good one for tailor and salmon dont seem to mind it either ( if the conditions allow) goes as follows


line, swivel, 30cm of leader (i like to use 40 pound leader just to be on safe side) attached to s set of 3,0 gangs with a treble (size depends on your mulies aswell)

if the wind and surf is pretty rough ill attatch a running sinker  just before the swivel.

My one for driftbaiting for snapper is

two live bait hooks snelled on to 40lb leader above that one lumo bead followed by a lumo squid leader is about 2 metres tied off to a ball swivel has caught me plenty of snapper and mulloway

I spend hours contemplating the best fit for particular situations and it generally pays off. Albeit I don't get out as much as i would like to.

I have found that the secret really is in the leaders and matching the test to the rig. Often I go overboard with test and get a very unatrractive rig and sometimes I err on the light side and get tangles or break offs.

A tip to the starters though.. Keep it simple but tidy.

I have tried developing some rigs, which seem like a great idea at the kitchen table, only to find that when I get down to the beach or rocks they just become a tangled mess when the wind and waves get hold of them.

if you don't want to, but I am hoping you might like to add some tackle set ups to help the unitiated.

Here is another simple rig that anyone can put together - it can be dynamite in the right conditions where you can throw your drift baiting rig into a burley trail behind the boat.

Take your leader and tie your hook on one end. You can use a single hook, a snelled set-up, or ganged hooks. Your decision on that will most likely relate to the bait you are using.

Favoured baits are whole mulies, half mulies and squid.

Directly above your hooks place a bean sinker. How large a bean sinker will depend on how much current is running or how fast the drift is.

Then place a crimp about 150mm to 200 mm above the hook (a Ryan Thripthorp tip - and a good one).

Then tie the other end of your leader to a two way swivel.

to the swivel, which can lead to tangles. But hey, I see no problem in having one either side of the sinker. Solves both problems.

There are some members on here, I won't say who, who have been known to use a whole string of bean sinkers with a crimp above them if there is a lot of curent and drift (P.S. I have done it myself and it works ok).

For some of you newcomers who are wondering what sort of rig to use when you go out fishing in a boat, the offshore paternoster rig is a pretty standard bait fishing rig that is easy to tie.

Normally the rig has a bottom loop for attaching your sinker, one dropper, or twisted dropper loop tied about 10 cm to 20 cm above the sinker and another dropper or twisted dropper, tied about 10cm to 20 cm above that. The other end of your leader material is then tied to a swivel attached to your main line.

However, there are numerous options. Many WA fishermen like to attach "lumo squids" on the droppers straight above the hooks.

Another option is to use a soft plastic rig on one of the dropper loops.

Some people also like to use a heavy "torpedo jig" on the bottom loop instead of a sinker. The jig will often catch a fish for you - however, it may also get hooked up if you are fishing in very reefy areas.

Another option is to use three-way swivels instead of dropper loops. To do this you cut your leader where you would place the dropper. Tie the two ends of the leader to opposite loops of the swivel and then tie a short peice of leader, about 10 cm in length - to the remaining loop. You then tie your hook or hooks onto the other end of that smaller piece of leader.

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The gulp crabs work well in this scenario. Allows you to pick up the odd KG etc whilst still chasing the big Dhuies on the normal paternosta above.

I know this rig works well as I have seen the pics of Andy's catches and read of his exploits, so it is definately worth adding to your arsenal you newcomers.

You need:
* 1 Blackfish float
* 1 metre of monafilament leader (about 10 lb to 15 lb should be ok)
* 1 small splitshot sinker
* 1 soft plastic jighead
* 1 gulp crab

Place the splitshot on your mainline, but don't squeeze it too tight yet.

Then run your line through the eyes of the blackfish float.

Tie the jighead, with the gulp crab applied to it, to the bottom end of the leader.

Find a spot where there is a bit of current running next to a reefy or rocky area. Try to estimate the depth of the open water running next to the reef or rocks.

Ideally you want your bait to moving in the current a foot or two above the bottom. You can set your float to stay at that depth with the use of the splitshot. Try a test cast and if your float starts to lie on its side, move the splitshot down six inches to a foot. Repeat the process until you have your float sitting straight up in the water. If your float is riding too high add some splitshot to the line, about 12 inches above the hook. Ideally you want just the top stem of the float sticking out of the water.

When you are finally set-up, cast as close to the reef or rocks as you can and once you see your float disappear beneath the water, strike hard.

As Colin said, the snelled rig where you can add any amount of weight depending upon the conditions is the most versatile I've ever used.  Can use it off the beach, use it in 25m, use it in 80m and still catch all fish as the bait is presented so naturally the fish can't resist it.  Leaves any other rig for dead IMO and I will use it 9 times out of 10 if possible.

Sorry, I can't really add much to this as usually use a Panosta rig or drift bait from our boat and both of these have been well covered.

