Dave Lewis explains the tactics and tackle for fishing lures over reefs and wrecks from a boat moving with the tide
When I started fishing offshore reefs for pollack and the various other species, other than strings of feathers, anglers drifting over these fish-rich environments would invariably use some form of artificial sandeel, such as the famous Eddystone Eel. These they would present on a rig called a Flying Collar, the original version of which incorporated a wire French boom.
These days the majority of anglers fishing reefs and wrecks use various soft plastic worms and shads which have an incredibly lifelike and irresistible action. Some soft plastic lures are sold pre-rigged with a hook and internal weight, others are not. The easiest to use are those that do include a hook, as this will be perfectly mounted to ensure the lure swims correctly. If the lure you intend to use does not have a hook then you will have to rig it, ideally onto a long shanked hook. It is very important to make sure the hook sits within the lure perfectly along its central axis, with the point protruding in such a way that it cannot become masked by the lure.
It does take a bit of practice to get this right at first, but once you have developed the knack it takes mere seconds to rig correctly, or replace a damaged lure. Unlike traditional sandeel lures most soft plastics are designed to be fished with the hook exiting from the top, rather than the bottom of the lure. One key advantage of this when fishing over reefs is that it greatly reduces the risk of the hook snagging on contact with the bottom.
BOOM TIME
Soft plastics, weighted or not, can still be fished off the traditional wire French boom. There is, however, a much more basic rig you can use, one I personally find to be even more effective. The rig is a version of the running ledger incorporating a long plastic tubi-type boom. The boom runs freely on the leader if you are fishing braid, or directly onto the mainline if using monofilament. The boom should be as long as possible: I like to use 300mm booms. A long boom helps to keep tangles to an absolute minimum as its purpose is not only to attach the lead, but to help keep the lure swimming at the end of the trace well clear of the main line during the descent down to the bottom.
Following the boom, slide a small bead onto the leader, then tie a
