Common rigs · Paternoster · flapping rig

Two-hook flapper

The all-rounder. Two baited hooks flutter above a fixed lead, covering the bottom half-metre where most fish feed.

Shock leader60lb, tied to top swivelSize 4 rolling swivelCrimp + bead stopslock each dropper in placeSize 10 swivelspins on the rig bodySnood 25lb, 35cmAberdeen hook 1–1/0fine wire for worm baitsRig body60lb clear mono, 1.2mLead link4–6oz grip lead
Targets
Whiting, dabs, pouting, codling, flounder, dogfish
Where
Sand and mixed ground, short to medium range

What you need

Rig body
1.2m of 60lb clear mono
Top
Size 4 rolling swivel
Droppers
2 × size 10 swivels, 4 × 5mm beads, 4 × rig crimps
Snoods
25lb mono or fluoro, 30–40cm
Hooks
Size 1–1/0 Aberdeen
Bottom
Lead link, 4–6oz grip lead

Build it

  1. Tie the size 4 swivel to one end of the rig body with a uni or tucked half-blood knot.
  2. Thread on crimp, bead, size 10 swivel, bead, crimp. Repeat for the second dropper.
  3. Tie the lead link to the bottom end.
  4. Slide the top dropper about 20cm under the top swivel. Set the lower one at least a snood length plus 5cm below it, so the two snoods can never touch.
  5. Check the lower snood can't reach the lead link, then squeeze each crimp with crimping pliers. Leave a few millimetres of play so the swivels spin.
  6. Tie a snood to each dropper swivel and a hook to each snood.
On the beach

Add a third dropper for a three-hook flapper when fish are thick and you don't need the distance. The flapping snoods catch air, so expect to lose 20–30m on the cast.

Knots for this rig are in Knots. Line strengths, hook sizes and weights are starting points: scale them to your tackle, the ground and the tide. Diagrams are schematic and not to scale.