Step by step
How to fish it
- Thread your mainline through a zip slider or plain boom carrying your lead weight
- Tie a swivel to the end of the mainline, this acts as a stop for the slider
- Attach a hooklink of 12 to 24 inches to the lower eye of the swivel
- Tie your hook to the end of the hooklink, size depends on target species
- Bait up, cast to your chosen distance, and place the rod in a rest
- Watch the rod tip, a knock followed by a steady pull is a taking fish
Tackle
Gear you need
- Lead weight: 2 to 5oz depending on tide strength (use a grip/breakaway lead in surf)
- Hooklink: 12 to 20 lb fluorocarbon for bass and smoothhound; lighter mono for flatfish
- Hook: size 4/0 to 2/0 circle hook for bass; size 1 to 4 Aberdeen for flatfish
- Swivel: size 4 or 6 barrel swivel as a stop
Kit
Kit picks for running ledger
Researched for Irish shore conditions on Wicklow marks. Where we have fished an item ourselves, we say so. Links go to Amazon.ie; skip anything you already carry.
Zip slider booms and beads
Running ledger sliders for the mainline. Pair with a bead above the lead to protect your stop knot.
View on AmazonFFT Pro breakaway grip leads mixed pack
Mixed 3oz to 7oz grips for holding bottom in Wicklow surf and tide. The staple lead on open beaches.
View on AmazonPhoxinus Aberdeen hooks 1/0
All-round shore hook for worm and crab on a running ledger. One pack covers bass and flatfish sessions.
View on AmazonSeaguar Blue Label fluorocarbon leader
Low-visibility hooklink for clear-water days at Brittas and Kilcoole. 15 to 20 lb covers most traces.
View on AmazonF2M hollow baiting needles (5 pack)
Thread worm and peeler cleanly before you bind with elastic. A small pack lasts a season.
View on AmazonShakespeare Saltwater Sand Spike
A solid spike keeps the rod tip high and the bites readable while you wait on a ledgered bait.
View on AmazonBuilding a full setup from scratch? See the complete gear guide.
Conditions
When to use it
Calm to moderate surf on open beaches. Flooding tide for bass. Any tide for flatfish and dogfish. Most effective when fish are feeding close in, within 60m on most Wicklow beaches.
Local knowledge
On the Wicklow coast
The running ledger is the go-to rig at Kilcoole, Brittas Bay and Silver Strand. In a good easterly surf with 2 to 3 feet of colour, a short-cast running ledger with peeler crab at 30 to 40m will outfish any other approach for bass. Use a breakaway grip lead to hold bottom in the swell.
