Paternoster Rig

What is a paternoster ? A paternoster is any style of hook rig where the leader is tied to a fixed lead, the hooks then are on droppers above the lead. Usually one to three hooks are used on a paternoster rig depending on the species you are after. The droppers can be either blood loops tied directly in the leader or more often a stop knot, bead, swivel, bead, stop knot arrangement is used.

Paternoster is a Latin name, meaning "Our Father", and its origin is said to be that St. Peter used a similar rig to catch a fish that was mentioned in a New Testament story. Whether this is so or not, the rig has been widely used in the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean regions for centuries and its use has since spread world wide.

It is believed that years ago, the Australian pioneers use to string up a Paternoster rig that was several hundred metres long with hundreds of hooks, lay them out in the Murray River, and catch Murray Cod.

Using Paternoster style running rigs are the best choice for many types of fishing situations. For shy fish such as Bream, Snapper and Mulloway, the Running Paternoster rig is an excellent choice as it allows the bait to be taken some distance freely without pressure. In addition, by varying the length of the drops to the sinker and the hook respectively alters the rig to suit a variety of fishing situations from estuary to surf casting, to bottom fishing from a boat in a fast current.

For this rig used in surf casting, the leader attached to the sinker is longer than the leader for the hook. This style of of running sinker rig extends the casting range and reduces tangles with the bait. Alternatively, an extended leader to the hook and a short dropper to the sinker is more commonly used in tidal situations where casting requirements are modest, as in estuary fishing.	The basic Paternoster rig consists of a sinker tied to the end of a line, often with a loop which allows the sinker to be removed or changed easily. Hooks are attached to short droppers on the main line. Variations of the Paternoster rig include tying the hook at the end of the main line with the sinker attached to a dropper loop.

Variations of the Paternoster rig include tying the hook at the end of the main line with the sinker attached to a dropper loop, in fact the reverse of the example on the left.	The use of a dropper loop to attach hooks and sinkers is an easy rig to prepare and is adequately strong for most fishing situations. The use of a swivel or a ring as a tie off point results in the strongest possible rig of this type. This is definitely an that is preferred by most anglers.

Using a swivel or a ring as a tie off point results in the strongest possible rig of this type. This is an option preferred by many anglers.

Knots that are used in the above examples are

• Half Blood Knot
• Figure Eight Knot
• Dropper Loop
• Palomar Knot