Gilt Headed Bream Rig

Despite the title of this post this rig can be used for many other types of fish, in fact I often use this rig for Sea Bass with the only difference being I attach a treble hook baited with sardine or bloodworm.

The basic idea is to have a sliding sinker so the fish doesn’t pull on the sinker after taking the bait and in turn when I give the tug to get a secure hooking I tug directly down the line to the hook and not the sinker.

I use “Breakaway swivels” and thread the main line (shock leader) through the swivel then thread a rubber or other type of soft bead before tying another type of swivel to which I attach the gamete with the hook.

Breakaway swivel

From the swivel I tie about five centimetres of line to the sinker.

The idea of this is that the sinker will probably bury into the sand or mud and this keeps the swivel above and allows the line to slide easily without any problem.

I sometimes use other types of sinker

Then I thread a rubber bead and after the swivel to which the gamete is tied

The rubber bead protects the knot from abrasion

This is the swivel I use. It comes without any covering but I cover with shrink tube

This is how it should look before tying the gamete

Obviously the line has to be threaded through the guides of the rod before setting up!

Some of the hooks I recommend. In the video I'm using "Owner" hooks

Note: You should not use braided line unless you add at least 15 metres of monofilament as braided line can actually cut through the plastic of the swivel and besides this braided line doesn’t behave well to abrasion.

As I said, here I’m using a tandem hook but you can adapt this to the bait you’re using and the fish you’re targeting.

I generally use this set up when beach fishing (muddy seabed or at least a clean bottom). If there’s a chance of snagging then a different way of attaching the sinker is necessary which I’ll show you in another post.

Happy Fishing