I will say that I've tried a number of different trace lines and always, to some extent had problems with twisting / fouling of the dropper loops - using std droppers, stand outs, three way swivels and "side' Swivels (where one swivel is set on another at right angles). Thanks Andy for the prompt on twisted droppers - I'll give those a go.

Andy - In nteresting you use figure of 8 knots and not uni knots.

Oh, BTW Col, you shouldn't have too much trouble with those terminal torpedo jigs as the position of the loop through which you feed the loop at the end of your terminal trace, cause the hook to curve upwards off the bottom. Unless of course you are fishing on a very snaggy bottom.

the rigs are basic but all work, now the problem is not getting them tangled in storage.you can buy these thing to hold them on but we use a simple thing called a pool noodle. all you need is a pool noodle and some galvanised nails, just cut your noodle into lengths to suit your storage on the boat putting 1 nail in the noodle and connecting your rig onto that and then simply winding it around till you reach the end and then use another nail to hold that end in placewith the hooks you simply poke the sharp end into the noodle.using this method of storage it will eliminate any chance of your rigs tangling as they do sometimes in plastic bags, i generally use 12inch lengths and it can hold up to about 12 rigs , to take the rig off all you you need to do is pull one nail out and unwind , its great to use when the fish are on the bite and time is crucial....

My standout/fav rig for northern & southern bottom species is the "Driftbait Rig". When the winds are favourable, the natural looking driftbait is deadly. My catch rate and size rate of WA Dhufish went up big time by using this rig down here and lead me to write an article on it!

I use the crimp (approx 8 inch up from the top hook) to stop the bean sinker (approx #5) from riding up and tangling up with the main swivel. This will happen if you dont crimp/stop the sinker from sliding up, especially in light wind situations!

Having the sinker close to the bait also gives it more action and I half-hitch the top of the squid near the sinker, My prefered squid is the Blue-Box Californian shop stuff....awesome driftbait!

Thanks to this post Colin..now I can make up some more rigs with these ideas.. I dont like buying premade rigs from shops..Its more fun making your own..

not to mention 1/2 the price!

I have a tip for beginners and experienced alike.

If you use bait like mulies,,live bait or whatever,,you will come across pesky squid that will grab your bait,,so its handy to have a few inches of line with your favourite squid jig on one end and a clip swivel on the other.

When you pull your bait up the squid will let it go near the surface,,pull your line up ,,clip your squid rig onto the line and throw it back down then remove the squid from the gene pool and go back to fishing.

Keep them coming.

A pointy straight hook about a metre long by 8mm, on 200Lb mono, with a 10-litre float 30 metres up the line. The fish just can't say no. Not ideal for catch-and-release, so don't use it indiscriminately. 

 Bump

I always have my handy rig bag on the boat so depending on the type of fishing its just a matter of unzipping the bag having a browse through the see through envelopes and picking out my rig that I mate at home,nothing worse that wasting fishing time having to make up rigs on the boat

S,W,Lab make a great rig bag to put your pre made rigs in well made and durable and only about $25,even my cheeky deckies pinch a few of my rigs to get them fishing straight away

 My tip for paternosters is to make sure your droppers are short enough to prevent the hooks from touching and snagging on each other.

My default landbased tailor/bait-soak rig; running snap swivel on mainline, tie on another snap swivel.  The running snap is for a star sinker most suitable to the conditions. 

The other snap swivel joins my rig(s), which is either a) swivel to 50cm of mono, cork and 4/0 gangs or b) swivel to snelled hooks on mono leader or coated wire.

I like the snap swivels because when the tailor are on the chew and I get bitten off, snagged or whatever, i simply reach into my tackle box and clip on another rig ive prepared earlier. 

Because the sinker is running, there is a lot more feel and i guess fussier feeders can freely take the bait and swim off with it. 

For heavier applications, i tie the swivel directly to the main line (deleting the tied on snap swivel).

This rig can get some killer tangles in big, heavy, breaking surf.  But great off rockwalls and off the beach when there isnt big waves.

Light floating rig for tailor, herring;  Glowstick, float, ~30cm of mono, gangs/longshank.  But rather than those white bob floats, i use a ping pong ball.  A lot lighter to cast, it floats and acts as a great bite indicator as it will submerge a lot easier than a bob.  The orange pingpong really stands out against a glow stick in the night.

Heat up a small flathead screwdriver to punch a hole into the pingpong ball, slot in a small snap swivel, superglue to seal.  < I do this at home when im making rigs, etc.

Cut the plastic tube used to hold the glowstick on in half.  Attach the glowstick using the tube at either end.  Clip on pingpong ball in the bit of line in the middle of the glow stick. 

As for paternoster, i like the twisted droppers as they are a bit stiffer and thus less likely to droop and hook into the vertical line.