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Whitby / single paternoster lure rig for pollock fishing from the rocks

S

stubborn amateur

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I'm planning on fishing around the Torbay area towards the end of March.

I've read that it's not a great time of the year for fishing in that area, but you can target pollock and wrasse.

I've caught wrasse from the rocks before by just dropping a line with bait directly in front of me.

I'd now like to target pollock as well, using various lures (rubber sandeels, metal lures, etc.).

The marks I'm looking at are pretty deep water and some of the rock points I'm thinking about fishing from won't allow me to cast particularly far, because of the limited space (i.e. rocks or walls behind me) and my not-too-great casting ability.

I also wanted to use a weighted rig to get to a good depth, as close in to the rocks as possible.

Everything I've seen online suggests using a ball or barrel weight on the main line, followed by the snood length with a lure at the end.

I just wanted to know, will a Whitby or single paternoster lure rig work just as well from the rocks? I've only read about Whitby lure rigs being used for wreck fishing, not shore fishing.

If the pollock numbers are low - I spotted a couple of posts mentioning that just before I posted this - is there anything else worth trying for from this type of location? Even squid, dogfish, rockling, etc.?
 
Could try a shorter rod you can cast in tighter spots.
And I like to slightly paternoster the lures with a hooklenght of about 5 feet long,set 2foot above the lead weight , soon as you feel the weight hitting the kelp /rocks start retrieving as you want to work the lure close to the bottom as the pollock generally sit in the kelp looking upwards to strike prey , apart from dusk or into dark they seem to rise a bit more in the columns then .
Find I lose a lot less lures that way. Works for me anyway.
Not sure what a whitby rig is .
 
Had1 said:
Could try a shorter rod you can cast in tighter spots.
And I like to slightly paternoster the lures with a hooklenght of about 5 feet long,set 2foot above the lead weight , soon as you feel the weight hitting the kelp /rocks start retrieving as you want to work the lure close to the bottom as the pollock generally sit in the kelp looking upwards to strike prey , apart from dusk or into dark they seem to rise a bit more in the columns then .
Find I lose a lot less lures that way. Works for me anyway.
Not sure what a whitby rig is .
Click to expand...
Thanks, this is really helpful. I have 7ft and 8ft bass rods and a small all-purpose 6ft rod for light fishing as well.

Here is what a Whitby rig looks like:

 
If fishing off the Rocks into Deep water try some Slow jigs they cast well too get few Different weights from 10grm to 30grm ideal for the Shore . Caught load of Pollack Coalfish and Wrasse last summer on West Wales Rock Mark so I'm Sure it will Work down there I used10ft Spinning Rod 5000 Size Penn Reel loaded with 15lb Braid
 
I've used a similar paternoster to Had 1 for years for pollack in deep water with about a 4 foot hook length and 1 foot to the weight. I use weights from 1 to 4oz depending on depth of water and tide strength. As well as lures I've had a lot of success with frozen sandeel and long mackerel strips fished in the same way. I use a bass rod generally but in tight spots where there's not much space to cast I've found a light uptider to be very useful.

One on frozen sandeel.
50326926933_20f2a4b0b8_o.jpg
 
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Also depends on the venue, you might get away with 30g lures and light gear some shallow marks,but where I fish for them lures that weight wouldn't even reach the bottom for ages or present properly , due to it being 40 to 80 foot deep , also bringing pollock over 5lbs (had them to 9lbs) up cliff faces you won't be able to do that with little spinning rods and light line.
I use strong carp rods or even proper beach casters with 30lbs plus braid to bring them up. As not fishing at water level.
Nice excuse to post some photos using those tactics .

Screenshot_20240222-210931_Photos.jpgScreenshot_20240222-210812_Photos.jpg
 
Good luck when you do give it a go S A.

Leepip has offered some good advice with the Jig pictures he posted. You would be better off to do as Lee shows, using one or a pair of assist hooks off the top end of the jig too. Reduces the chance of getting snagged on the bottom.
Baited Cod feathers work well too. Maybe a 3/0 hook with white feathers tied to it, and a strip on Mackerel for bait. 🎣🎣👍👍
 
Good luck for when you go. Are the rock marks you’re looking at Hopes Nose and Berry Head? Neither is space restricted but aren’t always the nicest spots for other reasons, but probably okay in March before the anti social crowd takes them over.

Not that I know Torbay that well so presumably there are other rock marks?
 
Thanks again for all the tips. @Mr Fish - Yep those spots. An absolute nightmare in the summer with the crowds. I haven't encountered any too antisocial behaviour there before, but I wouldn't fish either of those places at night though, unless I was with a few people. Another place I was thinking of trying was Princess Pier. Went there in October last year. I didn't catch a thing, but the bloke fishing next to me pulled in a large bass and conger in the space of about two hours.
 
stubborn amateur said:
Thanks again for all the tips. @Mr Fish - Yep those spots. An absolute nightmare in the summer with the crowds. I haven't encountered any too antisocial behaviour there before, but I wouldn't fish either of those places at night though, unless I was with a few people. Another place I was thinking of trying was Princess Pier. Went there in October last year. I didn't catch a thing, but the bloke fishing next to me pulled in a large bass and conger in the space of about two hours.
Click to expand...
@Mr Fish - 'Neither is space restricted' - Sorry, I forgot to add, that was the situation I was in when fishing at Berry Head last summer. The place was so packed, I could only find a tiny spot on a rock where I was squeezed in with rocks and a wall behind me.
 
Brixham breakwater shouldn't be overlooked, sandeel/mackerel/squid on a float 5-15yds out in low light on the outer wall would be the tactic I'd go for, better chance of a bonus bass too if they're about. Most of the pollack will be on the smaller side though.

Lures I tend to use cheap metals (change trebles) as a lot of the time I'm targetting structure at 40-80m so need the distance and density to get it down in the right areas, and just accept that if I'm not losing lures every now and then I'm not fishing the right areas. Can use locked in leads with snood attached to lures if not so much distance is required/using heavier setup and redgills work really well for this. If the lead is locked in then use a slightly lower breaking strain as hook snood so that if you snag you don't lose whole setup (y)

The boom idea could work but I'd imagine it would cut casting distance down and weight is another thing to get snagged/wrapped round weed if dangling in water column so probably better to have it inline as the retrieve is parallel to the fish as opposed to directly above it on a boat. Best of luck with it,
 
RemoteWanderer said:
Brixham breakwater shouldn't be overlooked, sandeel/mackerel/squid on a float 5-15yds out in low light on the outer wall would be the tactic I'd go for, better chance of a bonus bass too if they're about. Most of the pollack will be on the smaller side though.

Lures I tend to use cheap metals (change trebles) as a lot of the time I'm targetting structure at 40-80m so need the distance and density to get it down in the right areas, and just accept that if I'm not losing lures every now and then I'm not fishing the right areas. Can use locked in leads with snood attached to lures if not so much distance is required/using heavier setup and redgills work really well for this. If the lead is locked in then use a slightly lower breaking strain as hook snood so that if you snag you don't lose whole setup (y)

The boom idea could work but I'd imagine it would cut casting distance down and weight is another thing to get snagged/wrapped round weed if dangling in water column so probably better to have it inline as the retrieve is parallel to the fish as opposed to directly above it on a boat. Best of luck with it,
Click to expand...
Something else to consider. Thanks @RemoteWanderer.
 
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