When and where to use

This is the rig for rough, rocky, weedy or wreck-marked ground, anywhere a standard ledger would snag every cast. It's also a strong choice when fishing into kelp beds or over mussel-encrusted reefs.

Best targets

• Cod & pollack: large, snaggy reefs and rough ground inshore
• Smoothhound & bull huss: gravel banks with weed and snag patches
• Wrasse: straight into the rough off the rocks

When NOT to use it

On clean sand or shingle the pulley adds complexity without benefit, a simple running ledger or paternoster fishes better and is easier to bait up. The pulley is a specialist tool: use it where you'd otherwise be losing tackle on every other cast.

Bait pairing

Big baits work best, whole squid, mackerel flapper, large peeler crab. A Pennel pair (two hooks in tandem on the same snood) holds these baits neatly and gives you a better hook-up on big mouths like cod.