Long flowing trace

You'll need: a wire boom or a plastic anti-tangle boom, one strong top swivel, around 1.5 to 2.5 m of 15 to 20 lb fluorocarbon for the snood, a single hook (size 2/0 to 4/0 depending on bait), and a small drop of weak line (the rotten bottom) connecting the lead.

Step by step

• Top swivel: tie to the mainline.
• Boom: attach a metal or plastic boom about 30 cm below the top swivel. The boom keeps the snood standing off the bodyline so it can flow freely.
• Weak link to lead: tie 6 to 8 cm of lighter line (10 lb is plenty) to the bottom of the boom, with a small bomb lead on the end. This sacrifices the lead when it snags rather than the rig.
• Long snood: 1.5 to 2.5 m of fluorocarbon tied to the bottom ring of the boom. Fluorocarbon vanishes in water and lets the bait move naturally.
• Hook: a strong, sharp single. Wide-gape or O'Shaughnessy pattern.

Why the length matters

The long snood lets the bait drift, swing and behave like an unconnected food item in the current. Worms unfurl naturally, prawns kick across the tide, soft baits don't sit dead on the bottom. For bass and big wrasse, this presentation is night and day vs a short, stiff snood.

This is a specialist rig for spooky predators on inshore rough ground or in clearwater estuaries, anywhere fish have time to inspect a bait before taking it.

Best targets

• Bass: rocky points, river mouths, kelp edges. A live prawn or soft crab on the end with the tide doing the work.
• Ballan wrasse: hardback crab or peeler over inshore rough.
• Pollack: jigged or sink-and-draw off rock marks with a sandeel or worm.
• Mullet: bread or harbour ragworm on a small hook, scaled-down version.

Where it shines

Clearwater inshore marks, especially over kelp, rocky reefs or harbour walls. The long, flowing presentation is unbeatable for fish that approach a bait with caution. Particularly good at slack water and on neap tides when the bait can move slowly and naturally.

Where to avoid it

Beach surf at distance (it'll tangle on the cast). Strong tide flow with a heavy lead (the snood gets dragged flat against the seabed, defeating the point). Anywhere you need to keep the bait pinned to one spot, this rig wants the tide to work the bait for you.

Casting it

Lob, don't punch. A standard overhead cast at half power keeps the long snood from tangling in flight. If you can swing the bait below the rod tip and pendulum it out, even better. This is not a distance rig.

Casting too hard

A long snood and a powerful cast always end in a bird's nest. Slow down the stroke, keep the bait swinging cleanly and lob the rig out rather than firing it.

Mono snood instead of fluoro

The whole point is invisibility in clear water. Standard mono is visible to spooky bass and wrasse and you'll see the bait pass over without a touch. Use fluorocarbon for the snood, every time.

Lead too heavy

This rig is built for natural movement. A 6 oz grip lead pins everything flat. Use only as much weight as you need to hold position (often 2 to 3 oz), and accept some drift, that's how the bait fishes.

Hook too small

Bass and wrasse have hard mouths and tough lips. A small wire hook bends out under pressure. Use a strong, wide-gape pattern in 2/0 minimum, sharpened before every session.

No rotten bottom

Inshore rough ground takes leads. Without a weak-link, every snag costs you the whole rig. A 10 lb rotten bottom keeps the snood and hook even when the lead is lost.