With 12 core rig designs and a build-to-order option the expansive UK Hooks Shore Rig range offers just about everything beach, rock and pier anglers could want. The full range is explored in detail here.
UK Hooks have all bases covered with their professional range of shore rigs. Big fish, match and pleasure fishing situations are addressed across an impressive series of different rigs that are well constructed and well packaged. Components are top quality, while the rig forms are sound and about as universally appropriate to UK shore fishing as it is possible to be. These rigs are clearly designed by people who go fishing and not blind copies of what is already widely available through the shops and online.
It is also key to point out that these rigs are made in the UK and not mass produced abroad. UK Hooks emphasise quality control, and a good standard of knotting and crimping is evident throughout their range of rig products.
Are the the UK Hooks rigs better constructed than the likes of those by Greys and Any Fish Anywhere? That’s for you to decide for yourself. In terms of comparable component quality however, there is no such reviewer coyness and UK Hooks wins hands down. Top five rig picks among the Planet Sea Fishing shore guys were voted as the Pulley Pennel, Drop-Down Pennel, 3 Hook Distance, 3 Hook Flapper and 3 Hook Loop rigs.
Match 1: 3 HOOK DISTANCE RIG (versions 1-RW, 1-SS Circles and 1-G)
A standard three-hook clipped down rig with cascade swivels and size 2 Vanadium Red Worm hooks. An indiscriminate long range rig which will account for a wide variety of fish, but great for dabs and whiting. Available with a variety of different hooks, including stainless Circle Streamer hooks or light wire gold Aberdeens. See UKH website for full listing.
Features 80lb trace body and 25lb Amnesia snood. Size 2 Vanadium Red Worm hooks, oval split ring, nickel rolling swivels, stand off tubing, Breakaway cascade swivels, 3mm luminous beads, rubber bait stops, sequins and Imp. There is also a circle hook version of the rig.
Match 2: 3 HOOK FLAPPER RIG (versions 2-G and 2-RW)
A no frills, bread-and-butter, general-purpose shore rig for all flatfish and modest round fish species. Intended for close in work over clean to broken ground, the 3-hook flapper in its various forms is a favourite for pleasure anglers and match fishermen alike. This version is a two above/one below affair, sporting a longer bottom snood of 45cm, with a pair of 22cm snoods above.
Features 60lb body and 25lb snoods with size 2 fine wire gold Aberdeen hooks.
Long-snooded 2-hook rocking wishbone (also widely referred to as a ‘See-saw’ wishbone rig) designed for fishing worm baits at distance. Strong size 2 Vanadium Red Worm hooks are used. A particularly effective rig for plaice, codling and the matchman’s favourite dogfish. The overall snood length is a generous 81cm.
Features 80lb rig body and 40lb (0.40mm) snoods. Size 2 Vanadium Red Worm hooks, oval split ring, nickel rolling swivels, stand off tubing, 3mm luminous beads, sequin bait stops and Imp.
A fit-for-purpose clipped down pennel rig for rays, cod and bass at distance. 76cm/30in snood carries superb VMC Black Aberdeens that rank as one of the most appropriate hooks for ray and across venues where incidental bull huss, conger and cod are likely.
Features 80lb trace body and 30lb Amnesia snood. 2/0 and 3/0 VMC Black Aberdeen hooks, 3mm luminous beads, SRT spring, nickel rolling swivel, stand off tubing, Breakaway Imp and oval split ring.
Match 5: PULLEY PENNEL RIG (version 5 and 5-GP)
Clipped down pulley pennel build with VMC Black Aberdeen hooks in sizes 2/0 and 3/0. An excellent choice for distance work using substantial baits. Capably covers cod, rays and bass, and will cope with stray conger and bull huss too. A serious rig for anglers intentionally chasing serious fish.
Features 80lb trace body and 30lb Amnesia snood. 2/0 and 3/0 VMC Black Aberdeen hooks, nickel rolling swivel and Breakaway Impact Shield. Now with a 120lb pulley bead in place of the previous free-riding rolling swivel, which is less inclined to damage the line.
Match 6: FLATTIE UP AND OVER PENNEL RIG
An ‘up & over’ (also known as ‘long & low’) rig with generous 175cm hooklength for targeting plaice and dabs at range. Effective and relatively uncomplicated build. Fitted with bigger hooks and sturdier snood material, this is also an excellent distance rig for various rays. It could also be argued that the ‘up & over’ or ‘long & low’ rig has been superseded by the ‘drop-down’ rig, which eradicates the snood kink-age issue caused by the top clip but this particular rig design remains very popular.
