Pirking: how to get started

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What you need

• Pirk rod for inshore fishing: 2.10 to 3.00 m, 150 to 250 g casting weight
• Fixed-spool or multiplier reel with enough line capacity
• Braided main line, about 0.17 to 0.20 mm
• Monofilament leader, about 0.60 to 0.80 mm
• Pirks in several weights, on the Baltic Sea usually between 50 and 175 g
• No more than two teasers, such as twister tails or Gummimakk rubber teasers
• For mackerel a mackerel rig (paternoster), for herring a herring paternoster
• Wind- and waterproof clothing, a hat, gloves, priest and knife

Step by step

1. Strict EU rules currently apply to cod in the Baltic Sea, so check the current situation before your trip.
2. Check with the charter boat which papers you need and what the rules on board are. If you get seasick easily, take a travel sickness remedy beforehand.
3. Check pirks, split rings and treble hooks before the trip. Rusty or bent parts cost you fish.
4. Choose a pirk light enough that it only just keeps contact with the bottom. The rougher the sea and the stronger the drift, the heavier it needs to be.
5. Only lower the pirk when the crew gives the signal. Keep the line tight as it sinks, many bites already come then.
6. On the bottom, lift the pirk with the rod and let it sink again. Mackerel are often found in mid-water too.
7. If you feel a bite, strike and pump the fish up steadily. Any fish for the table, stun and kill straight away in a humane way.

Tips

• Over obstacles, take off the treble hook and fish with teasers only.
• A teaser about 50 cm above the pirk on a short, stiff side boom brings extra bites.
• When the sea is calm, you often do better with lighter pirks than with heavy tackle.

Quick questions

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