Pulley rig?

[no-one in particular]

I bought a made up one from a stall yesterday, never used one before, it has quite a long hook trace bit with two hooks on it, a large one on the end and a smaller one half why down. The trace hook length is about 4/5 ft, is this likely to tangle on casting and are the pulley rigs superior than others?
I usually go for very simple rigs having tried them all in the past including my own inventions but found it all a bit so so and just tie a very simple rig now, loops in the mainline which are cut and hooks tied to the end, no beads, no swivels, no booms just a weight clip on the end. This year I was experimenting with just the hooks on the main line, threaded through twice through the eye, this was good for casting, very streamlined but not so good for putting the lug on and I think I missed more bites than usual. The loop in the lines was marginally better but a bit less streamlined. Is the pulley rig any good?

 

[John Keane]

Hi Mark, a pulley rig is primarily designed for casting and fishing big baits over rough ground and works by the weight of a hooked fish pulling the lead up to the pulley bead so that the lead is effectively around 3ft or so above the fish and it can’t get snagged in any obstructions and cause you to lose the fish. If your pulley rig doesn’t have some sort of bait clip or release mechanism on the lead clip end then you need to use it with an Impact lead. Basically you bait the big hook with your bait then bring the upper hook To around an inch from the top of the bait, twist the line around it 3 times and push it through the bait. You then clip the bottom hook to the clip above the lead and cast. The hooks will be released when the lead hits the water. If this is all Double Dutch just look for a pulley rig video on YouTube.

 

[no-one in particular]

Thanks John, that explains a lot (not double dutch), the smaller hook was wrapped three times around the shank; I thought that was the way it was packed for selling but it is part of the hooking system. Got it now, more a design for fishing rough ground and big baits, I will keep that in mind when I do. Will do me for some big bait big bass fishing like a whole mackerel fillet. Quite a clever rig really. And thanks for taking the trouble with the diagram, that helps a lot.

 

[John Keane]

You can have a pulley rig with smaller hooks, the two-hook system is a Pennell rig (you probably knew that anyway) so yours is a Pulley Pennell Rig. Very useful for big lug baits and whole squid for cod at this time of year. Was using the Pennell when uptiding on the Mersey on Friday.

 

[no-one in particular]

I have used a pennel before John, but with both hooks fixed, the top hook with the line wrapped around the shank of the top hook so it slides is a better idea though, I never thought of that. My problem with this one I bought off a bloke on a stall is the hook length has a tiny swivel on it, I will have to change that I think, it does not look trustworthy for a big fish. The main swivel is fine where you attach the mainline, why he hasn't used the same size for the hook link is a bit of a mystery.
I will try it out sometime; probably down the side of the pier for a decent bass or the jetty where there a few rocks around. I have used the whole squid of the beach when the big bass have been around as well, it will come in handy I am sure.