Knots & Rigs  - Flasher Rigs

Flasher rigs have become a mainstream method to catch fish. Flasher rigs are very versatile and will catch just about any fish species that swims in the ocean. A flasher rig is basically a dropper rig with the hook spiced up with some flash to help entice the bite.

 

These rigs come in a variety of colours and hook styles. The most common hook style is the circle hook (e.g: Mustad Demon), but octopus hook rigs (e.g. Mustad Big Red) and long shank hook rigs (e.g. Mustad Long Red) are also available. When using standard hook rigs such as Mustad big red rig and Mustad long red rig, you have the ability to strike the fish due to the hook shape.

 

Circle hooks shouldn't be struck however.  The trick with circle hooks on this rig is not strike the fish, when the rod tip starts bouncing from bites wind the handle quickly, this will roll the hook into the side of the jaw. If you strike when using a circle hook you will often just pull the hook straight out of the mouth.

 

Small cut baits are best fished on flasher rigs, cut your bait into bite size cubes, this will stop the pickers from grabbing part of the bait and ripping it from the hook, the flash will entice the fish to often get aggressive and swallow the whole bait in one go.