How to Make Cod Fishing Rigs

Know the Facts
Making the Rig
Knotting Styles
Tips to Tackle Your Tackle BetterDoes fishing excite you? Well, if it does, then how about learning to make cod fishing rigs! Another exciting facet to chasing the cod, besides satiating your pleasure quotient, is the fact that cod looks good on the plate! The species is white in color, flaked with layers of flesh. Its appearance, however, is of no preludial importance to us, at the moment.

What we are here to learn is fabricating our very own cod fishing rig. Besides, a few meaty facts about fishing good cod may help you warm up to the technique and the subsequent activity better.

Know the Facts

• The season deemed lucrative for catching good cod, undoubtedly, is winter. When September nears an end, consider it to be your cue to prep for cod fishing, in addition to buffing your casting skills. Keep tab on the forecasts. Summers may not serve to be a bait for anglers; however, a transitional switch that feels the nip of approaching winters is good news; this, precisely, is the time when cod returns inshore. The month of October packs a decent increase in the cod population. November and December promise a rich catch. January and February are overtures to a sharp decline in their population.
• An ideal time to fish for cod is during a gush of onshore winds. However, a few cod catchers are of the view that the best time to tow a share is right after a gale. You may get the catch, but not exactly what you hoped for. The fact stands pat that the wildest of winds - i.e., when the gale peaks, this, indeed, is the time when the largest number of fish roll inshore.
• Daytime invites onshore winds; this may serve productive for anglers, who prefer fishing during this patch. However, to hitch a double-figured catch, raiding the sea during the dark hours, certainly, scores a notch higher.
• A cod is but a codling when weighing under 3 lb. Once the codling matures into cod, i.e., it crosses the 3-lb. mark, it is fit enough to be gouged by the net mesh, in turn, leading to plummeting numbers of fish.
• Tides affect your manner of casting and tackle. It is when the tides are at their worst, that codling travel inshore. However, some venues may not prove very rewarding with regard to conducting the activity. Venues high on strong spring high tides make it difficult to fish. A below-average force of tides, also termed neap tides, help you tackle cod better.
• When talking bait for cod, peeler crabs, fresh black lugworm, mussel, and squid must go on to cocktailing the circle hook. Peeler crabs and lugworm are staple baits; make sure they are needled for the cod.

[ Back to Index ]Making the Rig

Tackle Components

1 Sputnik Type Eye Sinker (6 - 14 Oz)
1 Oval Split Ring
2 Beads
1 Three-way Brass Swivel
2 Flexible Crimps
1 Breakaway Impact Release Clip
1 Genie Lead Link
1 Power Swivel
Shockleader for Main line (60 - 80lb)
1 Mono Fluorocarbon snood (15 - 30lb)
1 Aberdeen Circle hook (No. 5/0 - 7/0)
Lure/Bait

Procedure

Starting from the base of the rig, attach the components in the following manner:Sputnik Type Eye sinker [i] Breakaway Impact Release Clip [ii] Power Swivel [iii] Genie Lead Link [iv]. When this component chain is ready, you may now move on to stringing the main line [v] or the body to the last component chained, i.e., the genie lead link.
Secure the main line by tying a palomar knot through the head loop of the genie lead link.
Let the main line run a distance, and thereafter fix the following components over the main line in the order undermentioned: Flexible Crimp [vi] Bead [vii] Spring [viii] Bead [ix] Flexible Crimp [x]. Tie one eye (A) of the 3-way brass swivel [xi] to the main line extending from the second flexible crimp attached.
Next, tie the Mono Fluorocarbon snood [xii] to eye (B), adjacent to eye (A) of the 3-way brass swivel. The main line must knot eye (C). The knotting style for the 3-way brass swivel would be the clinch knot.
The other end of the Mono Fluorocarbon snood, also regarded as the Fishfinder/Dropper line, loops an Aberdeen circle hook [xiii]. Remember: The loop should be constructed through the palomar knotting style.
Attach the oval split ring [xiv] to the open end of the main line which leads to the fishing rod and reel. Use the palomar knot to secure the oval split ring.
String the bait -- peeler crabs, lugworm, mussels -- through the point sliding across the barb of the hook. Make sure you dress the entire length of the circle hook with bait.

Note.- The roman numbering convention has been used alongside the labels in the diagram and the procedure, respectively, with an intention to facilitate comprehensibility.

Technique

Once you hit the grounds, hold it, and drop your fishing apollo rig to the bottom. Make sure that your rig stays put at the bottom; once it is there, do not bobble it.
Keep your line steady; a lot of jerks or wagging the rod often, should be avoided.
Now, how would you identify that cod has lugged on to the bait hook? Well, an experienced angler, perhaps, is well versed with a variety of bites, sensed through the hook. However, there are two basic indicators to hint that you have finally landed cod:

• One is a light, tap-like peck that does not dramatically affect the positioning of the rig;
• The other is a solid, powerful bite that, more often than not, feels like a hard gouge on the hook -- a sudden pull that lowers the position of the rig considerably.

[ Back to Index ]Knotting Styles
Palomar Knot
[Back to: Making the Rig]
Purpose:

• Secure the head loop of the genie lead link with the main line;
• Tie the Aberdeen circle hook to the Mono Fluorocarbon snood;
• Tie the Oval split ring to the main line.

Procedure:

• Step I: Slide the main line through the eye of the bait hook.
• Step II: Loop the bait hook.
• Step III: Holding the top end of the loop between the thumb and the index finger, hold the looped end with the other, and raise it toward the top end to form an overhead knot; i.e., let the loop end pass through an 'inbuilt' loop.
• Step IV: Glide the hook through the loop end.
• Step V: Pull the loose end to tighten the main line to the eye of the hook.

Clinch Knot
[Back to: Making the Rig]
Purpose:

• Knotting the main line and the mono snood to the 3-way brass swivel.

Procedure:

• Step I: Pass the main line through one eye of the 3-way brass swivel.
• Step II: Coil the looped main line over the straight/base main line five times in a row.
• Step III: Slide the end of the entwined line through the loop right next to the eye of the swivel.
• Step IV: Pull the tag end to form tightly clenched coils.

[ Back to Index ]Tips to Tackle Your Tackle Better
When tying knots, make sure they are tight enough to sustain your catch. Stretch the ends of the knot to ensure their strength.
With a light main line, exercise caution, while checking for the tightness of the knot. Your pull should be firm, not harsh as to snap the rig.
Snip the long, unwanted tag ends of the knot. Besides, they are a hindrance. For the finishing touch, use pliers to ensure tightened coils.
Take notice of your main line and mono snood. If you find a nip or two, change it right away. Second thoughts don't work here. If you are a tad too carefree, you may lose a meaty feeder.
A well-equipped tackle store is a must; provided, you are serious about grasping varied fishing techniques.
A word on bait: A reuse of the bait is not recommended. When the tackle is cast, the live-lures elicit certain juices into the waters. Cod may sense the affinity and associate the same with the bait, tugging at the bait hook. However, if a few chunks remain, the bait, by and large, has lost the 'family' juice that strikes an association.

Fishing rigs and techniques are abundant. However, what matters is a tickle to keep learning. Never mind if you are a novice, you ought to start somewhere! Accompany experienced anglers to their fishing sprees, ask questions, or simply look around; you would realize the 'bite' of knowledge with every bit of excursion you undertake!