THE ULTIMATE ANGLING BUCKET LIST

Ross Johnson, skate from the shore I remember Ian using a five pound coalfish with its tail
removed as bait. Dogfish and bunches of mackerel or squid
have also caught their share. But all of that has now given way to a two staged trace comprising twelve
to eighteen inches of two hundred pounds bs monofilament with the hook and a swivel at either end,
and the remainder of the heavy mono attached to that swivel with another swivel at the far end to attach
the reel line to.
This time however there is no sliding tubi-boom on the main line. Instead, a four inch length of garden
hose with a lead attachment clip cable tied to it is placed on the longer rubbing length portion of the
trace between the two swivels.
A split ring or some other form of stopper also needs to be fixed to the swivel on the short hook length
to prevent the hose and the lead sliding all the way down to the bait.
Why this arrangement works so well is that having the lead so near to the bait helps keep it tight to the
bottom. But more importantly, if a main line breakage should occur, when the fish moves off, it pulls
the remaining trace mono and swivel through the wide diameter of the hose thereby jettisoning the lead,
all of which is video demonstrated on both YouTube and the SSACN website.
The bait presentation has also switched from a single big offering to what is commonly called a 'kebab'.
Mackerel are cut into two inch chunks which are threaded up over the hook and onto the trace until
there is a necklace of them numbering around a dozen pieces.
It's at this point that the bait is put onto the hook, which can be two or three mackerel, or a cocktail even
of mackerel with octopus or squid. All work well on their day. A heavy duty elastic band is then
stretched around the constituents of the bait to keep it all contained.
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