Tie-at-home extras · Tie at home

Conger trace

A short, heavy mono trace with crimped loops at both ends. A conger's teeth and body roll will cut lighter line in seconds.

Heavy-duty swivelLoop + two crimpssized for the lineTrace 200–250lb monoabout 1mCrimped hook looplets the hook moveHook 8/0–10/0strong, forgedMackerel flapperor whole squid
Targets
Conger
Where
Wrecks, reefs, harbour walls at night
Use it for
Conger eel

What you need

Trace
200–250lb mono, about 1m
Crimps
Double-barrel crimps sized to the mono, two per loop
Swivel
Heavy-duty, rated well above the mainline
Hook
8/0–10/0 forged
Bait
Mackerel flapper or a whole squid

Build it

  1. Thread two crimps onto the mono, pass it through the hook eye and back through the crimps to form a small loop.
  2. Close both crimps with the right-sized crimping tool.
  3. Repeat at the other end around the swivel.
  4. Make a few spares and coil each in a labelled bag.
On the beach

A small loop at the hook lets it move freely and hook better. On the boat, pump the eel up steadily and don't give it slack to back into the wreck.

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.