Running ledger rig: setup for eel and tench

pescaday

When the running ledger fits

• Eels at dusk and at night The eel takes the worm and moves off, the weight barely holds it back. Leave the bail arm open or use a free spool so it can take line.
• Tench and bream on the bottom For worm, sweetcorn and maggots close in, along weed beds or in front of lilies.
• Rivers with current A flat weight holds bottom better, choose it just heavy enough that it does not roll away.
• First steps in ledgering The simplest bottom rig, quick to tie and easy to change, for example to a float rig.

How to build it

1. Use monofilament main line: for eels at least 0.35 mm, for tench 0.25 to 0.30 mm. Mono stands up to stones and snags better than braid.
2. Thread on a running weight, or an anti-tangle boom with the weight clipped in. With a boom you change the weight without retying.
3. Make the weight only as heavy as it needs to be to hold bottom. In rivers flat weights help, over silt or weed a sliding stick weight that does not sink in.
4. Add a rubber bead to protect the knot and tie on a snap swivel. It stops the weight and lets you change hooklengths quickly.
5. Clip on the hooklength: for eels 40 to 60 cm (16 to 24 in), 0.30 to 0.35 mm. The softer the bottom, the longer it can be.
6. Hook to match the bait: for eels with lobworm size 2 to 6, for a bunch of worms for tench size 6 to 8.
7. Cast out, set the rod high in the rest, tighten slightly and open the bail arm or switch on the free spool. Watch the rod tip, a bell or a glow stick for bites.

Variants

• With an anti-tangle boom The tube keeps hooklength and main line apart, which reduces tangles. You change the weight without retying.
• With a feeder Clip a feeder onto the swivel instead of the weight. Bait and feed then land in the same spot.
• Sliding stick weight Over silt and weed it replaces the ledger weight. It does not sink in and the line keeps running freely.

Quick questions

Next

Rules of thumb from practice, strengths as guide values, no products.