Features 80lb trace body and 25lb Amnesia snood. Size 2 Vanadium Red Worm hooks, nickel rolling swivels, stand off tubing, SRT Spring, 3mm luminous beads, 5mm coloured attractor beads, sequin bait stop and Breakaway Imp.
Match 7: BOMBER RIG (versions 7-G and 7-RW)
A very popular match rig pattern that is compact for ease of casting. The top snood is a pennel arrangement, allowing a longer bait to be used. This bomber rig is easy to work with, and great for whiting, dogfish, dabs and general bits and pieces fishing at range. There is an alternative version with size 2 Vanadium Red Worm hooks also available.
Features 80lb trace body and low diameter 40lb snood. Size 2 light wire gold Aberdeen hooks, stand off tubing, oval split ring, Breakaway Impact Shield, 3mm beads and sequin bait stops.
Match 8: DROP-DOWN PENNEL RIG (versions 8, 8-RD and 8-SS)
This excellent rig has been popularised in sea fishing magazines over the last 36 months, but has, in fact, done the quiet rounds in certain circles for a great many years. This version offers pennel 2/0 and 3/0 Red Devil hooks on a 72cm/28.5in snood. The basic principle is that the long snood clips down to the Imp for casting, but triggers to drop down and sit below the lead on hitting the water. The snood is detachable and can be swapped to a single hook, wishbone or whatever else takes your fancy. A great choice for fishing over clean and moderately broken ground for rays in particular. UK Hooks also produce a further ‘Everlasting’ version of this rig featuring stainless Mustad O’Shaughnessy hooks and stainless steel crane swivels, and third option carrying VMC Black Aberdeens.
Features 80lb trace body and 40lb (0.40mm) snood. 2/0 & 3/0 Red Devil Aberdeen hooks, nickel rolling swivels, bent rig clip and Breakaway Imp.
Match 9: 1 UP/1DOWN LOOP PENNEL RIG
A bet-hedging rig if ever there was one. Size 2 hook is used on top for worm baits, while a pennel bottom snood is intended to typically offer sandeel, crab, mackerel or bluey baits for the prospect of bigger fish like bass, cod and stray rays.
Features 80lb rig body and 40lb (0.40mm) snoods. Size 2 Vanadium Red Worm hook on top snood, with 1/0 and 2/0 VMC Black Aberdeens in pennel formation at the bottom. With Cascade swivel, Imp, stand off tubing, sequin bait stops, 3mm luminous beads and crimps.
A compact 2 up /1 down ‘loop’ or ‘Portsmouth’ rig that casts well and covers myriad fishing situations and species. Upper snoods measure 26cm, while the long bottom-trailing snood is 68cm. The distance between the cascade on the bottom snood and the hook is 16cm. A full-blown match-bagging rig for use with worm baits.
Features 80lb rig body and 40lb (0.40mm) snoods. With size 2 Vanadium Red Worm hooks, Breakaway Imp, cascade swivels, stand off tubing, sequin bait stops, 3mm luminous beads and crimps.
A short-range traditional running ledger bass rig for rock, kelp and sand fishing. A clean rig armed with strong and extremely sharp pennel hooks. Ideal for presenting king ragworm, large crab baits or squid into mixed ground or between rocks.
Features 50lb body and snood lines. 3/0 & 5/0 VMC Red Devil hooks, nickel rolling swivels and snap.
Match 12: CONGER PENNEL PULLEY RIG
Strength is not compromised at any point in the build. 76cm/30ins of tough 100lb snood handles the abrasive rasping of many bigger fish and rough ground, while the meaty VMC hooks are super sharp and a match for just about any fish likely from the UK shore. Would like to see a rotten bottom facility incorporated into the rig given the types of terrain where congers are most regularly encountered.
Features 70lb rig body and 100lb clear snood. Fitted with 6/0 VMC Black Aberdeen hooks, clear Impact Shield, 120lb nickel rolling swivel, 120lb 8mm Pulley bead and lead link.
Ordering
All rigs are exclusively built by UK Hooks and feature top quality components. Rigs can be made to order in 10-packs using any of the hooks carried on the UK Hooks website – call for custom orders. All rigs are the same price and bulk orders can be mixed-and-matched. A sampler pack containing rigs 1 – 12 is also available. Click here for more details. Ordering is direct from UK HOOKS.
