How To: Break-away Rig

You and your buddies are 40 miles offshore, drifting baits on the ledges and live bottoms. It's a beautiful day, seas are calm and there's a slight breeze. You all want to catch a load of Grouper! The last thing you want to happen is get your lead sinkers hung up on the bottom, right? Here's a rig, which I call the break-away rig, that is designed to break your lead free when it gets hung but keeps your bait and hook attached. Let me explain a little more.

Grab a three-way swivel and tie it onto your mainline. Now to the side loop of the swivel tie a short 8" or so piece of light mono, let's say 20-lb. Attach your lead weight to that. To finish the rig, tie your leader to the bottom loop of the swivel. I suggest four to six-feet of 80 to 130-lb. Then add your circle hook.

For the sake of this guide, let's say you're drifting, using this rig, and you feel the tug of the sinker getting hung on the bottom. Hold tight and let the sinker break off that 20-lb line. Now you can reel in and tie another sinker on. I know you're losing lead this way, but it beats losing your fish or entire rig!

This break-away rig also serves another nifty purpose. With the sinker on the side, it almost acts like a carolina-style rig; it allows your bait to drift low, getting attention from say a Grouper, who are known for hanging towards the bottom to snag a bite. Once again, since you're hanging low, you might get held up in the structure so all you have to do is tug and break that sinker off.

The break-away rig can be used for all types of fishing, not just offshore drifting for Grouper. Incorporate it into any of your fishing styles, whether inshore around oyster beds or deeper offshore for Tiles.