When to use it
On the Irish east coast
Piers and calm beaches when fishing small baits for multiple species. Autumn and winter nights for whiting. Day sessions for dab and dogfish on open sand. Less suited to heavy surf (snoods tangle).
Greystones Harbour and Wicklow Town Pier walls are flapper marks in winter: worm and mackerel strip on a 2 to 3oz bomb, two size 1 hooks, flood tide after dark. The same setup works on Howth and Dún Laoghaire piers for whiting and dab. On calm days at Brittas or Kilcoole the flapper outfishes a single hook when dab and dogfish are mixed in. Keep snoods 6 to 8 inches; longer traces tangle in side-wind.
Rig diagram
How it is built
Switch between states to see how the rig changes on the cast, in the water and on the retrieve. The parts list lights up with each one.
Fishing. Both snoods hang free and flap in the tide. Nothing is clipped, so bait presentation is natural and the rig is very hard to get wrong.
Targets
- Whiting
- Flounder
- Dab
- Coalfish
- Small cod
Baits. Lugworm, ragworm, mackerel strip
What it is made of
- 1Rig body60 lb clear mono, about 70 cm swivel to lead link
- 2Top swivelSize 4 rolling swivel to the shockleader
- 3Snood take-offsBead, three-way swivel, bead. Trapped by stop knots so they cannot slide
- 4Snoods25 lb mono, 30 to 40 cm. Short enough that they cannot tangle each other
- 5HooksSize 1 to 2/0 Aberdeen, one per snood
- 6Lead3 to 5 oz plain or breakaway
Space the take-offs further apart than the snoods are long. If they can reach each other, they will tangle on every cast.
Tying sequence
Step by step
Mainline and top snood
Tie the mainline to a size 4 swivel. Attach the first 6 to 8 inch hooklink of 12 to 15 lb mono to the swivel eye, finishing with a size 1 or 1/0 Aberdeen hook.
Second snood
Tie a second swivel 18 to 24 inches below the first (blood loop or dropper loop on stiff mono, or a second swivel on a short boom). Attach another 6 to 8 inch hooklink and hook.
On the diagram
Two snoods branch from the main rig body.
Lead link
Below the lower snood, tie a lead link and attach a 2 to 4oz bomb or grip depending on tide. On pier walls a plain bomb is usually enough.
Bait both hooks
Small worm tips, mackerel strip, or squid strip on each hook. Keep baits neat; bulky baits tangle the snoods on the cast.
Cast and watch the tip
Cast short to medium range. The snoods flare on the drop. Use a sensitive tip; whiting often register as a series of small knocks before the rod loads.
Components
What you need to tie this rig
Researched for Irish shore conditions on Dublin and Wicklow marks. Where we have fished an item ourselves, we say so. Links go to Amazon.ie; omit anything you already carry in your tackle box.
Dr.Fish pre-tied flapper rigs (6 pack)
Three-hook flappers ready to clip on; snip the top snood off for a two-hook rig. Handy for pier sessions at Greystones and Wicklow harbour.
View on AmazonFlapper rigs 2/0 (6 pack)
Slightly larger hook pattern for whiting and small codling from pier walls.
View on AmazonPhoxinus Aberdeen hooks 1/0
Fine wire hooks for small baits on flapper snoods. Size 1/0 suits whiting and dab.
View on AmazonPlain bomb leads mixed pack
2 to 4oz bombs for pier and calm-beach flapper fishing when grip leads are not needed.
No live Amazon.ie listingHooklink mono 15lb
15 lb mono for flapper snoods. Cheap bulk spool; snoods are consumables on winter pier sessions.
No live Amazon.ie listing