Secret rig revealed
Users say the Urfe is guaranteed to catch in tough conditions
Guide to tying the urfe rig.
THE godfather of all scratching rigs is about to be explained. Clip one of these on to your line in a competition and it’s the closest you’ll get to a rig that you can 100 per cent rely on to catch you a fish.
I’m not a big fan of making my own rigs, but the Urfe (three-below or Portuguese rig), which I introduced in the previous edition of Sea Angler, is probably the only rig I don’t mind tying. Why? Because it’s really quite minimal.
Urfe rigs have been kept under wraps by anglers in the know for quite some time – and for a very good reason. Now that the likes of Tronixpro and Vega sell Urfe clips, it’s about time this deadly rig was explained properly to all interested anglers. This trace presents all three hooks below the weight. You’re probably wondering it doesn’t tangle due to the three hooks trailing around underneath the lead weight. The secret to keeping this rig from tangling is minimal components and different diameter lines – the fewer components the better.
By using two different diameter lines, one for the main body and one for your two stand-off hooks, you also reduce tangles. The lines behave differently on the seabed, during the cast, and fall at slightly different rates through the water column.
WAYS TO ADAPT THE RIG
The rig is one of the best scratching rigs you can use when fishing is tough. I always have a stock of them in my fishing box. Tied with the lighter line, it is also incredibly effective for bottom fishing in summer. Add a pop-up on the end and you lift the rig up through the water column; during the summer you will be catching scad, mackerel and garfish.
I tie the snoods on this rig with stop knots. These are adjustable, so if you fancied moving a hook closer to the weight, you can.
Of course, you don’t have to stick to this exact blueprint. You can make the rig shorter for winter fish like pouting and rockling, but I wouldn’t recommend less than 5ft. Alternatively, you could make it longer. In fact, because you aren’t limited by the length of your rod, you can make the rig as long as you want; 15ft is easily manageable.
If you do plan on adapting this rig for general winter use for whiting or pouting, increase the line up to maybe 0.35mm body and 0.30mm hooklengths as these fish tend to spin when retrieved. Stiffer and thicker lines will help to counteract this. Step up your hook size to a size 4 or size 2 Wormer.
In summer, the lighter lines work better. The fish you will be catching on this rig tend not to spin so much. The summer species, such as garfish, tend to react better to the lighter lines, giving you more bites.
It must be stressed that this isn’t the ideal rig for hauling in bucket loads of fish when they are out there in plague proportions. This rig comes into its own when the fishing is at rock bottom and one fish can make all the difference. Therefore, as you may have guessed, tying this rig with the lightest lines as possible will give you an edge. Before stepping down to anything lighter than what I’ve shown you, I recommend getting some practise with the rig first.
WHY IS THIS RIG SO EFFECTIVE?
The success of this rig is down to its movement. If your rig body is 9ft long, it means all three baits have a massive radius of movement and can cover more ground then a conventional 2ft hooklength pinned to the seabed. This large range of movement also helps to present the baits better; a flowing bait will seem far more natural to a fish than a stationary one.
The cat is out of the bag! The secret match rig is out in the open for all anglers to try. When the going gets tough, this is the only rig for me. The Tronixpro Urfe Clip just helps present things a little bit better. Remember, it’s the little things that make a difference.