Jelly lures are an extremely popular type of lure in UK fishing, used to catch species such as pollock, bass, coalfish and mackerel. However, the spinning and bass rods that are often used for this type of fishing struggle to cast these very light jelly lures. The solution is to add extra weight, but this additional weight must be added in the correct way to avoid ruining the realistic action of the lure.
Related article: Jelly and Soft Lures
Jelly Lure Rig One
If using a bass or spinning rod a streamlined weight (often called a tube, cylinder or barrel weight) is the best way to make the lure heavy enough to cast. The weight is placed at the end of the mainline and then a snood is added with the lure on the end as the diagram below shows. This rig works best with tube/cylinder weights between 1oz and 3oz.
With this rig it is important to include the bead. This is because the tube weight slides up and down the line as the rig is cast out and the bead protects the knot and prevents it from becoming damaged. While some anglers prefer a longer snood, generally keeping it under three feet cuts down on tangles. Buy cylinder weights from Sea Angling Shop by clicking here.
Jelly Lure Rig Two
This rig works better when heavier weights of 3oz – 6oz are being used. As the diagram below shows this rig uses a simple bomb-shaped plain weight and there is no need to use specialist tube weights. This rig can therefore be cast using a bass rod or an all-round beachcaster.
Anglers using this rig may find that the rig is less likely to tangle is the snood is a maximum of around 3 – 4 feet long, although some anglers believe that a snood which is longer than this gives the lure a more realistic action. It can also be a good idea to keep the distance between the 3-way swivel and the link/weight quite short at between six to eighteen inches as this will also cut down on tangling during casts. Buy plain sea fishing weights to use in this type of rig from Sea Angling Shop by clicking here.
View the full range of jelly and soft lures available from Sea Angling Shop by clicking here.