or snap [3] you can bait up big [4]it,s easier to use bait elastic on it especially for baits like mussel,crab and razor and 5 if you where boat fishing this is the size of hook or bigger you would use when targeting cod or ling ,so why not shore fishing and i think he was right, what's your opinions lads. cheers paul
 
Personally I would go for the pennel rig everytime and this has payed off so many times when a fish hits the top of the bait esp when fishing lug tipped off with another bait ie crab, razor etc it allows you best of both worlds where single hook would miss the fish. I also point one hook one way and the other in the other direction meaning maximum hooking potential.
 
Personally I would go for the pennel rig everytime and this has payed off so many times when a fish hits the top of the bait esp when fishing lug tipped off with another bait ie crab, razor etc it allows you best of both worlds where single hook would miss the fish. I also point one hook one way and the other in the other direction meaning maximum hooking potential.

Totally agree. Never thought of reversing the hooks mind.

Coarse anglers know that smaller hooks actually give a better hold. I've scaled down to 2/0's and sharper hooks such as Kamasan B940 Aberdeens and I'm hooking more fish.
 
not sure but ivan might mean one hook to the left direction and bottom hook right vise versa not sure he means top one upside down tho but i cud be wrong
 
my main rig is a pulley rig.... which i use variations on eg. hook snood length, rig length, rotton bottoms , impact shields, rock rigs with as few components as possible....all with either a single hook or a pennel of some sort....
i fish pennels on the beach .... but for most of my rock fishing i only fish a single hook often up to a 8/0
i have found that as long as the hook will bend or snap before my hook length snaps everthings fine..
i have never had a fish throw a hook when fishing a single large hook on the rocks.. although i have lost them thru my own lazyness in not changing the snood when its been chaffed a bit...
on some of my pennels i have started using circle hooks, which are supposed to aid hooking, but so far they havent been tried enough by me to comment on...
 
could somone tell me what lengh and strengh line is best for a snood on a pennel rig for beach and peir use, thanks
 
Shaun, use whatever you are comfortable with casting. Most people tend to use a shorter rig for the rocks and a longer one for clean ground. If your fishing a beach with a good sea running you would be better with a shorter rig too as it can get quite tangled. I use all different lengths but the longest would be for the clean beaches, maybe about 30 inches but have never measured them.

Jim.
 
Sorry Shaun I didn't read your question properly mate. Even on a clean beach I wouldn't use anything less than thirty pound for my hook snood. I used to a long time ago but soon learned that it wasn't enough. You will find that the lighter lines have a tendency to tangle more too, or at least the line I used to use did.

Jim.
 
thanks thats what i was wondering, im going to get some 30lb line as my 20lb line gets tangled up alot and i thought it was to thin just checking :)
 
yes 30lb fine but if fishing piers or rock marks etc at a hieght ya got ya shockleader rig body and hook snood same strenght what can fail on the lift maybe the hook isnt strong enough so if theres an easy access to get the fish up like stairs to walk em or beach i would go for that option rather than lose a good fish

when theres lunkers due about :)
 
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Aye your right Coddy, I should have mentioned that mate, I was just talking about a clean beach. As Coddy says you want something the same as your shockleader if your fishing from a height. There is nothing to stop you using stronger ones from the beach either, it would save you making different types of rig. I used to do most of my fishing on Blyth beach so didn't really need anything more than thirty pound for that. If I was fishing the rocks or pier I had a different rig wallet for that, if you make them all the same you can keep them all together in the same wallet, save you carrying more.

Jim.
 
hi their its down to your prefrence but i use pennel pully rigs and i use 80lb main body with 40lb hook length and like jim mentioned i make different length traces for different places and conditions.
 
Interesting to see people's preferences...I like to two-hook when possible, especially during matches (double the baits, double your chances...) so don't often use a pennel. However I find them very useful when fishing anywhere from a height where a bit of a lift is needed, especially when bigger fish might be expected. I'll also often use them when stalking those big fish in the kelp as having two hooks down their gobs helps cut your chances of losing them in the weed.

Pulley rigs are a different matter - I really am not a fan of this rig, and many I speak to tell the same story; a lot of really riving bites, where your rod is literally yanked out of your arm / stand and still the fish fails to get hooked! I'll use them clipped down over really rough ground on the odd occasion that distance might be required, but that's about it. As to them cutting your tackle losses, I tried a little experiment today while fishing the Amble comp at Newton. I alternated between a pulley rig and my standard rough-ground rig (both pennels as well btw & both fitted with rotten bottoms) - which is a simple loop-to loop set up, about a 3ft hooklength looped to the rig body about 18 inches above the sinker. Every cast with the pulley rig resulted in some sort of loss: either just the sinker, the whole rig & on two occasions the whole leader as well. My old-school stand-off loop rig came back every time with nothing more than a bent hook, and never once dropped off the sinker.

Speaking of hooklengths - 20lb is fine for flatties, but I use 40 or 50lb minimum on all my cod rigs. This helps with abrasion resistance, lifting fish & perhaps more importantly really cuts down on the tangles as it's a lot stiffer. Sometimes hooklengths will be as much as 60 or 80lb, depending on the amount of trashing I can expect the rig to be taking.

Cheers, Gary :)
 
Shaun, you are ok using 25/30lb breaking strain on your snoods, the fish dont care about touching the line, when they can smell a juicy bait, and a heavier line will flow better in the tide.
The length of the snoods would vary, ie in a big sea short, 18in nailed with a gripper on the sea bed. In a dying sea 30in rolling lead, in rough ground when you are in a good position to lift out, use 3/4ft up and over trace with a fixed spider lead, and that way your lead grabs the first boulder and your bait is behaving more naturally away from the lead. you can fish with a rotten bottom if preferred but with big spiders the gear comes back 90% of the time.:) hope this helps.
 
thanks for the info and advice and i know what you mean with pully rigs gary i had a nice fish on was biting like mad started reeling in 10 seconds later it was off because i hadent hooked it properly :(
 
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