Wreck fishing

Wreck fishing is carried out from a charter boat. To find a charter boat we recommend you visit our charter boat section in www.seafishingonline.com

Wrecks can be anything from just a mile offshore to 35 / 40 miles offshore, which can mean that it will take several hours steaming to get to the chosen wrecks

There are two ways of fishing wrecks - ever by drifting over the wreck with the tide or at anchor. The style depends on the tides and depth that the wreck is at . The skipper will always let you now what type he will be fishing on booking of the boat

How do charter boat skippers know where these wrecks are?

Well it can be a case of the skipper literally spends many years of trial and error to find them. Or there are lots of books that will list likely wrecking marks Skippers also use the latest electronics to help them. If you ever look in side a boats cabin you will see an array of fish finders and gps navigation aids

What type of fish will I catch?
The idea of wreck fishing is to go after the larger fish that hold up on the wrecks. Fish are drawn to wrecks because they offers a reef / rocky out crop like environments

This means that fish can hold up in the wrecks as they offer shelter from the tides and a source of food

Fish that are generally target when wreck fishing are

Pollock
Bass
Conger
Ling
Cod

Fish sizes vary but you can catch fish from just a few pounds in weight and up to over 100lb (conger)

Wreck fishing tackle
Rods
You will need a stand up boat rod such as a Penn Ugly stick with rods being 20lb test curve as begin the lighter work through to 50lb for the big conger and ling

Reels
The reels you will need to be using are multipliers. The reason for this is because they can handle the weight of bringing up fish from such depth. Also they carry a lot more line

Line
There are two choices what type of line to use

Monofilament line - This is the standard fishing line , which as the benefits of being able to stretch a little bit . As for your line strength this can vary from 20 to 50lb and more so if in doubt just ask your skipper for advice but as a guideline 25lb will handle most wrecking situations.

The down side to monofilament line is that of the diameter of the line which will get caught in the tidal flow causing the line to bow and will result in you having to use a heaver lead weight

If you are new to wrecking monofilament line is the best to go for

Braid fishing line - This is a very low diameter fishing line which gives you a much great contact with what is going on . Because of its lower diameter you will be able to use less weight to fish , which is a great bounce when pull fish from depths of a hundred feet or so

WARNING - Never use your hands to hold your line if it gets stuck on a wreck as you could loose your fingers. Let out plenty of line then rape your line round a piece of wood ect and then pull your line free. Skippers will always help you and have the correct piece of kit to get you free, if in doubt ask for help from the skipper

Lures
Lures are made from plastics and are design for their action in the water. Coming an a Variety of colours and even luminous (glow in low light conditions)

As the majority of fish you will be targeting when wreck fishing are predatory fish (fish that hunt and eat other fish) the most common form of fishing are with lures

The most common four are shads / grubs / pirks and worms

All of these are fished on a the rig below with the flowing trace of anything from 6 to 20 foot long (remember the skipper will help on best lengths)

Quick tips - get proper wrecking booms of about 10 - 15 inches long as they keep the flowing trace away from your mainline . Always have a swivel connecting your boom to your leader as this stops the line twisting

Pirks
These are lead made lures with a treble hook at the bottom of the pirk . You can use them in conjunction with muppets .Pirks are worked by jigging them ( lifting the rod up and down )

Shads
Fish shaped lures that are worked by reeling in

Worms
Worm shaped lures that are worked by reeling in

Grubs
Often over looked but can be kill lures and are worked by reeling in

Quick tips

Vary the speed that you retrieve your lures and remember that the speed of the tide also effects the action of the lure

On the drop down keep you finger on you spool so that you control the speed of the decent. If you do not you will only end up with a birds nest (tangle)

When you are working your lures count how many turns up you get your fish. This will save time if they are being taken say 40 turns up as you can quickly go to that depth

Have a good supply of rigs made up as if you loose your rig on a wreck it can be quickly replaced ready for the next drift

So got you interested in wreck fishing ? If you have any questions why not go to our fishing forum